Polyol Transport Conduit Cleaning with Displacement Pigs
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for cleaning transport conduits used in polymer composition production often result in chemical waste and product loss, and there is a risk of contamination between successive batches due to residual polyol composition remaining in the conduits.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using flexible cleaning plugs, or 'pigs,' to displace and clean the transport conduits, reducing chemical waste and product loss, and ensuring effective cleaning without contamination between polyol compositions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If chemical cleaning agents are used to clean transport conduits, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but chemical waste and product loss increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful cleaning chemicals from the system by replacing them with a mechanical cleaning method using pigs. The pigs are propelled through the conduits using the polyol composition itself as the propelling medium, which is then recovered and reused, eliminating chemical waste while maintaining cleaning effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the polyol composition to clean itself by propelling pigs through the conduits using the composition as the propelling medium. The pigs mechanically clean the conduits while the composition is recovered and reused, creating a self-sufficient cleaning system that eliminates external chemical cleaners and minimizes product loss.
2Loss of substance
If pigs are used to clean transport conduits, then chemical waste and product loss are reduced, but cleaning speed and effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses hydraulic principles by propelling the pigs through the conduits using pressurized polyol composition. This hydraulic propulsion method ensures rapid and effective movement of the pigs through the entire conduit system, maintaining high cleaning speed and effectiveness while eliminating chemical waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The system optimizes cleaning effectiveness by controlling parameters such as the viscosity of the polyol composition, the pressure used to propel the pigs, and the design of the pigs themselves. These parameter adjustments ensure that the mechanical cleaning process is both rapid and thorough, matching or exceeding the effectiveness of chemical cleaning.
3Reliability
If pigs are used for cleaning, then contamination between batches is prevented, but device complexity increases due to additional cleaning infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The polyol composition serves multiple functions: it is the product being transported, the propelling medium for the pigs, and the cleaning medium. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate cleaning infrastructure and chemicals, reducing overall system complexity while ensuring effective contamination prevention between batches.
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards the used polyol composition from the conduits by propelling it out with the pigs, and then recovers it for reuse. This recover-and-reuse approach ensures complete removal of residual composition between batches, preventing contamination while minimizing waste and reducing the need for complex additional cleaning infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
Method and a device for manufacturing and transporting a polyol composition, wherein one or more polyols and one or more additional components are placed in a mixing tank with an agitator and mixed to form a polyol composition, wherein the polyol composition is subsequently transported from the mixing tank to a filling device by means of transport conduits, wherein the cleaning of the aforementioned transport conduits takes place by means of the displacement of one or more pigs in these transport conduits.