Distillation apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a distillation apparatus and, more particularly, to a distillation apparatus for recovering a high purity product through fractionation of volatile components from a material to be distilled, by using thermal energy and centrifugal force. The distillation apparatus can recover a high purity product from the material to be distilled without significant damage by reducing a pressure drop according to driving of the apparatus and thereby minimizing the temperature difference in the apparatus.

Claims

1. A distillation apparatus comprising: a body into which a distillation target material is introduced from an upper portion and gas is introduced from a lower portion; a rotation axis formed in up and down directions and configured to be axis-rotated in the body; a plurality of rotary cones that has a lower end fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the rotation axis and a horizontal-direction diameter being widened toward an upper end; a plurality of fixed cones spaced apart from each of the plurality of rotary cones in up and down directions and having an upper end fixed to an internal surface of the body, and a horizontal-direction diameter being reduced toward a lower end; and at least one fin formed on a lower surface of each the plurality of rotary cones to extend in a direction toward the lower end of the plurality of rotary cones from the upper end of the plurality of rotary cones, and formed at an angle of 30° to 60° with respect to the lower surface of the plurality of rotary cones in a rotation direction of the plurality of rotary cones.

2. The distillation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: at least one fan formed to protrude from a selected outer circumferential surface of the rotation axis, and extended by a predetermined length to be tilted at an acute angle with respect to the down direction of the rotation axis.

3. The distillation apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one fan is extended to be tilted at an angle of 10° to 60° with respect to the down direction of the rotation axis.

4. The distillation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body includes: a distillation target material inlet formed at one side of an upper portion and configured to allow a distillation target material to be introduced thereinto; a gas inlet formed at one side of a lower portion and configured to allow the gas to be introduced thereinto; a gas outlet formed at a remaining side of the upper portion and configured to allow the gas to be discharged therefrom; and a product outlet formed at a remaining side of the lower portion and configured to collect a high purity product.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a distillation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a shape of a fin included in a distillation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a distillation apparatus according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a shape of a fin included in a distillation apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a shape of a fan included in a distillation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an effect of a distillation apparatus according to the present invention.

(7) FIG. 7 is another diagram showing an effect of the distillation apparatus according to the present invention.

BEST MODE

(8) Hereinafter, a distillation apparatus will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.

(9) Prior thereto, terms or words used herein shall not be limited to having common or dictionary meanings but should be construed as concepts not departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention according to the principle whereby the terms are conceptually defined in the most appropriate way in order to describe the present invention in the optimal way.

(10) Accordingly, the embodiments in the specification and configuration shown in the drawings are merely illustrated for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the invention, and it will be understood that the present invention is to cover various equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the embodiments when the application is filed.

(11) As shown in FIG. 1, a distillation apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention may broadly include a body 100, a rotation axis 200, a rotary cone 300, a fixed cone 400, and a fin 500.

(12) The body 100 may be formed to accommodate the rotation axis 200, the rotary cone 300, the fixed cone 400, and the fin 500, and a distillation target material may be introduced from an upper portion and gas (steam) may be introduced from a lower portion.

(13) The body 100 may include a distillation target material inlet 110 for introducing a distillation target material thereinto, which is formed at one side of an upper portion of the body 100 to allow a distillation target material to be introduced from the upper portion and to be moved in a downward direction via gravity, and may include a gas inlet 120 for introducing the gas thereinto, which is formed at one side of a lower portion of the body 100 to allow the gas to be introduced from the lower portion and to be moved in an upward direction opposite to the distillation target material.

(14) The body 100 may include a gas outlet 130 that is formed at the other side of the upper portion of the body 100 to allow remaining gas to be discharged to the outside among the gas introduced from the upper portion, and a collection unit 140 that is formed at the other side of the lower portion to collect a high purity product obtained by removing a volatile material from the distillation target material introduced from the upper portion.

(15) However, positions for forming the aforementioned distillation target material inlet 110, the gas inlet 120, the gas outlet 130, and the collection unit 140 may be changed in various ways in various embodiments, and thus are not particularly limited.

(16) The rotation axis 200 may be formed in upper and lower directions in the body 100 and may be formed to be axis-rotated in a selected direction.

(17) In this case, the body 100 may include a rotation axis controller 210 or the like for supplying power for rotation of the rotation axis 200.

(18) A lower end of the rotary cone 300 may be fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the rotation axis 200, in which case a horizontal-direction diameter of the rotary cone 300 may be increased toward an upper end and the rotary cone 300 may be rotated along axis-rotation together with the rotation axis 200.

