Whatever refined. 1 the following oparaticn: urities that is 4) Separation of si in cil. impurities not 44) Separation of free way iii) Partial separation of dissolved moisture that is dehydration or drying. iv) Degumming. v) Separation of free fatty acids or neutralisation. vi) Separation, reduction or destruction of pigments, bleaching. vii) Separation, r of volatile odour or taste that is decdorisation. Neutralisation, bleaching and deodorisation are really part of the refining process and are generally carried out ty the user of oil and not by the producer. They were therefore not studied. 2. SEPARATION OF SOLID IMPURITIES The separation is often cerried out simultaneously with that of water. It can be achieved by A. Settling. B. Screening. ©. Centrifugation. D. Filtering.. A. Settling ‘The speed of sedimentation is governed by the Stokes law which is applicable to particles of any dimension except those of colloidal dimension. ‘The law is as under: 2 tas a vy = eSo (a2 - 4) 18~ 1520 + where vo = «Speed of sedin: g = Acceleration, (981 oz/seo2) a = Diameter of th a2 = Density of the medi p = Viscosity of medium. © equatioa shows +: directly proportional to diameter, to the differ particles and that cf the medium end inversely pro- portional to the viscosity of the medium with all units expressed in the c.g.8. sysver. The largest solid impurities to be separated are the fibre. ‘The cellular debris are the smallest. The length of the cells ranges fram 20 to 100 microns. ‘noir width is approximately 2) microns. Salcium oxalate crystals are approximately 100 microns long and have a diameter of a few microns only. They are often grouped into bundles of a i: number of needles. The viscosity of cil is shown in the graph cf figure . Figure 32 contapoises [re i ; 1 een eee 2 i ! i i : ea ia I | ee | - | CT 16 i —2 fl i | 1——} Sal | | if ish! { a i L pea | rs | FT _ | fei Ld | Li th 50 60 rn 80 30 150 200 250 Tonperatuse The density of fibr2 and celiuler debris is equal or higher then 1 and scmatizes is as high ae l.4. The diameter of the particles ranges froma few microns to severa: millineters. Tae approximate density of 2i1 is given in table (vide details in append:90° 100° ! The equation skows being equal, the settii: as high as that at 70°C For 20 microns partic. a settling time of 5 hours meter and a temperature of &0 sedimentation is slowed down by in the settling tank: minimised by the lege The proportion crude oil derived froz th processes is extremely variable a table 51. Composition of crude oi} [ sewraction [__g cin Tg water Tg nos ea | Eoceae [Resse [averse Range javerage| Range |avera 2 jarbi trary [Centrifuge [70-89] 80 |10-25) 17 | 30 |) &s | Press j65-90| 75 |10-30, 20 | Sj 75 | screw seve|ions 66 |10-40, 24 | 20 9.5 | wet yo i i yro-e5| = - | 2.0 2xtraction|10~ 25} 263y_ meas uring in his question has been studi Ling of sera! It should ve stated a: continuous pressing process, 3/4 of the pericarp in i crude oil. In other words, the producti: of 1 tonne of clean oil by’ that process implies the removal of oil from acproximately 150 kg cf dry solide derived from the crude oil (30 to 40 kg in the centrifugal extraction Dilution of crude oil Dilution of crude oil greatly settling. study of. the settling of press crude oil in relation to dilution shows that the rate of separation is highest for the undiluted crude oil, that it slows dom for a 50% dilution then increases again if dilution is further increased. From that point the rate of settling appears to remain constant. A close relationship seems to exist between the viscosity of crude oil and rate of sett]. The variations in the viscosity cf crude oil an. the rate of settling in relation to dilution are plotted in figure 32, ai/ain. Viscosity Rate of settling | 9 50 700 150 200)What exples variations (in viscosity 23 centrifuging of 2 centrifuge gives soze after a @ supernatant sediments can applied to er and not two as occupies a por sediments. of vrese crude oii, saturated wi thou Referring to noted that the rati) press crude oil is pectively thet is 1 Water to sediments is fuge crude oil. In order to increase oil 12¢ us add 10, 100 instance. ‘The caht: shows that when 50 parts of wate: erude oil, a micdt, between the super: that poiat, the se saturated wisi water containing 5 times. (cenurifuge) and 7 times (press) their weight of warér. at the beginni. absorb water (increase rate of settling). ine rate of settling 2 crease in decrease in the viscosity of he seiner: the medium). a It has been further observed that of dilution close