Modelling of Hybrid Method for VOC Removal from Process Wastewater: Distillation and Hydrophilic Pervaporation

The study is motivated by the industrial problem from pharmaceutical industry, which is ethanol and methanol removal from process wastewater. To complete this goal hybrid method is investigated and optimized. Two distillation columns are sufficient for separation of alcohol-water mixture. Suitable water can be purified as bottom product of first column. Ethanol and methanol purification is achieved with combination of second distillation column and pervaporation. The target of this research is to rigorously model and optimize the separation of water-ethanol-methanol ternary mixture in professional flowsheet simulator environment. The minimal sufficient membrane transfers area and number of minimal theoretical stages of the columns are determined. Cost estimation is also investigated according to Douglas methodology. Considering the simulation and economic results it can be determined that, the hybrid configuration is suitable for separation of ternary mixture in 99.5 weight percent purity.

Review of Different Purification Techniques for Crude Glycerol from Biodiesel Production

The global glycerol market has experienced a surplus in recent decades due to an increase in biodiesel production and thus created a new form of challenge in terms of purification of the crude glycerol. Various techniques have been developed worldwide on purification of crude glycerol. These processes include chemical pre-treatment, methanol removal, vacuum distillation, ion exchange, adsorption, solvent extraction and membrane separation technology to mention a few. In Nigeria, domesticating these technologies or techniques to suit our peculiar situation and also be cost effective needs a critical evaluation of all the available options. This review, therefore, summarises the progress of crude glycerol purification technologies using various techniques as compared with the process technology developed by researchers at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos Nigeria.

Process systems for the carbonate interchange reactions of DMC and alcohols: efficient synthesis of catechol carbonate

Reactive methanol removal either by adsorption or by azeotropic distillation promotes complete conversion of different alcohols to the corresponding carbonates.

Evaluación de los Parametros Fisicoquímicos en Reactores Discontinuos de Lodos Activados para el Tratamiento de Aguas con Metanol.

Context: There are currently several types of clean technologies aimed at decontamination of industrial waste water, such as activated sludge systems. These systems have proven effective in the removal of organic matter and colloidal in domestic wastewater and industrial, biosorption of heavy metals, and removal of pathogens and nutrients (N and P). The latter motivates the study of a controlled treatment system of activated sludge to scale, so as to demonstrate whether it can also be useful in industrial plants for treating water with methanol.Method: The treatment system of activated sludge was designed and built to scale in laboratory level to study different concentrations of methanol in waste water from one industry. We assembled five treatment systems and then measured physicochemical parameters as: pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and loss of methanol. These measures were taken at 0, 24 and 48 hours by quadruplicate to observe the behaviour of the system in attempting the reduction of methanol.Results: The treatment system obtained an average loss of 10.3% methanol. On the other hand the average dissolved oxygen decreased in the time although chemical oxygen demand is variable. Each system with different concentration of methanol exhibits particular behaviour.Conclusions: This research suggests that biodegradation of methanol in waste water is possible, as it was shown in the controlled treatment systems. In addition, it indicates that further investigation on this type of clean technology is promising for the management of activated sludge for methanol removal at industrial scale.