Screw Press Cooling via Extraction Agent Vaporization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Screw presses used for extracting liquids from press cakes face challenges in maintaining low temperatures during the pressing process, which affects product quality and operational safety, particularly due to the high costs and complexities associated with using supercritical CO2 as a coolant.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that introduce a liquid extraction agent into the pressing chamber, which remains liquid at the prevailing temperatures and pressures but vaporizes upon exit, providing a cooling effect and improving oil yield while minimizing the drawbacks of using supercritical CO2, such as n-butane or isopentane, are used to cool the press cake and oil.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If supercritical CO2 is used as a coolant during pressing, then the temperature of the press cake and pressed liquid is reduced, but the device complexity and operational safety requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive supercritical CO2 cooling systems with a simple water spray system. Water is introduced as a cheap, readily available coolant that evaporates to provide cooling, eliminating the need for complex CO2 storage, handling, and recovery infrastructure while achieving the same temperature reduction effect
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential cooling function from the complex supercritical CO2 system and separates it from the expensive CO2 infrastructure. By using water spray that evaporates to cool the press cake and pressed liquid, the system retains only the necessary cooling effect while removing the cumbersome CO2 storage and handling requirements
2Temperature
If supercritical CO2 is used as a coolant, then temperature control is improved, but safety risks and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes hazardous supercritical CO2 with safe water as the coolant medium. Water poses no asphyxiation risk, requires no special storage facilities, and eliminates the need for complex safety monitoring systems, thereby dramatically improving operational safety while maintaining effective temperature control through evaporation cooling
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the typically harmful high-pressure CO2 system into a safe water spray system. By using water at atmospheric or near-atmospheric pressure that evaporates to cool, the system transforms a potentially dangerous high-pressure gas system into a safe, simple liquid spray system that achieves the same cooling effect without the associated safety risks
3Temperature
If cooling is applied during pressing, then product quality is improved, but the viscosity of pressed liquid increases making drainage difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies cooling locally and temporarily during the pressing process to protect product quality, then allows the pressed liquid to warm up naturally during drainage. The water spray is applied only to the press cake and pressed liquid in the pressing chamber, not to the drainage system, ensuring that cooling benefits are achieved without permanently increasing viscosity
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling action is applied periodically during pressing rather than continuously during drainage. The water spray provides temporary cooling when needed for quality control, then the system allows natural warming during the drainage phase, creating a periodic cycle of cooling and warming that maintains both quality and operational efficiency
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 effectively reduces the residual fat content in the press cake, enhances oil quality by maintaining lower temperatures, and allows for easier extraction and drainage, while being more cost-effective and safer than using supercritical CO2, with isopentane offering a significant cooling effect and ease of recovery.
Implementation Method 1
an extraction agent is introduced into the pressing chamber of a pressing device, which is selected so that it remains liquid for as long as possible at the temperatures and pressures prevailing inside the pressing chamber and gaseous at ambient pressure at a target temperature. As a result, the extraction agent vaporizes abruptly when it leaves the pressing chamber
Implementation Method 2
the extraction agent vaporizes abruptly when it leaves the pressing chamber and the extracted oil can be conveyed in liquid form out of a trough arranged at the bottom of the press
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a device for pressing, wherein an extraction agent is fed into the pressing chamber in addition to the mechanical pressing process. The extraction agent serves to extract oil from the press cake and simultaneously to cool the press cake and the pressed oil, so that a high product quality of press cake and oil and simultaneously a good oil yield can be realized.