to saturation, the vi course of heating. that water avser: an instantareou: her Swelling is probad! reaction. It may be added at shis stege that sterilised fruit (dry or wet) also absorb water pressure existing in the digester. it Mor, contrary to some assertions, the addi into the digester 30 150 kg of we of fruit) has n¢ een Doserved to of sludge. The dilution of crude oil appears 72 the stability of the susp the oil-water mixture. separation, the ain is but Yor the cen advantageous to zain solids in suspensi ing stability thro methylcellulose).The fact that oxt decreases the stability xpl: ed by changes in ) tension and by e: water of const colloids. ds stated in the preceding chapter, szatic separation of press crude oil does not lead so satisfactory recovery of oil from the sludge That process could not therefore te used indus trially. However, it is probadly possiole to recover a large amount of cil settled rude oi] and then centr: cht diagram of static separation of boiled undiluted press crude oil in a 200 litre vertical ani made of plexiglass is given boloy Figure Table 52 | # Settle 011 on i ao Peceai sscas Sh po 8 wo al a 1525 4 20 8 3 3 2 3 3033 2 4035 2 6 35 ° 8035-4 Od Time'in minutes 0102030050070 —«O The figures show that after 40 minutes almost all the oil that can be separated has come up to the surface. At that point, there remeins 65% of homogeneous sludge. after dilution of that sludge with an equal volume of water aad a period of rest of 12 hours, oil to the extent of 2.5% of the initial amount is recoverable at the surface. The secondary sludge contains the following:- 16.5% oil in the top portion. 9.0% oi1 in the middle portion. 8.0% oil in the bottom portion. A further period of setvling does not lead to the recovery of additional oii. Further dilusion aaa practically no effect. Thie confirms the statement made. previously. Approximately 70% to 75% c? the oil settles quite easily but the balance of 25¢ cannot de separated by dilution and static setsling.The static goes not present much contrast, continuous s' advantages. For this trially as an experize: pilot plant. the crude oil subjze deriveé from 2 cont per hour capacity and ce The separation of crude ci. a 5m} settling tenk. The cru the press working a+ 67# of its 2 to 4 basket centrifuges of 2 Settling proceeds at normal for abou At that point, sedimen 4 their way decanted oil. It is thus necessary to stop ! erude oil feed for about 4 hours approximately. That installation operated during several weeks. Tt made it possible to establish tke following. 4 settling tank of 5m} is not sufficient to separate effectively the crude oil output of a 12 to i¢ tons capacity press. The tank volume must be 2t least doubled. The oil layer in the settling tank (adjustable by the height of the sximmer) must be thicker than that selected for the decantation of centrifuge crude oil. It is not important to remove the sludge but the seperated cil should not contain more than traces of impurities. The sludge containing approximately 10% of oil and 5% of non oily solide does not settie furt Finally the NOS content of sludge is virtually the same for top and the bottom portions. This last observation indicates that the removal of sand from Colin press crude oil di with an equal volume of water is noz possible static setcling. :paayeting- 9 - Figure 35 uous, Crude oil feed \| yy Plozislass Aajustabie level —~ oun = oT at “ Sampling > socks * ® ra Injection og live steaa Steaz soil = heeting SZ seater 1/10 imIn the pilot plant, cm out in 2 continuous setsl (vide figure 35). The conclusions 4 experiments carried out t are sume, i) Capacity: 500 xg per hour (2 water). for approzimately (18 minuses}. Zoid ii) Q4i2 recovery: is iii) Separation of Wes: 3 Te achieved the impuriti the continucusly settled oi} is 1.3% and 0.06# ressecvivay. This is too high and would net be suitetle in an industrial process. iv) Interface: it tines interfacial layer tends to increase and to ° and, after a O41 has serarated continues sets. again 500 xg down of v) Removal of sludge: The outyut is steady. The composition of sludge is constan’ from 11 to 13 and 4 to 6.5% (22 analyses). ude oi} ») Clarification of wet process A lot of difficulties mes experienced, probabl as a result of the high colloid content of crude oii. Phe efficiency does not exceed 65 to 70%. grude oi} Clarification of centri The process offers = static separation leads 35%. This may be increased + level vy a second sevarazica. advantage in carrying out furvh The very fast settling of centrifuge cr discontinuous press crude Sil is a consegy ‘the low content in airt, colloids and other sol in suspension. Among the latter, fruiz peetins deserve special mention.improve cake. ‘The addition was in ths digester or the centrifugation run. act Of the addition of s settling characteristios or crude the rate of settl: 3 samples of graphically in figure 36: (i) dontrol oil, (ii) Oil treated with 0.025% of alkyl-aryl- (41i) Oil treated with 0.5% of The examination of graph 36 leads to the following observations:~ i) The control oil separated completely after 30 minutes. 