Hitachi, Ltd.

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Toshimi Mukushi

Sankichi Takahashi

Masahiro Yoshida

Katsuya Ebara

Harumi Matsuzaki

Toshio Sawa

Kenkichi Izumi

Akira Watanabe

Tsunehiko Takakusagi

Tetsuo Yamaguchi

Setsuo Saitou

Joshiro Sato

Yoshiaki Okazima

Mithumasa Komai

Katsumi Sakaguchi

Yasumasa Yamane

Gel beads of microbial cells or enzymes enclosed in gels are produced by forming a surface liquid stream of a gelling agent flowing from the center toward the peripheral wall of a vessel containing the gelling agent by a lower rotor on the liquid surface of the gelling agent, and dispersing a colloidal suspension of microbial cells or enzymes into a droplets by an upper rotor and allowing the dispersed droplets to fall onto the surface liquid stream, thereby contacting the droplets with the gelling agent. The lower and upper rotors may have vanes radially provided at a periphery of a lower and upper sides, respectively. In place of separate rotors, a single rotor may be used with lower and upper surfaces which respectively provide the functions of the lower and upper rotors. The lower and upper surfaces may also have radially provided vanes. The lower and upper rotors or the lower and upper surfaces of a single rotor are spaced sufficiently from each other so that gelling agent is not splashed by the lower rotor or surface onto the upper rotor at surface. The bead size of gel beads can be adjusted by adjusting the number of revolutions of the rotor, and gel beads of smaller bead size can be produced in a mass production scale without any problem of nozzle clogging and without using a number of nozzles of smaller size.

Apparatus and process for producing gel beads of microbial cells or

The disclosure is related to a method for removing crude oil sludge, which is convenient for removing sludge while the crude oil is transported. The method for removing crude oil sludge from crude oil includes the steps of:

Method of removing crude oil sludge

A multi-stage distillation plant consisting essentially of a multi-flash evaporator provided with a multi-flash chamber which is divided into a heat recovery section and a heat rejection section. In this multi-stage flash distillation plant, the aforesaid flash evaporator is provided with a deaerator for deaerating cold sea water, a thickener for separating brine containing a relatively great amount of seeds, from concentrated brine which has been extracted from a front chamber of the final stage flash chamber, and a seed mixing tank for obtaining a seed-mixed brine, whereby part of the sea water which has passed through the deaerator is supplied as a feed sea water to the rear chamber of the final stage flash chamber, while the brine containing a relatively great amount of seed and extracted from the thickener is joined to the seed-mixed brine fed from the seed mixing tank. Thus, the confluent brine thus joined together is discharged for deaeration into the final stage flash chamber from a distributor provided in the rear chamber thereof. According to another aspect of the invention, the aforesaid deaerator is omitted and the feed sea water which has not been subjected to deaeration is joined to the aforesaid confluent brine and is discharged for deaeration from the distributor.

Multi-stage flash distillation plant

Growing community of inventors

Hitachi, Japan

Toshimi Mukushi