Sinco Engineering, S.p.a.

Uop Lcc

Versalis S.p.a.

Giuseppina Boveri

Dario Giordano

Guido Ghisolfi

Paul Alvin Sechrist

James F McGehee

Hussain Ali Al Ghatta

Paolo Sarchi

Ezio Giungato

It is disclosed an apparatus for separating a least one solid from a solids/fluid mixture, said apparatus comprising a separation chamber and a cushion chamber. The separation chamber comprises a top end, a bottom end, at least one wall, and an inlet port for introducing the solids/fluid mixture, said inlet port having an inlet port vector. The cushion chamber comprises at least one boundary wall, and it is adapted to maintain a cushion of the solids/fluid mixture at an intersection of the inlet port vector and the cushion chamber when the separation chamber and the cushion chamber are connected by a communication port at the intersection of the inlet port vector and the at least one wall. The communication port has an area at least a size of an impact area of the solids/fluid mixture on the at least one wall. The communication port may be formed by the erosion of the at least one wall of the separation chamber caused by the solids/fluid mixture at the impact area. It is also disclosed a process for separating a solids/fluid mixture, wherein the solids/fluid mixture is introduced through the inlet port of the separation chamber and contacted with a cushion of a previously introduced solids/fluid mixture, the solids/fluid mixture being allowed to interact with the cushion of the previously introduced solids/fluid mixture. The at least one solid is separated from the fluid by density difference in the separation chamber. Preferably, the solids/fluid mixture is steam treated lignocellulosic biomass which is inserted in the disclosed apparatus at high velocity.

Apparatus and process for separating a solids/fluid mixture

A process and apparatus is disclosed for heating or cooling polymer solids in a dispensing section of a solid-state polycondensation reactor. Gas is delivered to the dispensing section of the reactor in which it cools polymer solids in the dispensing section by direct heat exchange. Part of the gas is withdrawn at a point proximate to the dispensing section of the reactor and is cooled. The rest of the gas ascends through a reactive section of the reactor and purges polymer solids of impurities. The gas withdrawn from the reactive section of the reactor is oxidized of impurities and dried and then combined with the gas withdrawn proximate to the dispensing section of the reactor. To achieve uniform heating or cooling of the polymer solids in the dispensing section, a preferred ratio of mass flow rate of gas to the mass flow rate of solids is recommended.

Process and apparatus for cooling polymer in a reactor

Cooling process for polyester and/or polyamide resins downstream of solid-state polycondensation plants in which the cooling is carried out by passing the solid material through two types of equipment in series, of which one is a fluid-bed, the other is a solid/wall cooling equipment. The fluid bed equipment is fed with a stream of inert-gas coming from the solid-state polycondensation reactor, previously subjected to by-products purification, drying and cooling.

Cooling process for polyester and/or polymide resins

Process for the purification of an inert gas recycled from a solid state polycondensation (SSP) reactor of aromatic polyester resins, comprising the step of adding the gas with oxygen or gas containing oxygen in stoichiometric quantity or in such an excess that the gas at the outlet of the catalytic bed contains no more than 250 ppm of oxygen, circulating the gas on a catalytic bed comprising Pt or Pt and Pd heated at temperatures from 250.degree. to 600.degree. C. and recycling the gas to SSP reactor with previous drying to eliminate the water formed in the oxidation stage.

Growing community of inventors

Tortona, Italy

Giuseppina Boveri