44) No.2 oil separated completely after 13 minutes. iii) No.3 of1 decanted completely minutes. In thet ¢ ment, i not possible to boi done for the other two tests) as result of the formation cf a amount of foam (th iv) The addition of water contairing 0.025% of alky-aryl- settling at + operation, but the end of it decreases less markedly than in the case of the control oil as a result, the last 10¢ of oil Control require 24 minutes to settle whilst in the case of No.2 oil only §.5 minutes are needed. v) The addision of 0.5% of alxyl-aryl- sulphonate slows down settling con- siderably. The analysis of the bottom layer in the’ case of oils No.l and 2 indicates that afver the times given above there is no more oil capable cf further settling. The same process was used with crude oil from continuous presses. No increase in the rate of settling was recorded whilst quite a lot of oil was found to remain in the bottom layer:inutos oct of surfactants the frate of cettling orade oi been observed she ing characteristics of coalescence of the experiment showed that subj quency vibrations led to bility. The technique was cals with screw press crude o: vitrasounds. The apparatus coi a_reed in its centre. 7 vitretes as of the flow of oil under high preseure ( of 18,000 to 22,000 cycles per sec: Ultrasounds of that frequency, coalescence of oil globules. Ca +! greatly stabilise the emulsion. vibrating reeds connected to an electromagnet (frequency 50 c/s) leads to coalescence around the reeds but no increase in the rate of setziing is recorded. As has been already mentioned, doi: improves the settling of crude. oi2. If steam injection is‘ used it should be ensured that the crud? oi] eétual steam. boils, and is not simpl; perature. Some emulsions break on},The dehydrati: for enough, 2nable y solids. Sof of 081 and con tion of crude oil @ laboratory ifficult to envi; that technizus. good separaticn possitl recorded. Sinilzrly of crude oil agri worthy of mentiol Sereening Screening whi from the four extractio: ears to be indispel Tt can be carried out cn or: after the first separation. advantages of the two aystezs m 12 as well as on antages and dis- compared. In practice, it of circuit wh important. In all cases sereen contains 2 lot 0: ‘The recycl operation bat neverthaless and entails additional can ¥ 3 In order to do away was tried either after or whilst they accumulate on technique is preferable from the pcint oF oil recovery but it dilutes erade cil sonetines undesirable. As an example, the composision of given in table 53. They were obtained wet process crude oil throug: 2 20 mesh strainer vibrating at 3000 rpm. Table 53 Composition of the solids retained on the vibrating soresn i jUnwasned soliés!¥ashed sclids ' Jeter of solids | 74.08 } 82.3% Cil on sclids | 6.7% 3.4% i 10.4% 178. 3# i 64.4% jp The solide were washed with a volume aqual to that of crude oil.washini ‘The always very screened material. sable to recycle. The study of i) Erequeney: 1400 and 3000 cycles per ‘Second. Inzroved results are obtained through an incr2ase in frequency. ii) Temperetur: As a result of its effect on the viscosity oF cil, temperature markedly affects the ¢ ney of screening. The best results are obtained at-100°C. Crude oil should not be screened at a temperature lower than 85° to gocc. iia) Size of perforations: Crude oil from wet extraction processes can be screened on 20 mesh or coarser strainers. Hot undi- luted press crude oil pesses through 20 to 30 mesk strainers. 4 second screening through 6C mesh strainer instance yields a large amount of constituted mainly by cellular debris. Sequential double screening does not appear desirable since the object cf screening is to retain ¢ bre which is a hindrance to centrizugation and not the cellular debris from waich oil is best recovered by centrifugation or even static separation. Heated up crude oil from presses or Centrifuges cen be east. screened, even on 120 aesh rs. A large amount of soliis is however retained. 