Steam Stripping Process for Oleochemical Purification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing fatty acids from unrefined oils fail to efficiently remove impurities like ketones, aldehydes, and phenols, leading to reduced product quality and increased raw material costs due to the need for refined oils.
Innovation Solution
A process involving steam stripping in a counter-current column to separate de-acidified oils from unwanted by-products, followed by fractionated condensation to recover high-quality fatty acids, which can then be used for transesterification and hydrogenation, significantly reducing the content of impurities and minimizing waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If high pressure transesterification is used to process unrefined oils, then the ability to use cheap unrefined raw materials with high free fatty acids is improved, but the quality of the final product deteriorates due to conversion of impurities into difficult-to-separate chemical species
Solution Approach 1:
The process segments the impurity removal into distinct stages: preliminary esterification removes free fatty acids, followed by steam stripping that separates ketones, aldehydes, and phenols into different distillate fractions. This segmented approach allows each impurity type to be addressed separately, maintaining product quality while using unrefined oils.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies preliminary esterification and steam stripping treatments to unrefined oils before the main transesterification process. This preliminary action removes impurities that would otherwise interfere with subsequent processing, enabling the use of cheap unrefined materials without compromising final product quality.
2Manufacturing precision
If low pressure transesterification with refined oils is used, then the quality of the final product is improved, but the raw material cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts unwanted impurities (ketones, aldehydes, phenols) from unrefined oils through steam stripping and separates them into a distillate fraction. This extraction process creates a purified oil phase suitable for high-quality transesterification, eliminating the need to purchase expensive refined oils while maintaining product quality.
3Loss of substance
If conventional steam stripping is used to remove free fatty acids, then de-acidified oil is obtained, but unwanted by-products like ketones, aldehydes and phenols remain in the product
Solution Approach 1:
The steam stripping process is segmented into multiple fractionation stages that separate different impurity types into distinct distillate fractions based on their volatility and condensation behavior. This allows selective removal of ketones, aldehydes, and phenols while recovering fatty acids in a separate stream, achieving both de-acidification and comprehensive impurity removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different treatment conditions to different portions of the steam stripping output: the first distillate fraction receives one level of treatment while the second distillate fraction receives different treatment. This local quality approach optimizes removal of specific impurity types in different process zones, ensuring comprehensive purification.
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 process achieves a substantial reduction of unwanted by-products, improving the quality of fatty acids, alkyl esters, and alcohols, while reducing waste and raw material costs, with impurity levels decreased by up to 99% and waste material representing less than 1% of the total raw material.
Implementation Method 1
unrefined fats or oils are subjected to steam stripping in a counter-current column to produce (i) a bottom fraction of de-acidified fats or oils, (ii) a first distillate consisting mainly of fatty acids and glycerides, and (iii) a second distillate comprising fatty acids and essentially all unwanted ketones, aldehydes and phenols
Implementation Method 2
a first distillate of the de-acidification column containing mainly - which means about 50 to about 99 % b.w. - fatty acids, the rest being glycerides
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
Suggested is a process for obtaining fatty acids with reduced content of by-products, characterised in that (a) unrefined fats or oils are subjected to steam stripping in a counter-current column to produce (i) a bottom fraction of de-acidified fats or oils, (ii) a first distillate consisting mainly of fatty acids and glycerides, and (iii) a second distillate comprising fatty acids and essentially all unwanted ketones, aldehydes and phenols; and (b) said bottom fraction (i) containing the de-acidified fats or oils and said first distillate (ii) containing fatty acids and glycerides are combined.