An Iowa-based maker of biodiesel production equipment has come up with a purification method that makes the handling and removal of purification media easier, safer and more efficient for biodiesel plant operators.
This article from Biodiesel Magazine says Heartland Biodiesel Supply’s patent-pending design got its inspiration from the water treatment industry where ion exchange resin is widely used:
The same column design can be used for Eco2pure or any ion exchange resin—the only difference being the flow direction in the columns. Heartland Biodiesel Supply designates columns to be used for Eco2Pure media as HBD DRY-CLN, and those to be used with ion exchange resins as HBD ION.
The columns are built on a three-way tilt axis for easy draining, whether Eco2Pure media or ion exchange resins are being removed, and can be securely held in place while the bottom hub system is removed in one step, eliminating the need for a crew of workers and heavy equipment to exchange spent media. It also reduces workers’ contact time with the spent, hazardous material, which is laden with caustic, methanol and other chemicals.
Heartland Biodiesel Supply has incorporated its proprietary distribution system into this design, which can extend the life of purification media. Westphal said many system designs on the market result in fractured flow where some of the media in the column do not come into contact with the biodiesel being purified, but Heartland Biodiesel Supply’s new columns create a plug flow that allows the fuel being purified to contact all of the media present in the columns, thereby extending the life of the media at a cost savings.
More information is available on Heartland’s Web site.