60 mesh strainers appear best suited.* * Specification of strainers number of strand per inch Size of No- perforation 10 2.08 am 16+ - +2524 mm 20 0:39 mm 25 0:76 mm 30 0163 mm 35 0:51 mm 40 0.45 mn 50 0:36 am 80 0.38 ma 70 0:24 an 0:15 80 0:22 am orld 30 0:189m 0:12 200 0:168mn o.11 iio 0:15 3mm 0:40 120 0.141me 0.09 130 ol124me 0108 150 01105mm 0:08the dissributor,. poss: distribution trough The above conclusi| sereens used in oil sills. attached +o an horizontal shaft eccentric. Vibrations therefore take place in a vertical plane. The patvers Of the vibrations is governed not only by the type of screen but also by distance from the vibration naking device. The shape of the vibrations can range from a circle to a very elongated ellip mater: S Another type of screening used in flour mills has been tried: The "plan-sizter". vibrations oceur in @ horizontal plane, the saaft of the eccentric being vertical. Th 8 given exeellent results, better perhaps than che stendard vibrating screens. The hourly capacity per unit area is higher whilst oil removal from the reteined solids appears very effective. Additions] trialsare in progress. The cost of these suspended "plan-sifters" is, for a given output, lower than that of vibrat: screens mounted on e frame. Centrifugal screening as a result of the diffi vhe separation of th oil, the filtration in a 1.20 metre spinning at 1000 rpm was tried of the basket lined with canvas cloth. ie easy and the throughput very high. The capacity of a standard censr: sufficient to screen approximately 6 oil. The cleaning of the cloth is a: time consuming. It is contemp: metal gauze with oblorg perforations 0.1 to C.2 millimeter wide and 4 to 5 mm iong). The oi] content of the solids is fairly low but washing wi dces not lower 54 gives the results ooteined oil. Table 54 Soliss Fetaina Solids retained|the screen but on the screen |washed with aot Water on solids | 042 on solids 5.1% NOS on solids O11 on dry basisBefore closing this par: should be pointed out that ia were carriad owt on fil f wet process continuous press crud? oil with a view to studying the possible use oF en industrial vacuun rotary Filte he attempt was unsuccessful oming te tae ging of the filtering clct The problem of wifugation may be approached ina number of different ways. Some years trifugetion was simply a purificatil to oil derived from primary end secondary static separation (except in the case of the wet process). Soon afterwards, at the time of the introduction of gontinuous settling, vurificetion of oil continued to be carried out by centrifugation but in addition, the sludge derived froz the continuous settling tenk was also subjected to centrifugation. That technique is now standard procedure for oil mills of average to large capacity. Investigations were carried out with a view +o eliminating completely the s: mn of of2 by batch er continuous settling ané to replacing it by direct centrifugation of crude oil. the latter case two centrifugations are required, one of these replacing the static decantation. refore be examined a) Centrifugel separation of sludge. b) Purification of oil. a) Centrifugal sevaraticn of sludge At thie stage it should be mentioned that if settling is not made use of, the centrifugal separation of sludge becomes a’requisite. is because it is not possibue to treat crude oil directly in a purifier aver when it is relatively pure like that derived from centri- fugal extraction. Bowle clog ac quickly that frequent cleanings become necessary. Their capacity is at the most 3C ke o2 wat solids (for large centrifuges) corresponding approxi- mately to 6 kg of dry material. Sven with crude oil containing no mcre than 1# of non oily solids, the capacity cf e large bowl centrifuge (generally 12 xg of wet solids, that is 2.5 kg of dry material) between consecutive cleanings would only be 600 kg 4f the whole of the NOS were retained in the bowl. . Tais is of course not the case. if it is assumed that 80% of the HOS Zind their way into the dis charge the capacity of the machine would ve 3 tons of crude oil.Before centrifugal separation of screening of undiluted or diluted crude oil was found to ve necessary. Even relatively clean crude oil contains a certain amount of fibrous strands of length ranging millimeters. In the course of ce these strands accumulate at various places in the machine, more particularly around the dis- tribution holes of the plates and, evertuall obstruct them completely. This fibre is not discharged fron self cl2aning centrifuges. Eventually the bowl may