Papers by Keyword: Pilot Plant

Abstract: Heavy metal pollution is one of the most important environmental problems today even threatening human life. A large number of industries produce and discharge wastes containing different heavy metals into the environment and do not comply with current EU directives. European project BIOMETAL DEMO (www.biometaldemo.eu) aims to demonstrate the feasibility of the application of novel biotechnologies for the treatment of metal polluted wastewaters through the development of three pilot plants to be implemented in metal polluting representative industries.The biotechnologies that have been evaluated in project BIOMETAL DEMO are: metal bioprecipitation by sulphate-reducing bacteria and immobilized phytase biocatalysis, and metal biosorption on agricultural industry by-products and biopolymers such as alginate & chitosan based materials.After the evaluation of these techniques, an optimized bioprocess or a synergy of two integrated bioprocesses will be selected to design and build two demonstration pilot plants for scaling-up the metal removal biotreatment.Finally, an economic, social and technical analysis of the benefits of such biotreatment of metal polluted industrial wastewater will be carried out for the corresponding and related industrial sectors.

Abstract: The CSIR-Ti process produces titanium metal powder through continuous stepwise metallothermic reduction of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) in molten salt medium, and represents a cost-effective alternative to the standard Kroll process to produce titanium metal. Subsequent to proving the CSIR-Ti process at bench scale producing batches of ±2 kg titanium powder, the design, build and test of a continuous 2 kg/h Ti pilot plant was authorised. The scale-up process highlighted limited expertise in South Africa with regards to handling molten salt and molten reducing metals. Such gaps in knowledge are addressed in this study, which discusses a number of the engineering challenges faced and solutions developed around agitation of molten salt reactors, process pipe heating and insulation, molten salt flow measurement and also feeding of a highly reactive molten reducing metal. Scaling up the CSIR-Ti process, with requirements of continuous operation, compact size, effective agitation, pumping and maintaining salt in the molten state brought an unusual set of challenges requiring development of unique and prototype equipment. Further challenges were encountered in the handling and continuous feeding of molten reducing metal at the relatively small scale of the pilot plant. Solutions developed and discussed in this study include custom-modified agitators, custom-developed flow meters for measuring molten salt and molten metal flows, and a custom-designed molten metal feed system. Specialised materials such as, ultra-high temperature heating tape and ultra-low thermal conductivity insulation had to be imported as well as a special high-temperature pump that can pump a slurry consisting of molten salt containing a high weight percentage of suspended metal powder. The experience illustrates the technological difficulty of bridging the chasm between science and technology in that many unforeseen problems are encountered when developing and scaling up a new technology.

Abstract: Biodiesel, as an alternative auto fuel for conventional fossil fuel, has drawn wide attention in recent years. In this research, a two-step process for biodiesel production using waste cooking oil as feedstock was studied in a pilot plant with a treatment capacity of 3 ton/d. The results show that: the process exihibited a good conversion ratio and the biodiesel displayed suitable physical-chemical properties in comparison with diesel fuel, such as flash point of 137°C, viscosity of 4.49 mm2/s, acid value of 0.44 mg KOH/g etc. The quality of biodiesel meets the agreement with the European specification defined by EN 14214. Afterwards, the mixture of biodiesel and diesel were test in the engine with a ratio of 50/50（v/v）, 20/80（v/v）, and 0/100（v/v）. It indicates the mixed fuel has a reasonable fuel consumption rates without diesel engine modification, when the biodiesel blended with 0# diesel as fuel. The present results demonstrated that the industrial scale plant would achieve promising objective with waste cooking oils and animal fats as raw material. Also, this biodiesel-based diesel fuel could be applied in Tianjin local public transportation system that improves its sustainable development.

Abstract: Seal oil fatty acids are the important natural source of some functional fatty acids, for example, DPA, EPA and DHA. The three kinds of effective components (DPA, EPA and DHA) in the rough finished product of seal oil account for about 20% of the total content. However, the healthcare applications using seal oil fatty acids require products with higher purity. To meet this requirement, it is necessary to selectively enrich the content of the effective components in the crude product. A pilot plant VTA wiped film molecular distillation unit is used to give a product (residue). The seal oil fatty acids in residue have a higher content of the effective components (about 26%) than the undistilled material with a content of about 20%. Feed flow rates and evaporator temperatures are varied to observe the resultant of the purity and yield of DPA, EPA and DHA in the residue and the residue to distillate split mass ratio. The maximum values of the purity in the residue fraction are 0.269 (301 °C), 0.263 (310 °C), and 0.266 (317 °C), and the maximum values of the split ratios and yields occur at 294 °C (1.392, 0.694), 299 °C (1.588, 0.727), and 309 °C (1.380, 0.685). Therefore, there is a trade-off between the yield and purity of DPA, EPA and DHA in the residue. The higher the temperature is, the higher the purity but the lower yield. In conclusion, seal oil fatty acids can be successfully purified for healthcare applications using a pilot plant wiped film molecular distillation unit and high vacuum.

Abstract: The RuO₂/TiO₂ photocatalyst was prepared by the dip-coating method, which use Ti mesh as the carrier and titanium tetrachloride and ruthenium chloride as the raw materials. In the same way, the mutil-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) air cathode was synthesized by using the stainless steel mesh as the supporter and the MWCNTs, manganese dioxide and Polytetrafluoethylene (PTFE) as the Substrate. The level of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and chroma are valuable reference index in the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of practical pesticide wastewater by the self-made pilot plant. The real pesticide wastewater is the typical high concentration organic wastewater and COD_cr concentration is above 10000mg/L. Practical running showed that the treated pesticide wastewater quality can meet the third grade standard for discharge of pollutants of the integrated wastewater discharge standard (GB8978-1996). The results showed that the removal efficiency of COD and decoloration efficiency were above 90.41% and 78.62%, respectively.

Abstract: The process to recover soda ash from mining solution is combined CO₂ stripping with falling film evaporation, and the stripping operation is the key step in the process, the processing installations include a CO₂ stripping tower, falling film evaporators and other accessories. The stripping and combined operation(linking CO₂ stripping with falling film evaporation) are implemented to examine tower operational conditions and ascertain how to efficiently concentrate mining solution, respectively. As a result, after the better design scheme(17-meter height packing) is evidently proposed and the process design is also favorably optimized, such as diminishing equipment sizes in a following industrial scale. Besides, the work also analyzes the solubility of Na₂CO₃ and NaHCO₃ in H₂O and discusses its probable equilibrium in the operation.

Abstract: The FFC-Cambridge process is a molten salt electrochemical deoxidation method that was invented at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy of the University of Cambridge one decade ago. It is a generic technology that allows the direct conversion of metal oxides into the corresponding metals through cathodic polarisation of the oxide in a molten salt electrolyte based on calcium chloride. The process is rather universal in its applicability, and numerous studies on metals, semimetals, alloys and intermetallics have since been performed at the place of its invention and worldwide. The electro-winning of titanium metal is a particularly rewarding target because of the disadvantages of the existing extraction methods. This article summarises the research work performed on the FFC-Cambridge process at the University of Cambridge and its industrial partners with a focus on the electro-winning of titanium metal from titanium dioxide. Topics addressed encompass the invention of the process, early proof-of-concept work, the identification of the reaction pathway, and the investigation and optimisation of the key process parameters. Also discussed are aspects of technology transfer and some of the development work undertaken to date.