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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water

Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water

Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water

Product catalog summary
Evaporation Technology for Glycerine Concentration
Introduction: Glycerine, also known as propantriol, is a versatile trivalent alcohol used in various industries as a lubricant, solvent, plasticizer, and humidity stabilizer. It is characterized by its unlimited miscibility with water and alcohols, low freezing point, thermal stability up to 180°C, non-toxicity, and hygroscopic nature.
Production of Glycerine: Glycerine can be produced through saponification or hydrolysis of natural fats and oils, fermentation of sugar, hydrogenation and cracking of carbohydrates, or synthetically from propylene. Commercially significant methods include the hydrolysis of animal and vegetable fats and oils, saponification of neutral fats, and esterification of rapeseed oil for biodiesel production.
Evaporation Plant Design: Designing an evaporation plant requires consideration of product-specific properties, plant efficiency, and local conditions. Key factors include initial and final concentrations, organic impurities, salt content, energy costs, and installation conditions. The boiling point elevation of glycerine-water solutions increases with concentration, influencing plant arrangement and evaporator type selection.
Evaporator Types: Various evaporator designs are used based on concentration needs and operational efficiency:
  • Natural Circulation Evaporator: Suitable for smaller evaporation rates, it operates without circulation pumps, reducing costs.
  • Circulation Evaporator with Divided Boiling Chamber: Used for concentrations up to 90%, it saves heating surface by passing the product through separate chambers.
  • Falling Film Evaporator: Ideal for higher evaporation rates and energy savings, it allows for small temperature differences and higher effect numbers, reducing steam consumption.
  • Forced Circulation Evaporator/Crystallizer: Necessary for salt-containing glycerine to prevent sodium chloride precipitation.
Conclusion: GEA Wiegand provides reference plants for glycerine concentration, offering solutions for final concentrations from 86% to 98.8%. The choice of evaporator type and plant design is crucial for achieving desired glycerine concentrations efficiently.
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Catalog excerpts

Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-1

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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-2

Evaporation technology for the concentration of glycerine water Glycerine, also referred to as propantriol, is a trivalent alcohol which due to its special properties is used in many sectors of industry as lubricant, solvent, plasticisers and humidity stabilisers. Glycerine can be produced by saponification or hydrolysis of natural fats and oils, by fermentation of sugar, by hydrogenation and cracking of carbohydrates or synthetically of propylene. The hydrolysis of animal and vegetable fats and oils (saponification glycerine), the saponification of neutral fats (spent lye glycerine) and, in recent times, the ...

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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-3

Different concentrations and qualities of glycerine are sold. For this reason, the preparation of raw glycerine which ‐ depending on the production process ‐ is produced with 8 ‐ 15 %, has to meet different requirements. Design of evaporation plants Numerous information are required and marginal conditions have to be considered to find the optimal solution for the particular and customized operating requirements. The following items are especially important: • Product‐specific properties such as initial concentration and final concentration, type and amount of the contained organic impurities ...

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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-4

For smaller evaporation rates the Wiegand natural circulation evaporator (fig. 4) is frequently used. Its liquid content is smaller, the required construction height is lower and thanks to the fact that circulation pumps are not required it can be operated easily and at very low cost. For higher concentrations up to approx. 90 % the circulation evaporator with divided boiling chamber (fig. 6) is used in order to save heating surface. The product passes three separate chambers one after the other and for this reason, the concentrations and boiling temperatures are different each time....

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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-6

For higher evaporation rates and for the use of a thermal or mechanical vapour recompressor in order to save energy the falling film evaporator (fig. 6) offers important advantages. Cooling water Service water The use of a falling film evaporator as high concentrator with very low boiling pressure allows to achieve final concentrations of up to 99.8 %. When evaporating salt‐containing spent lye glycerine sodium chloride will precipitate during the concentration if the saturation concentration is exceeded. Contrary to the circulation evaporator which requires a min. temperature difference of 6‐10 °C for a stable ...

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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-7

Fig. 13: 3‐effect falling film forced circulation evaporator, heated by thermal vapour recompressor A Glycerine water feed B Glycerine water discharge C Vapour condensate D Live steam E Ventilation F Cooling water G Service water Fig. 15: 1‐effect falling film high concentrator, directly heated with live steam A Glycerine water feed (>90%) B Vapour from the pre‐evaporator C1 Live steam condensate C2 Glycerine condensate C3 Vapour condensate D Live steam E Ventilation F Cooling water G Service water K Glycerine water discharge (>99.5%) ...

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Wiegand® Evaporation Technology for the Concentration of Glycerine Water-8

We live our values. Excellence • Passion • Integrity • Responsibility • GEA-versity GEA Process Engineering GEA Wiegand GmbH Am Hardtwald 1, 76275 Ettlingen, Germany Phone: +49 7243 705-0, Fax: +49 7243 705-330 [email protected], www.gea.com © GEA Group AG. All rights reserved. P17E 072012 GEA Group is a global engineering company with ­ ulti-billion euro sales and ­ perations in more than m o i 50 countries. Founded in 1881, the company is one of the largest providers of ­nnovative equipment and p ­ rocess technology. GEA Group is listed in the STOXX® Europe 600 Index.

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