go out cf balance as a result. Screening is therefore indispensable but there is no advantage in using toc fire a strainer which retains an importent portion of the cellular debris as centrifugation removes more oil from the latter than screening. this respect it is worth mentioning that it is an erroneous concept to assess the effectiveness of a strainer solely by the amcunt of solids it retains. Generally, the sludge separating centrifuges discharge the aqueous phase from crude oil con- tinuously and may discharge solids either con- tinuously or intermittently. The discharged aqueous phase contains between 70 and 90% of the non oily solics of crude oil. Half of ¢ sclids are dissolved and the rest is in suspension. Three sludge separating centrifuges were studied at Mongara: - Titan centrifuge - Bowi with plates - intermittent and automatic dis- charge of solids. - Werkspoor centrifuge - Bowl witk plates - continuous discharge of sediments. - Stork centrifuge - Bowl without plates. Continuous discharge of sediments. The capacity of the above centrifuges ranges from 2.5 to 12 tonnes per hour according to the type of machine and the composition of crude oil. i) Titan centrifuge The frequency of bowl discharging is contingent upon the NOS content of crude oil and more particularly upon the amount of sediments carried away in the aqueous phase. That amount is directly related to the ability of crude of1 to retain susrended solids. Fibre and large lumps of cellular debris do not remair in suspension wien subjected to powerful centrifugal force. In the case of cellular debris of email dimension, there seems to be an optimum concentration to keep them in suspension.In order to increase the prop NOS removable ay the aqueous pia: following procedures were tried:- - Increasing soluble Nos. proportion of - Increasing the viscosity of the aequeos phase discharge. - Removal of a portion of sediments at tke periph the bowl. 4 larger proportion of the sediments can be seluvilised by boiling the crude oil. T: question is discussed in a further secti The increase in viscosity of crude oil be achieved in the levoratory by additi. CMC (carboxy-methyl-celiulcse), but at scale the process was found $0’ be ineffecti At the rate of 1% and at 100°C, OMC exer marked effect but the cost is very hi concentration of 0.1% CMC still modifies significantly the viscosity but is too low to prevent the separation of sediments undar the effect of a large centrifugal force. The continuous removal of a portion of the sediments can be achieved ty a series of nozzles fitted at the bowl periphe: The process is not very effective and the capacity of the machine is reduced. It results from tests carried cut with that centrifuge that difficulties cen be rcrecast when using it for crude cil having = high sand content. When the sediments are fercefull, expelled from the bowl at the time of the discharge, a marked abrasive action occurs. The use of that machine is justified for liquids. with low impurities content whan the sediments can be discharged infrequently. Moreover, through a simple change of the towl plates, the machine can be cmverted into a purifier. Because of she automatic cleaning, the converted machine possesses a marked advantage over other types of bowl centrifuge in which sediments accummilate in tae bowl. The quality of the oil treated in that type of machine is quite comparable to that c: oil treated in conventional purifiers.uous dis 6 spokes rotor. A nozzle is fitted at the end of each of the branches. 4 constant charged through nour). The level of dy gravity disos bat by two inverced centrifugal pumps (fixed rotor and rotating liquid). One of hese pumps supplies enough water to ensure full discharge of liquid through the noazles (nozzle Qiameter 2 to 2.3 aillimeters). That machine nas been used for various types o? crude oil and more particularly for sozew press crude of1. The limiting factor es regards capacity is the amount of aqueous phase to 02 separated from crude oil and not vantity of oil. With a constant discharge of 5.3 tonnes per hour of water, it has been possible to collect up to 7 tonnes of oil per hour. chief advantage of the machine is its abi to deal with crude oil containing from © to i00% of oil without resetting or adjusta: ecting the efficiency among the Zactors af |B Ray be menticned. of the machine the foliowi: ~ Hourly throughout Contrary to wnas may be believed, the efficiency of oil renovel from the crude oi} is directly proportional to the hourly cuzput and therefore inversely prozortionel to