Polyacrylamide Gel Transport and Dissolution Process
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of high molecular weight polyacrylamide solutions is energy-intensive due to high water content, leading to significant operational and capital expenditures for drying and re-dissolving processes, and on-site production requires separate plants for each consumption point, incurring additional logistics and transport costs.
Innovation Solution
A process involving polymerizing an aqueous solution of acrylamide to form a polyacrylamide gel, which is then transported and dissolved on-site, using a modular, relocatable plant with units at two locations for efficient production and distribution, reducing the need for extensive drying and re-dissolving infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If aqueous polyacrylamide gel is produced by gel polymerization, then high molecular weight polyacrylamide is obtained, but the high water content (65-80%) leads to energy-intensive drying processes and high operational costs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the majority of water (65-80%) from the polymerization mixture before polymerization completes, transforming the conventional process that produces wet gels requiring energy-intensive drying into a process that produces dry or low-moisture polymer powders directly. This is achieved by continuous removal of water during polymerization, eliminating the need for subsequent drying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary water removal before the polymerization reaction completes and before the gel formation stage. By removing water in advance during the polymerization process rather than after gel formation, the system prevents the creation of high-moisture gels that would require energy-intensive drying, thereby resolving the contradiction between producing high molecular weight polymer and avoiding energy-intensive drying.
2Ease of manufacture
If polyacrylamide gel is dried to produce powder, then the polymer can be packaged and shipped, but extensive post-processing equipment (size reduction, drying, sieving, grinding) is required, increasing capital expenditure
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes water during the polymerization process itself, producing dry or low-moisture polymer powders directly without going through the conventional gel formation and drying stages. This eliminates the need for complex post-processing equipment such as size reduction devices, dryers, sieves, and grinders, while still providing packageable and shippable polymer product.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary water removal and polymer formation simultaneously during the polymerization process, producing the final dry polymer powder in one step rather than through multiple sequential post-processing steps. This preliminary action during polymerization eliminates the need for extensive downstream equipment for size reduction, drying, sieving, and grinding.
3Quantity of substance
If polyacrylamide powder is produced, then it can be stored and transported, but it requires dissolving in aqueous fluids on-site which is time-consuming and requires specialized equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The invention produces the polymer in a form (dry or low-moisture powder) that is stable for storage and transport but can be rapidly converted to functional solution form on-site through simple water addition and mixing, eliminating the need for complex dissolving equipment and reducing on-site preparation time and infrastructure requirements.
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
This approach minimizes energy consumption, capital expenditures, and logistics costs by eliminating the need for extensive drying and re-dissolving processes, while enabling flexible and efficient on-site production and distribution of polyacrylamide solutions.
Implementation Method 1
an aqueous solution comprising at least acrylamide is polymerized by means of suitable polymerization initiators under essentially adiabatic conditions
Implementation Method 2
polymerized by means of suitable polymerization initiators under essentially adiabatic conditions
Implementation Method 3
dissolving the aqueous polyacrylamide gel in water, thereby obtaining an aqueous polyacrylamide solution
Data Source
AI summary
Process for producing aqueous polyacrylamide solutions by polymerizing an aqueous solution comprising at least acrylamide thereby obtaining an aqueous polyacrylamide gel and dissolving said aqueous polyacrylamide gel in water, wherein the manufacturing steps are allocated to two different locations A and B and the process comprises the step of transporting an aqueous polyacrylamide gel from a location A to a location B. Modular, relocatable plant for manufacturing aqueous polyacrylamide solutions wherein the units of the plant are located at two different locations A and B.