Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Plant Technologies, Ltd.

Hitachi Plant Services Co., Ltd.

Takeyuki Kondo

Toshiaki Matsuo

Masayuki Kamikawa

Yasunari Sase

Kenichiro Oka

Masashi Tanto

Hiroyuki Ito

Naruyasu Okamoto

Tsutomu Kawamura

Takashi Nishi

Masami Matsuda

Ryoichi Haga

Tomofumi Shiraishi

Yasuhiko Tada

Keisuke Shibuya

Masaru Nanba

Hideo Hashida

Sei Murakami

Kiyotaka Ueda

An object of the present invention is to separate a material to be separated at a low cost and constant accuracy when the material to be separated is separated from a mobile phase containing the material to be separated through the passing of the mobile phase through a stationary phase, even if the mobile phase has a large volume. A separation device characterized in that a separation column provided with a stationary phase having a volume capable of processing the entire volume of a mobile phase containing a material to be separated is provided, the separation column is replaceable, and the usage count of the stationary phase reaches a lifetime count through the processing of one batch.

Separation device and separation method

Provided are a device and a method for efficiently producing a polyester by using 1,4-butanediol as a starting material. The device for producing a polyester includes: a preparation tank () for starting material slurry; a storage tank () for starting material slurry; an esterification reactor (); an initial polycondensation reactor (); a middle polycondensation reactor (); and a final polycondensation reactor (). An exhaust system for each of the initial, middle, and final polycondensation reactors includes a wet condenser (, or) using a liquid containing 1,4-butanediol as a coolant; and a hot well (, or) connected to the corresponding wet condenser. Herein, process scattered substances scattering with exhaust are collected, and hydrolyzed in the hot well, so as to be returned to the esterification step. This allows the polyester to be efficiently produced.

Device and method for producing polyester

This invention provides a cost-effective method for removing impurities from waste glycerin generated in the process of biodiesel production, so as to prevent a supercritical water reaction tube from clogging, when synthesizing acrolein by allowing supercritical water and acid to react with glycerin. The method for purification of glycerin of the invention comprises steps of: heating glycerin containing alkali metal, alcohol, organic fatty acid, and water under reduced pressure, so as to remove alcohol and water; adding sulfuric acid to glycerin from which alcohol and water have been removed, so as to neutralize glycerin; subjecting neutralized glycerin to centrifugation, so as to separate and remove a sulfate of alkali metal and organic fatty acid; adding a sulfate of alkaline earth metal to glycerin collected via centrifugation; and subjecting a mixture of glycerin and a sulfate of alkaline earth metal to centrifugation, so as to separate and remove a sulfate of alkali metal and an alkaline earth metal salt of organic fatty acid.

Glycerin purification method

An object of the present invention is to provide a technology which can suppress the blockage and abrasion of pipes and devices caused by the production of by-products and stably synthesize acrolein at a high yield, under a condition in which energy efficiency is improved by an elevated concentration of glycerol in a reaction liquid, in a process for synthesis of acrolein by reacting supercritical water and an acid with glycerol. An embodiment of the present invention includes: setting a concentration of glycerol in the reaction liquid at 30% by weight or lower; also cooling the reaction liquid to a temperature between a temperature (300&#xb0; C. or lower) at which the reaction stops and a temperature (100&#xb0; C. or higher) at which tar contained in the reaction liquid can keep a state in which its viscosity is sufficiently low; then separating and removing carbon particles from the reaction liquid; subsequently cooling the reaction liquid to a temperature which is a boiling point of water or lower and at which the tar component in the reaction liquid does not adhere to devices; and then decompressing the cooled reaction liquid.

Process for synthesis of acrolein

An object of the present invention is to provide an industrially applicable method for producing acrolein via treatment with supercritical water from glycerin obtained as a by-product during the process of biodiesel fuel production from waste animal/plant fat or oil with the use of an alkali catalyst. The present invention provides a method for producing acrolein, which comprises: a determination step of determining the hydrogen ion concentration in glycerin obtained as a by-product; an acid addition step of adding to the glycerin an acid at an amount calculated based on the results of the determination step so as to make the glycerin acidic; and a supercritical water treatment step of allowing supercritical water to act on the glycerin after the acid addition so as to produce acrolein from the glycerin.

Method and device for synthesizing acrolein

A device and a method for producing high-quality polybutylene succinate are provided. The method for producing polybutylene succinate comprises the steps of: preparing a raw-material slurry by mixing succinic acid or a derivative thereof with 1,4-butanediol in a raw-material slurry preparation tank; storing the raw-material slurry in a raw-material slurry storage tank while maintaining flowability; carrying out an esterification reaction of the raw-material slurry in an esterification reactor; and synthesizing polybutylene succinate with a polycondensation reaction of the ester in a polycondensation reactor, in which the polycondensation reactor is divided, from the upstream side, into at least an initial polycondensation reactor, an intermediate polycondensation reactor, and a final polycondensation reactor, a catalyst is added in an amount from 1000 ppm to 3000 ppm in relation to succinic acid or a derivative thereof, the reaction time in the intermediate polycondensation reactor ranges from 0.25 hours to 0.75 hours, and the reaction temperature in the final polycondensation reactor ranges from 245&#xb0; C. to 255&#xb0; C.