the dwelling tine in the machine. The analytical results versus the crude oi] hourly output are shown in the table below Table 55 Effect of throughput on the oil content of NOS [iess than 2.5) 2.5 to 4.5 | Wore chan 51 | tonnes per i hour | O12 on Nos 23.8% | Percentage of | results lower than 15% 15% | | It is diffioult to give a satisfact explanation for the fact that a longer Awe ing time of the crude oi] in the bowl should lead to a leas effective extraction of cil from the NOS. It may de speculated that 3! the range of low hourly outputs, 2 larger amount of make up. ater is reauired since the capacity of the nozzles is constant.ig which crude versus dilution Effect of dilution ane boiling oil content on NOS (Results expre. % 031 on NOS) Wot | Brought | Boiled | Sciied on{voited| to lzor 15 jor 30 fboiling!minutas| to a to lead to et boiling The 100% dilution vest results. It seens either through steam injectior of ‘steam coils is suffidie satisfactory extraction of oil pears cases of 100% diluticn, boiling was cerrisd out either by steam injection or by steam coi. (126 and 11% 011 on NOS respectively). Zach result is the average of 8 tests carried out on samples taken whilst the machine was operating at } different taroughputs. The wear of the continuous discharge sludge centrifuge appears to be less severe than in the case of the previous one. The nozzles, although aade of spcical “met to be renewed periodically. between the resiss: nade of two. difze. was estal that tungsten carbide is & tines as durable as stellite (cobalt alloy). In the case of crude oil containing e large amount of sediments, the strainer placed in the feeding chazber has a tendency to clog although the size cf the perforations is larger than that of the sediments.- ain - The screen can ve cleared by 2 spray of water or simply by applying slight vioratipns to the chamber. A device toinpert vibrations to the strainer is being desi The continuous discharge sludge cenvrifuge of the type wader discuss: resents a umber of advantages in reszect °o: eratio: After stex self regulating make wp water addit that is required is to en ‘crude oi) does not overflow from the feeding chamber. By fitting an automatic float valve to naintai: a constant level the machine operates by itself and requires no supervision. Several factors ay however perturb the machine operation they are as follows:- Insufficiently high temperature of the crude oil, insufficient pressure of the make up water (et least 3 meters), clogged up nozzles. The last point is important. Iv has been observed that as soon as one nozzle gets blocked, sediments accumulate in that cranch of the star and consequently eddies occur in the bowl. Thais induces atnormally high losses of oil in the discharged effluent. In order to avoid them, the strained crude oil must ve crotected from exposure to sources of contamination. Moreover, a quick response indicator must be fitted te signal a drop i throughput of the nozzles. Such an indicator may consist of a bell controlled by the time of filling of the recording vasculators. The inertia of such a system is low since it is at worst equal to the time taken for one of the basculator compartments to fill up. it Mongana, the time to fill up one section wae 40 seconds when operating the centrifuge at 5.4 tons ver hour. The clogging of one of the rozzles was therefore detected by the increase in the time Fequired.to fill up one compartment (48 seconds). machine A number of problems specific to th have still to be studied. Among these:- ~ Reason for some sudden emulsifications. ~ Effect on oil removal of plates with Porforations close to the seater lengthening of the zone of oi1 extraction). ~ Gurgling sounds detected in the bowl - Slow and recurring variations of the machine capacity.beast not stan to maintal pm centrifuge o: increasing i. plates and r: culties are experienced however as 4 these modifications. cifuge (Stork): discharges Tuent continuously as tie previous centrifuge but operates without pump. ‘Tre evacuation of oil from the bowl is controlled through a valve placed on_ the outlet pipe located at the centre of the bowl. Its disadvantage compared to the previous machine is to yield oil containing more moisture and more impuri- tes (several percentage units against C.7% moisture and less than 0.014 impurities); also to lack a regulator of the oil water interface. It may happen therefore that throttling cf the oil discharge, the bowl fills up with oil and the latter is eventually discharged through the nozzles. The machine is