Transportable Gel Polymerization for Polyacrylamide Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of high molecular weight polyacrylamides is energy-intensive due to high water content, leading to significant operational and capital expenditures for drying and re-dissolving processes, and on-site manufacturing is costly due to the need for separate plants and transportation of raw materials.
Innovation Solution
A process involving the polymerization of an aqueous solution containing acrylamide, stabilized with non-polymerizable and polymerizable compounds, in a transportable unit, followed by transportation and dissolution at a different location, reducing the need for extensive drying and re-dissolving infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If gel polymerization is used to produce high molecular weight polyacrylamides, then polymer quality is improved, but energy consumption increases due to extensive drying requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful drying step from the conventional gel polymerization process by transporting the wet gel directly to the dissolution site, eliminating the need to remove 65-80% water content and thereby eliminating energy-intensive drying operations while maintaining polymer quality
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of the conventional sequence of drying then dissolving, the patent inverts the process by transporting the wet gel and performing dissolution at the application site, reversing the traditional workflow to eliminate energy consumption associated with water removal
2Ease of operation
If polyacrylamide powders are produced through drying, then storage and transport become easier, but capital expenditure increases due to required drying and size reduction equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the drying and size reduction steps from the production process, transporting the wet gel directly to the dissolution location, thereby eliminating the need for capital-intensive drying equipment, size reduction equipment, and associated infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs polymerization in transportable units that can be moved to the dissolution site, eliminating the need for fixed plant infrastructure and reducing capital expenditure on permanent drying and processing equipment
3Loss of energy
If on-site manufacturing is implemented, then transportation of finished goods is reduced, but logistical costs increase due to transportation of raw materials to multiple sites
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses transportable polymerization units that can be deployed to multiple dissolution sites, allowing a single production unit to serve multiple locations and reducing the overall need for raw material transportation across different sites
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the production process into modular transportable units that can be independently deployed to different locations, allowing flexible distribution of production capacity and reducing centralized raw material transportation requirements
4Ease of manufacture
If dilute aqueous solutions are shipped to customers, then on-site dissolution equipment is eliminated, but transport costs become extremely high
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of shipping dilute solutions or requiring on-site dissolution of powders, the patent inverts the approach by transporting the concentrated wet gel and performing dissolution at the customer site, eliminating both high transport costs and the need for complex on-site dissolution equipment
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 and capital expenditures by eliminating the need for extensive drying and re-dissolving processes, while also reducing the logistical costs associated with transporting raw materials to multiple sites.
Implementation Method 1
acrylamide obtained by hydrolyzing acrylonitrile in water in the presence of a biocatalyst capable of converting acrylonitrile to acrylamide
Implementation Method 2
polymerizing an aqueous solution comprising at least acrylamide thereby obtaining an aqueous polyacrylamide gel
Data Source
AI summary
Process for producing aqueous polyacrylamide solutions by polymerizing an aqueous solution comprising at least acrylamide obtained by hydrolyzing acrylonitrile in water in the presence of a biocatalyst capable of converting acrylonitrile to 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 hold in a transportable polymerization unit from a location A to a location B. The aqueous polyacrylamide gel furthermore comprises at least one stabilizer for prevention of polymer degradation.