Rice Bran Oil Refining via Physical Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current oil refining techniques in China are inefficient and environmentally harmful, leading to significant neutral oil loss, generation of waste water, and environmental pollution due to the use of traditional chemical or physical refining methods, which result in low-quality oil products and increased operational costs.
Innovation Solution
An oil refining system incorporating a water circulation system with chilled and hot water units, a deacidification and deodorization system with preheating, evaporation, and condensing units, and a decoloration system with reheating and distillation units, utilizing a fully automated process to separate oil components by adjusting pressure and temperature, eliminating the need for additives and minimizing human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional chemical or physical refining methods are used, then refining process can be completed, but neutral oil loss increases and waste water is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters (temperature, pressure) during the refining process to achieve separation of oil components without chemical reactions. By controlling temperature gradients and pressure conditions, the system separates free fatty acids, pigments, and other impurities while preserving neutral oil, thus reducing substance loss while maintaining refining efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional chemical refining methods with a physical refining system that uses temperature and pressure control, evaporation, and condensation mechanisms. This substitution eliminates the need for chemical additives and reactions that cause neutral oil loss and waste water generation, achieving environmentally friendly refining
2Productivity
If traditional refining methods are used, then oil can be refined, but environmental pollution occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful byproducts of traditional refining into separable components through physical processes. By using temperature and pressure control to evaporate and condense different components, the system separates impurities from oil without generating harmful waste, transforming potential pollution into manageable separation streams
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and separates harmful impurities (free fatty acids, pigments, oxidation products) from the oil through physical refining processes. By removing these harmful components through evaporation and condensation without chemical reactions, the system eliminates environmental pollution sources while maintaining oil quality
3Device complexity
If chemical additives are used in refining, then refining process is simplified, but oil quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a self-service physical refining process where the oil components separate themselves through temperature and pressure control without external chemical additives. The system uses controlled evaporation and condensation to automatically separate impurities from oil, maintaining high oil quality while the physical process complexity is managed through automated temperature and pressure regulation
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 system ensures environmentally friendly and pollution-free refining, maintains the quality of rice bran oil by preserving oryzanol composition, reduces operational costs, and increases profit through efficient extraction and separation of oil components, resulting in high-quality refined rice bran oil with improved color and fatty acid composition.
Implementation Method 1
the chilled water in the first chilled water pipeline going into the first heat-exchange device, exchanging heat with the hot water coming from the first hot water pipeline to the first heat-exchange device
Implementation Method 2
the chilled water in the second chilled water pipeline passing through the first condensing unit, condensing the gas generated inside it during the refining process
Implementation Method 3
the raw oil going into the evaporation unit after being preheated inside the preheating unit and being separated into the first light component materials and the first heavy component materials
Implementation Method 4
a deacidification and deodorization system, wherein each of the deacidification system and the deodorization system comprising a preheating unit, an evaporation unit, a first condensing unit
Implementation Method 5
a decoloration system, wherein the decoloration system comprising a first reheating unit, a first distillation unit, a second condensing unit
Data Source
AI summary
This application provides an oil refining system and method, including a water circulation system with a chilled water circulation unit including chilled water equipment and a chilled water pipeline, a hot water circulation unit including hot water equipment and a hot water pipeline, and an ambient temperature water circulation unit including an ambient temperature water pipeline. The oil refining system further includes a deacidification system, deodorization system, and a decoloration system to implement a systematization and automation of oil refining.