particularly adapted to the treatment of sludge or oily water. No make up water is required. The water content of sludge is Bigh enough. Its efficiency of separation is sligztly lower than that of bowl and plate centrifuges. Compared to the intermittent discharge centri- fuge (Titan) the machine offers the advantage of rugged, continuous and less prone to wear. Its operation requires only limited supervision. The very principle on waich it is designed precludes its utilisation as a purifier. Settling characteristics of crude oil that is study ae f the < coefficient. Clarification losses occur in the sediments trapped in the centrifuge bowl and in the solids of the discharged effluent. In toth cases, the loss consists of the "free oil" which can ve recovered and of the "oil vound to the 70S". Methods were evolved to assess them sevarately. They consist prolonged centrifugation in a laboratory machine o: the material to be analysed. They made it possible to evaluate also thes coefficient, that is the centrifuge efficiency. The latter is solely governed by the amount of “free oil” lost since the amount of oi] bound to the NOS is practically constant. ‘The efficiency of three different types of centrifuge was determined and was found to be close tol, at any rate higher than 0.99.»b) The coeflicient that racteristi derived from various ty according te various e: ‘They are oil and vy the compositicn of possible conditions, cellular debr: Petain 15 to 257 of oil whereas the insoluble constituents of the NOS instance) can de brought down to approximately As regards the water soluble constituents oF @ OS (pectin for inctance), their o centrifugation is close to nil. conten ore BBR 8 R ws As has been mentioned before, constituents of the HOS are soluole at least can be solubiliseé. ‘The ano ound to the NOS is therefore close to settling capacity can therefore »: calculation. Its reliance nas veen experimentally. Purification Tt consists in removing traces of impurity and a few tenths of percentage unit of water still present in oil after static settling or centrifugal separation. Four different machines were tested, three with vowl and plates cevolving 2¢ 6000 rpm (4e Laval, Titan, Melotte) and cone with a spindle shaped bowl revolving at 15000 rpm (Sharpies). The separation of the solids is quali, in any of these four machines with an output ranging from 350 to 4500 kg of oil per hour. A slight brighter oil appears to be derived from the macnine with plateless bowl in which eccelerations higher than 10,000 g are applied. The chief difference between the machines is the amount of solids that can se retained in the eventual dehydration that may occur ther: Two of the centrif.gee can hold 2 kg of sediments i.e. 0.4 kg of dry acliis in the bo (Melotte and Sharples). These two machines ic 22% permit direct dehydration. The other two provide for dehydration, the first through the natural air draught created by the rotation cf the bowl and the second through provision of a fan since natural ventilation is not sufficient. The adventege of the latzer machine is to eject the sediments automatically through the operation of a suitable valve (Titan). All these centrifuges yield purified oil con- veining less than 0.01% impurities, which detection limit of the standard deternination pro- cedure and less than 0.35% of water. The mcisture content can be reduced to about 6.05% if the centri- fuges are used at low througaput.It is know that crude oil contains substances of a complex nature which are soluble or at least diepersable in freshly produced oil tut which pre~ cipitate under certain conditions, particularly through ageing of the wet oil. These sudstances are described in the palm oil industry as "aucilages". They consist mainly of phosphatides. Some oils (soya bean oil for instance) contain exceptionally high amounts of mucilage. Sefore use, they snould ve suitably treated in order tc remove then. mucilage content of palm oil is very low, hardly more than a few hundreds of a percent. 