Lubricating Oil Purification With Water Addition for Ammonia Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of liquid ammonia as a fuel in engines leads to unburned ammonia gas mixing with lubricating oil, causing corrosion and reducing the separation efficiency of lubricating oil purifiers due to ammonia's corrosive nature and the decrease in specific gravity of heavy liquids, leading to potential leaks and contamination.
Innovation Solution
A lubricating oil purification system and method that includes adding water to the lubricating oil mixture before purification, using a centrifuge to separate the ammonia-laden lubricating oil into light and heavy liquids, with a heater to reduce viscosity and a static mixer to enhance ammonia-water contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If water is added to the stock solution to increase ammonia solubility, then ammonia removal efficiency is improved, but the specific gravity of the heavy liquid decreases, reducing separation efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the system by adding water to modify ammonia solubility and specific gravity relationships. This allows ammonia to be selectively extracted into the water phase while maintaining density differences for separation, resolving the contradiction between removal efficiency and separation efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
Water acts as an intermediary substance that facilitates ammonia removal from the lubricating oil. The water phase serves as a medium to dissolve and transport ammonia away from the oil, enabling effective purification while maintaining system separability
2Manufacturing precision
If the specific gravity of heavy liquid is maintained for good separation, then separation efficiency is improved, but ammonia solubility in the heavy liquid decreases, reducing ammonia removal
Solution Approach 1:
Water serves as an intermediary phase that preferentially absorbs ammonia from the stock solution. By introducing this intermediate water phase, the system achieves both good separation (oil-water interface) and effective ammonia removal (ammonia dissolution in water), resolving the contradiction between separation efficiency and ammonia removal efficiency
3Quantity of substance
If ammonia concentration in the engine increases due to moisture mixing, then ammonia dissolution in lubricating oil moisture increases, but corrosion of materials exposed to ammonia water increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts ammonia from the lubricating oil system by introducing water that selectively dissolves and removes ammonia through the purifier. This extraction process reduces ammonia concentration in the engine and prevents corrosion of materials, addressing both the quantity and harmful effects of ammonia
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
Effectively separates ammonia from lubricating oil, maintaining separation efficiency and preventing corrosion, thereby producing purified lubricating oil suitable for reuse.
Implementation Method 1
an ammonia concentration in the engine increases, and the ammonia is dissolved in the moisture in the lubricating oil
Implementation Method 2
a lubricating oil purifier configured to separate the stock solution containing the lubricating oil used in the engine into a light liquid, which is the purified lubricating oil, and a heavy liquid containing the ammonia
Implementation Method 3
with a heater to reduce viscosity
Data Source
AI summary
A lubricating oil purification system configured to purify a stock solution mixed with ammonia into lubricating oil, the lubricating oil purification system includes: an engine; a lubricating oil purifier configured to separate the stock solution containing the lubricating oil used in the engine into a light liquid, which is the purified lubricating oil, and a heavy liquid containing the ammonia; a path configured to supply the stock solution to the lubricating oil purifier; and an addition unit configured to add water to the stock solution in the path.