(19) The rotary cone 300 may be rotated together with the rotation axis 200 in a rotation direction while the lower end of the rotary cone 300 is fixed, in which case a horizontal-direction diameter of the rotary cone 300 may be increased toward an upper end (the rotary cone 300 is formed in the form of a bowl with a wide upper portion), and thus an introduced distillation target material may be distributed with a thickness that is reduced by centrifugal force due to rotation of the rotary cone 300, may be moved toward an upper end, and may fall onto the fixed cone 400 positioned below the rotary cone 300.

(20) The fixed cone 400 may be spaced apart from the rotary cone 300 in up and down directions, an upper end of the fixed cone 400 may be fixed to an internal surface of the body 100, and a horizontal-direction diameter of the fixed cone 400 may be reduced toward a lower end.

(21) That is, the rotary cone 300 and the fixed cone 400 may be spaced apart from each other in up and down directions, and thus a plurality of layers may be formed in the body, and through rotation of the rotation axis 200, the rotary cone 300 may be rotated together in an axis-rotation direction of the rotation axis 200 between up and down directions of the fixed cone 400.

(22) The fixed cone 400 may be formed in a shape corresponding to a section of the rotary cone 300 and may guide the distillation target material that falls from the upper end of the rotary cone 300 onto the lower rotary cone 300.

(23) The fixed cone 400 may further include a fixed cone extension unit 410 for connecting fixed cones 400 in up and down directions and firmly fixing the fixed cones 400 to an internal portion of the body 100, but is not limited thereto.

(24) The fin 500 may be formed on a lower surface of the rotary cone 300 to extend in a direction toward a lower end from an upper end.

(25) The fin 500 may be installed on the lower surface of the rotary cone 300 and may be rotated together with the rotary cone 300, and may increase an ascending flow velocity of the gas introduced from a lower portion of the body 100 to thus facilitate removal of volatile components included in the distillation target material and to also increase a detention time of the distillation target material, thereby increasing removal efficiency in the distillation target material.

(26) The fin 500 may be formed in a shape, a height of which is increased toward the upper end of the rotary cone 300, thereby increasing ascending air current.

(27) There may be various embodiments, for example, the fin 500 may be formed to be widened toward an upper end as a diameter of the rotary cone 300 is increased, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

(28) In this case, according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the fin 500 of the distillation apparatus 1000 may be formed at an acute angle with respect to a lower surface of the rotary cone 300 based on a rotation direction of the rotation axis 200. (According to an embodiment of the present invention, the acute angle between the fin 500 and the lower surface of the rotary cone is indicated by β.)

(29) The fin 500 may be inclined in the rotation direction of the rotation axis 200 to have an acute angle of 30° to 60° with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone 300, and in detail, may be formed at an acute angle of 45° with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone 300.

(30) The fin 500 may be formed at an acute angle based on the rotation direction of the rotation axis 200, and thus a pressure drop due to the distillation target material that falls due to gravity may be reduced by a predetermined degree to minimize a temperature difference between layers in the body 100.

(31) Table 1 and FIGS. 6 and 7 show experiment data for proving an effect based on the aforementioned shape of the fin 500 and show a comparison between the distillation apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention in which the fin 500 is inclined in a rotation direction of the rotation axis 200 and a conventional spinning cone column (SSC).

(32) In this case, with regard to the experiment, the body has a radius of 0.17 m, a radius of a rotation axis is 0.033 m, a radius of a rotary cone is 0.15 m, a radius of a fixed cone is 0.17 m, and an acute angle of the fin with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone is 45°.

(33) A rotation velocity of the rotation axis is 52.36 rad/sec, and the gas introduced from a lower portion of the body is supplied with a flow rate of 110 liters/min and is discharged to the outside through an upper portion of the body.

(34) In Table. 1, Comparative Example 1 shows an SSC without a fin and Comparative Example 2 shows an SSC in which a fin is installed at a right angle α with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone as shown in FIG. 4.

(35) As seen from Table 1 and FIG. 6, the distillation apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention has pressure drop that is reduced depending on an angle change of the fin 500 compared with Comparative Examples 1 and 2, and as seen from Table 1 and FIG. 7, the distillation apparatus 1000 has turbulent kinetic energy (k) and turbulent dissipation (epsilon) which are increased compared with Comparative Example 1 without a fin.

