Water treatment of lipid material
Present invention relates to a novel process for purification of lipid material for further use as such as e.g. a source of fuel or chemicals.
1. A process for removal of plastics from a lipid material, the process comprising:
a) heating the lipid material;
b) adding water to the lipid material, wherein an amount of added water is 0.1 to 5% (wt %) wherein the added water does not contain an acid;
c) allowing efficient contact of water and lipids to enable impurities to transfer to water phase;
d) separating the lipid material from step c) by centrifugation, settling, decanting or evaporating; and
e) subjecting the separated lipid material from step d) to a filtration step to remove solid impurities; and
f) optionally subjecting the lipid material from step d) or filtrate from step e) to a post treatment to thereby remove plastics in the lipid material.
2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the lipid material is selected from fats or oils of animal origin selected from fish based oils or fats, suet, tallow, blubber, recycled alimentary fats, or a lipid material/oil of plant, microbial selected from one or more of tall oil or the residual bottom fraction from tall oil distillation processes, vegetable or plant based oil or fat selected from sludge palm oil or used cooking oil, microbial or algae oils, free fatty acids, oils originating from yeast or mould products, oils originating from biomass, rapeseed oil, canola oil, colza oil, tall oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, hemp oil, olive oil, linseed oil, cottonseed oil, mustard oil, palm oil, arachis oil, castor oil, coconut oil, starting materials produced by genetic engineering, and biological starting materials produced by microbes selected from algae and bacteria or any mixtures of said feedstocks, or a lipid material used in the process may also be fossil based, selected industrial from various oils.
3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the lipid material is of any type of animal origin selected from fats or oils or any mixtures thereof and selected from fish based oils or fats, suet, tallow, blubber, or recycled alimentary fats.
4. The process according to claim 1 , comprising:
heating the lipid material a temperature selected to be of about 40° C., about 170° C. to about 40° C. to about 200° C., about 40° C. to about 120° C., about 50° C. to about 110° C., about 60° C., about 100° C., about 40° C., about 50° C., about 60° C., about 70° C., about 80° C., about 90° C., about 100° C., about 110° C. or about 120° C.
5. The process according to claim 1 , comprising:
performing step c) by vigorous mixing, slow mixing, counter current flow, dynamic cavitation or acoustic irradiation.
6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the process does not include a bleaching step.
7. The process according to claim 1 , comprising:
selecting the plastics from polyethylene, Bakelite, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, poly(methyl methacrylate), rubber or synthetic rubber, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinylidene chloride, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, high impact polystyrene, polyamides, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyethylene/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyeurethanes, or any mixtures thereof.
8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polyethylene.
9. The process according to claim 1 , comprising:
removing up to 100%, original content of polyethylene in the lipid material, or removing at least about 20%, or at least about 30%, at least about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 80%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 98%, at least about 99% of polyethylene.
10. The process according to claim 2 , wherein the lipid material is of any type of animal origin selected from fats or oils or any mixtures thereof and selected from fish based oils or fats, suet, tallow, blubber, or recycled alimentary fats.
11. The process according to claim 10 , comprising:
heating the lipid material a temperature selected to be of about 40° C., about 170° C. to about 40° C. to about 200° C., about 40° C. to about 120° C., about 50° C. to about 110° C., about 60° C., about 100° C., about 40° C., about 50° C., about 60° C., about 70° C., about 80° C., about 90° C., about 100° C., about 110° C. or about 120° C.
12. The process according to claim 11 , comprising:
performing step c) by vigorous mixing, slow mixing, counter current flow, dynamic cavitation or acoustic irradiation.
13. The process according to claim 12 , wherein the process does not include a bleaching step.
14. The process according to claim 13 , comprising:
selecting the plastics from polyethylene, Bakelite, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, poly(methyl methacrylate), rubber or synthetic rubber, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinylidene chloride, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, high impact polystyrene, polyamides, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyethylene/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyeurethanes, or any mixtures thereof.
15. The process according to claim 14 wherein the polymer is polyethylene.
16. The process according to claim 15 , comprising:
removing up to 100%, original content of polyethylene in the lipid material, or removing at least about 20%, or at least about 30%, at least about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 80%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, at least about 98%, at least about 99% of polyethylene.