Glycerine processing plants

Losses are a natural part of any processing plant. The control and reduction of the losses will, in part, determine the economic effectiveness of the plant s operation. All areas of the glycerine recovery plant can produce losses. In storage, fermentation can cause serious losses of glycerine due to the formation of trimethylene glycol, gases, and acids during decomposition. 

In the hydrolysis of fats, a small amount of water dissolves in the fat and reacts to form an acid and glycerine. Then the glycerine migrates to the water phase. The differential equation representing this process was derived and checked against a plant test by Jeffreys, Jenson Miles (Trans Instn Chem Engrs 29 389-396, 1961). Flow rates per unit cross section are L of the fat stream, G of the water stream.. Other symbols are,... 

By 2006, the U.S. had 77 ethanol plants producing more than 3 billion gallons of ethanol per year. Canada produced an additional 60 million gallons. Corn was the feedstock in 62 of the 77 U.S. plants. Other feedstocks included seed corn, corn and barley, corn and beverage waste, brewery waste, cheese whey, corn and milo, corn and wheat starch, potato waste and various sugars. The U.S. had 11 additional plants under construction and 55 proposed. West Central Soy processes soybeans to a food grade oil. Alcohol and a catalyst are then used to produce biodiesel fuel and glycerin. 

One of the first plants nitrating glycerine by the Biazzi process was in operation at Schlebusch in Germany [43]. For a plant with a rated output of 800-1000 kg nitroglycerine per hour a nitrator of 250 1. capacity was used. 

Bournay, L., Casanave, D., Delfort, B., Hillion, G. and Chodorge, J.A. (2005) New heterogeneous process for biodiesel production a way to improve the quality and the value of the crude glycerin producedby biodiesel plants. Catal. Today, 106, 190. 

The triglycerides (triesters of fatty acids with glycerin) are the basic raw materials for the manufacture of soap utilizing a variety of processes. These triglycerides, as a renewable resource, occur widely throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. 

A typical commercial batch splitting plant (Lurgi) operates at 230°C/400 psig with over 96 percent split yields after two changes of water to remove the glycerin byproduct. The Sweetwater (glycerin/water mixture) is circulated continuously from the base to the top of the autoclave in this process.10... 

Although still limited, there is also some interest in using biomass-derived raw materials (bio-ethanol, glycerine) in ammoxidation processes. These processes could be of value only in the context of valorization of side streams in bio-refinery plants. However, owing to the growing interest in the latter, it may be expected that some opportunities will arise for the ammoxidation of biomass-derived side-products in the near future. 

Oils and fats have been important throughout human history not only for food, but also as lubricants, polishes, ointments, and fuel. The reaction of oils and fats with alkali (saponification) produces soap (salts of fatty acids) and glycerin. This chemical process was known to the Romans and continues to be of significant commercial importance. Today, tens of thousands of tons of soap are produced annually from tallow and plant oils. Tallow is a by-product of the meat industry, while the principal plant oils are dependent on extensive plantations—palm and palm kernel oils from Indonesia, Malaysia, and India, and coconut oil from the Philippines and Brazil. Twentieth-century chemists designed more effective synthetic, crude-oil-based surface-active agents (surfactants, e.g., sodium linearalkylbenzene-sulfonate or LAS) for fabric, household, and industrial cleaning applications, and specialty surfactants to meet the needs of consumer products industry such as milder skin and hair cleansers. 

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