Device and method for producing polybutylene succinate

In order to perform organic synthesis process through action with supercritical water and acid stably while suppressing a trouble caused by a by-product, a method and an apparatus are provided, including the following steps. Water is supplied to high-pressure pumps () and () from water headers () and (), and a pressure-reducing valve () is regulated to increase the pressure to 35 MPa. Temperatures of preheaters () and () and a heater () are increased until the reaction solution is at a temperature of 400&#xb0; C. Acid (sulfuric acid) and an organic compound raw material (glycerin) are supplied from an acid header () and a raw-material header (') for action with the supercritical water to obtain a reaction solution. The obtained reaction solution is cooled to 100 to 200&#xb0; C. by first cooling () and a solid component included in the reaction solution is separated for removal from the reaction solution by a filter (), and then the reaction solution is cooled to a temperature of about 100&#xb0; C. or lower by second cooling () and pressure thereof is reduced (). Further, the reaction solution is cooled by third cooling () and then a synthesized product (acrolein) is captured.

Reaction process utilizing critical water

In order to provide, when a plurality of fluids each containing a different kind of substance are mixed and reacted, a reactor having a mixing channel capable of forming a multi-layered flow in a radial direction in the cylindrically-shaped mixing channel; improving mixing performance by synergizing swirling effects of mixture of turbulent flows and a swirling flow; and producing a reaction product with a high yield as well as high efficiency, a mixing channelwhich mixes fluidsandeach containing the different kind of substance is cylindrically shaped, and inlet passagesandwhich introduce the fluidsand, respectively, are plurally arranged in a manner offset from a central axis of the mixing channel

Reactor and reaction plant

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for commercially manufacturing acrolein in a large flow rate by making supercritical water and an acid interact with glycerin, wherein by efficiently mixing high-concentration glycerin and supercritical water with each other, the method is made capable of making the synthesis stably proceed with a high yield while the occlusion and abrasion of the pipes and devices due to the generation of by-products are being suppressed. The method for synthesizing acrolein of the present invention is a method for synthesizing acrolein by making supercritical water and an acid interact with glycerin, the method using a reaction apparatus including: a cylindrical mixing flow path for mixing a fluid including glycerin and a fluid including supercritical water with each other; a first inlet flow path, disposed offset from the central axis of the mixing flow path, for making the fluid including glycerin flow into the mixing flow path; and a second inlet flow path, disposed offset from the central axis of the mixing flow path, for making the fluid including supercritical water flow into the mixing flow path, wherein the first inlet flow path and the second inlet flow path are each provided in a plurality of numbers in such a way that the first inlet flow paths and the second inlet flow paths are alternately arranged so as to encircle the central axis of the mixing flow path.

Method for synthesizing acrolein

An equipment for producing polyhydroxycarboxylic acid, includes a ring-opening polymerization apparatus, a liquid phase devolatilizing apparatus, and a drying apparatus, wherein an indirect heat exchanger is connected to a vent gas discharge path of the liquid phase devolatilizing apparatus. The indirect heat exchanger captures a dispersed in-process substance containing hydroxycarboxylic acid cyclic dimers and transfers the substance to the ring-opening polymerization apparatus; a wet condenser and a hot well are connected to a vent gas discharge path of the indirect heat exchanger and that of the drying apparatus, respectively. The wet condenser captures a dispersed in process substance containing the cyclic dimers with the use of a refrigerant containing hydroxycarboxylic acid corresponding to the cyclic dimers and transfers the substance to the hot well; the hot well causes hydrolysis of the cyclic dimers for generation of hydroxycarboxylic acid; the generated hydroxycarboxylic acid is mixed with a refrigerant and the mixture is circulated to the wet condenser; and hydroxycarboxylic acid is highly concentrated via circulation between the wet condenser and the hot well and then discharged.

Equipment and method for producing polyhydroxycarboxylic acid

An incineration and melting furnace has a furnace main body that is filled with a conductive heat generation body (for example, graphite). Radioactive combustible materials in contact with the conductive heat generation body are burnt and the radiaoactive incombustible materials are melted. The resultant exhaust gases and the molten products flow downwardly in the conductive heat generation body filled region and flow out of a molten product discharging port. Noxious gases such as dioxins contained in the exhaust gases are thermally decomposed into a non-toxic state in a high temperature portion of the conductive heat generation region.

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Hitachi, Japan

Takeyuki Kondo