(36) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Comparative Comparative Present Example 1 Example 2 Invention Pressure drop [Pa] 23.95 21.17 18.72 k [m.sup.2/sec.sup.2] 0.11 0.20 0.18 Epsilon [m.sup.2/sec.sup.3] 8.60 23.15 21.36

(37) That is, the distillation apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention may have driving efficiency that is enhanced along with an increase in turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent dissipation compared with Comparative Example 1 without a fin, and simultaneously may have a temperature difference in the apparatus as pressure drop is reduced by a predetermined degree compared with Comparative Example 2.

(38) It may be advantageous that the efficiency of an operation of differentiating and collecting a high purity product without being seriously damaged from the distillation target material is increased.

(39) <Distillation Apparatus According to First Embodiment of the Present Invention>

(40) As shown in FIG. 3, the distillation apparatus 1000 according to a first embodiment of the present invention may broadly include the body 100, the rotation axis 200, the rotary cone 300, the fixed cone 400, the fin 500, and a fan 600.

(41) The body 100, the rotation axis 200, the rotary cone 300, and the fixed cone 400 have been described above, and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted.

(42) As shown in FIG. 4, the fin 500 may be formed on the lower surface of the rotary cone 300 to extend toward a lower end from an upper end, and as shown in FIG. 4, the fin 500 may be formed at a right angle α with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone 300.

(43) As shown in FIG. 5, the fan 600 may be formed on a selected outer circumferential surface of the rotation axis 200 to extend in up and down directions, in which case a lower end of the fan 600 may be formed at an acute angle with respect to an axis of the rotation axis 200 based on the rotation direction of the rotation axis 200. (An acute angle between the fan 600 according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the axis of the rotation axis 200 is indicated by γ.)

(44) The fan 600 may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the rotation axis 200 to protrude in a rectangular shape and may be rotated together with the rotation axis 200 to thus increase an ascending air current introduced from the lower portion of the body 100.

(45) In this case, the lower end of the fan 600 may have an acute angle of 10° to 60° with respect to the axis of the rotation axis 200, and in detail, may have an acute angle of 30° with respect to the axis of the rotation axis 200, thereby increasing turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent dissipation in the body.

(46) Table 2 and FIGS. 6 and 7 show data for proving an effect based on the aforementioned configuration of the fan and the shape with the rotation axis and the acute angle, and show comparison between the distillation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention including the aforementioned fan and the conventional SSC.

(47) In this case, with regard to the experiment, the body has a radius of 0.17 m, a radius of a rotation axis is 0.033 m, a radius of a rotary cone is 0.15 m, a radius of a fixed cone is 0.17 m, an angle of the fin with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone is a right angle α, and the fan is formed at an acute angle of 30°.

(48) A rotation velocity of the rotation axis is 52.36 rad/sec, and the gas introduced from a lower portion of the body is supplied with a flow rate of 110 liter/min and is discharged to the outside through an upper portion of the body.

(49) In Table. 2, Comparative Example 1 shows an SSC without a fan and Comparative Example 2 shows an SSC that includes a fin but does not include a fan.

(50) As seen from Table 2 and FIG. 6, the distillation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention has pressure drop that is barely different from Comparative Examples 1 and 2, but as seen from Table 2 and FIG. 7, the distillation apparatus has turbulent kinetic energy (k) and turbulent dissipation (epsilon) which are increased compared with Comparative Examples 1 and 2.

(51) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Comparative Comparative Present Example 1 Example 2 Invention Pressure drop [Pa] 23.95 21.17 21.39 k [m.sup.2/sec.sup.2] 0.11 0.20 0.28 Epsilon [m.sup.2/sec.sup.3] 8.60 23.15 26.96

(52) That is, the distillation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention may have turbulent kinetic energy (k) and turbulent dissipation (epsilon) which are increased, thereby advantageously increasing transfer efficiency of a material.

(53) This may increase efficiency for removing a volatile material from a distillation target material.

(54) In addition, the distillation apparatus 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may be formed in such a way that the fin 500 is formed at an acute angle with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone 300 based on a rotation direction of the rotation axis 200.

(55) The fin 500 may be inclined in a rotation direction of the rotation axis 200 to have an acute angle of 30° to 60° with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone 300, and in detail, the fin 500 may be formed at an acute angle of 45° with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone 300.

(56) The aforementioned fin 500 may be formed with an acute angle with respect to the lower surface of the rotary cone, thereby reducing pressure drop.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(57) 100: body 110: distillation target material inlet 120: gas inlet 130: gas outlet 140: collection unit 200: rotation axis 210: rotation axis controller 300: rotary cone 400: fixed cone 410: fixed cone extension unit 500: fin 600: fan