Fatty Waste Regeneration with Parallel Biolubricant Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processes for regenerating waste lubricants and cooking oils are inefficient and result in low productivity, leading to poor quality products and environmental pollution.
Innovation Solution
A process that regenerates fatty waste, including used cooking oils, biological oils, and solvents/fuels, by treating them in parallel using transesterification, distillation, and dehydration steps with specific catalysts and alcohols to produce high-quality biolubricants and biosolvents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional separate treatment lines are used for waste biolubricants and biological fraction, then the treatment process is simple, but the overall productivity is low and efficiency is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate treatment lines (first line for waste biolubricants and second line for biological fraction from waste lubricants) into a single integrated process. Both lines feed into common downstream units including the same distillation column, decanter, and purification systems, enabling parallel processing of multiple feedstocks while sharing infrastructure to achieve high throughput and efficiency
2Ease of operation
If waste oils containing plant oils are mixed with mineral oils for regeneration, then the disposal is simplified, but the properties of mineral oils are impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the lubricant waste stream into distinct biological and mineral components through separate treatment lines. The first line processes waste biolubricants (biological origin) while the second line extracts and processes the biological fraction from used mineral lubricants. This segmentation prevents contamination of mineral oil regeneration with plant oils, maintaining product quality while simplifying overall disposal through integrated processing
3Manufacturing precision
If bitumen from distillation residue undergoes simple filtration, then the process is fast, but the quality of recovered organic molecules is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary actions to bitumen recovery by first dissolving the bitumen in an apolar solvent before filtration. This pre-treatment step enhances the solubility and separability of organic molecules, allowing subsequent filtration to efficiently recover high-quality products. The preliminary dissolution prevents clogging and improves the effectiveness of the filtration step
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process achieves high efficiency and throughput, producing valuable products with tailored viscosities, reducing waste disposal, and enhancing the recovery of biolubricants and biosolvents, while minimizing environmental impact.
Implementation Method 1
Hydrolysis and esterification take normally place, in order to get fresh biolubricants
Implementation Method 2
Hydrolysis and esterification take normally place, in order to get fresh biolubricants
Implementation Method 3
The obtained solution is stirred, then is filtered off and/or centrifuged to separate catalyst and a raw material for dyes
Data Source
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AI summary
A process for the regeneration of waste oils is disclosed, including three different feeds, namely a) UCO (used cooking oils)/RUCO (regenerated used cooking oils); b) oils having biological origin, separated from mineral oils under regeneration; and c) solvents and fuels having biological origin. Feed c) is the product of treatments of feeds a) and b) and the three feeds are treated in parallel.