4 number of users of palm oil have however complained abou’ deposit found in oil which they regard as just another impurity similar to sand, fibre, organic debris which are normally present in the oil. Carefully controlled shipments of ot] in which strict conditions of cleanliness were achieved failed to induce a marked improvenent. In the course of storage and transport, precipitates materialised at tee bottom of the land or ship tanks. These precipitates are described as "impurities of maturation". Users of pelm oll elininate mucilages in the course of the alkeline refining in the case of utilisation as basic material for margarine production or by treatment with surfactants in the case of induswrial utilisation (aetellurgy ond plating). An attempt was made to separate the "impurities of maturation" into basic constituents. The oil was mixed with water at high temperature (90°C), The resulting substance consisted mainly of soap. Table 57 gives the relevant information. Industrial techniques of nucilage removal 5 (degumming) are numerous. They are covered by @ number of patents (30, 31, 32). The industrial techniques can be classified as follows: i) Degumming by alkaline treatment. ii) Degumming by acid treatment. iii) Deguming vy organic and mineral salts. iv) Degumming by absorption. v) Degumming by physical methods (altrafiltration, passage through an electric field). : vi) Degumming by aqueous treatment.The last of pove 2: at industria! Mongana a: kmowledge it been used for has It involves the following ste i) Precipitation o aqueous treatment. di) Separation of the preci: possibly. iii) The purification | 1.51% i Soap 100 { | weigat 2.926 | | Ether extract) nitrogen i [13.85% 34a | | Phosphorous 0.118 | | j Ash 3.01% \ ig | 100% | See | Soap expressed in g for i | 100 g of #Fa (molecular : | weight 256) 38.4% i | WNot readily hydrolysetle soap 4.5% | | oO | Extraction Fe03 3 ; | residue si02 3 = 86.15% be 30.9% Cad 0.60%! MgO 0.CO® | | esidue 11. 59 Dry mucilagesdissolve or are dispersatie in oil. They swell under the effect of moisture abs on and form substances which agglomerate and become soluble in oil. As a result of the high moisture content, their density is higher than that of oil. Mucilage can be made to absorb moiscure shrough the following processes!—= Centr: tion of water in suitable gravity disc. tion using an - Centrifugal strai mixture through Several of the above eth time of contact process te anot Semperature aust be achioved nucilages can redispi The separation of the static settling or better ifugation. In either be retained eliminated together with The raw mucilages can be 5 entrifugation Unlike some vegetal of soya bean and groundnut, those purification in acatone de'not dar posure to air and are nct y con- ist of a waxy white coloured powder which keeps indefinitely. Degumming. modifies the phys palm oil particularly as regard of solidification. It doze not seem bleachability but leads to markedly lower Yesson loss. It may quite possibly tave an effect on the oil resistance to oxidation and consequently in an indirect manner on bleachability. It shoula be noted that the drying of oil o to less than 0.1% moisture as is required to avoid acidificatic. totally prevents the separation of maturation impurities. ;- 177 - CLARIFICATION OF SCREY PRESS CRUDE OF The clarification is organised accord: flow sheet of figure 368. Crude oil is collected in a tank where dilution with hot water takes place. Dilution is continucus and can be controlied by an appropriate equipment (double tank basculator). The diluted crude oil is brought to boilin, by live steam injection. It is vhen strat: through a 20 mesh rotary screen (3000 rpa). The Strained material is then fed into 2 large capacity sand cyclone and recycled ym 2 to 3 times through it with the overflow returned to the strained oil receiving tank. That tank is provided with steam injection. All steam injectors are equipped with a silencer which reduces noise and also vibrations. The diluted crude oil is centrifuged in a bowl and plates centrifuge with continaous discharge of the solids. -The make up water is provided by a constant level tank fitted with a heat exchanger controlled by a thermostatic steam valve. The amount of effluent discharged by the machine is recorded by a basculator. The amount of make up water is measured by a flow-meter of the mercury colum type. The instantaneous throughput of crude oil is therefore known at all times. Clarified oi] is collected ina calibrated tank. it is then heated up by a thermostatically controlled device and passed through a centrifugal purifier and finally a drier after which it is pumped up to storage. Clarification and purification are completely automatic and continuous and only require super- visory labour.- 1 - vorynandes 074038 qNOYIIM TTC epNso sROTE MesOR Jo LOTRLOTSTIUTO —UORRUT ED = oravadntoy ToqoH MOTE BuraTty c oie i — [CBR Ta josteyoxe ava y x0794 eaten xoTg—o dana p- oatfs orvereomreg |~oer 3 * fe i a8 3 ! ie evs Paotogroot eee \a3 i \g8s 38 1 aa 13% Boe Hiei From left to Westzalia and é : orude oil.