Freeze drying method and apparatus

Abstract: A method of freeze drying a substance comprising: freezing the substance in a freeze drying chamber so that a liquid component of the substance is frozen into a solid; sublimating the solid into a vapour; condensing the vapour on a cold condenser located within a condensation chamber in communication with the freeze drying chamber; and prior to condensing the vapour, pressurising the condensation chamber with a gas and allowing pressure within the freeze drying and condensation chamber to equalise so that the gas flows from the condensation chamber to the freeze drying chamber and thereby acts to inhibit the solid from entering the condensation chamber.

Description: This invention relates to a freeze drying method and apparatus for freeze drying a substance within a freeze drying chamber in which vapour produced by sublimation is condensed within a condensation chamber. More particularly, present invention relates to such a freeze drying method and apparatus in which the condensation chamber is pressurised prior to the condensation of the moisture in order to help prevent the substance being freeze dried from contaminating the condensation chamber. Even more particularly the invention relates to such a method and apparatus in which the substance is contained within a solution freeze dried in a bulk freeze drying process involving the freezing of the solution on an array of vertical plates located within the freezing chamber. Still even more particularly, the invention relates to such a freeze drying method and apparatus that is applied to the decontamination of a solution containing radioactive materials. Waste disposal problems involving reduction and disposal of radioactive or toxic wastes such as nuclear wastes, wastes containing heavy metals and etc. have long presented an environmental hazard. Such wastes are often processed by dissolving the waste in an acidic solution, for instance nitric acid, and then storing the resultant solution in containers that present a risk of leakage and in any event take up a great deal of storage space. Freeze drying techniques have been applied to such waste disposal problems in order to more properly contain such wastes in a safe and efficient manner. For instance, in British Patent Specification No. 2178588-A, a method and apparatus for treatment for radioactive liquid waste is disclosed in which the radioactive liquid waste is freeze dried to sublimate the solvent and thereby to produce the radioactive solute as a dried deposit. In any freeze drying process, a substance is frozen within a freeze drying chamber. The substance is then subjected to a reduced pressure while being heated to cause frozen solids to sublimate into vapour. The vapour is condensed within a condensing chamber. In waste disposal applications of freeze drying, it is necessary that the condensing chamber be separated from the freeze drying chamber during the freeze drying process so that condensation chamber does not become contaminated. If such contamination were allowed to occur, radioactively contaminated water would then become a problem which would defeat the whole purpose of the freeze drying process. In order to overcome this problem, in the above British Patent Specification the condensation chamber is segregated from the freeze drying chamber by means of a filter. A filter can, however, limit the size of the freeze dryer because it will reduce the flow of vapour to the condensation chamber. In the above British Patent Specification, the freeze drying element located within the freeze drying chamber is a set of pipes. A problem involved with such freeze drying elements is that pipes present a limited surface area and therefore, present another limitation on the size of the freeze drier. Furthermore, any freeze drying element, in addition to presenting a sufficient surface area, must be amenable to removal from the freeze drying chamber for replacement and cleaning purposes. Freeze drying methods of this general type are known from FR-A-1 380 204. Although a motivating factor of the invention is waste treatment, aspects of the invention have broader applications involving the segregation of the freeze drying process from the environment and the bulk freeze drying of substances within solutions. The invention can be generally said to provide a freeze drying method and apparatus in which segregation of the condensation chamber from the freeze drying chamber does not primarily depend on filters. Additionally, freeze drying elements are provided that have sufficient surface area and flexibility for large scale freeze dryer setups. In accordance with the invention, there is provided bulk freeze drying method for separating a substance from a solution, the method comprising introducing the solution into a freeze drving chamber 10 having at least one element, wherein the at least one element is a vertical plate; freezing part of the solution on the at least one element so that solid layers are formed on opposed surfaces of the at least one element; removing a remainder of the solution from the freeze drying chamber; sublimating the solid layers into vapour so that the substance forms a deposit on the at lease one element; condensing the vapour on a cold condenser located within a condensation chamber in communication with the freeze drying chamber; removing the deposit from the at least one element; and extracting the deposit from the freeze drying chamber after having been removed from the at least one element. In the invention the substance could be one containing a liquid, for instance a pharmaceutical preparation to be dehydrated, or a liquid solution, which for example could be a radioactive salt dissolved in an aqueous nitric acid solution. The invention also provides a freeze dryer for separating a substance contained in a solution, the freeze dryer comprising a freeze drying chamber for receiving the solution; at least one element located within the freeze drying chamber having passages for circulation of a refrigerant to freeze the solution into opposed solid layers located on the at least one element and for circulation of a diathermic fluid for heating the at least one element during sublimation of the solid layers into a vapour, thereby to form a deposit of the substance on the at least one element; the freeze drying chamber having an inlet for receiving the solution and an outlet for discharging from the freeze drying chamber a remainder of the solution not frozen on the at least one element; means for evacuating the freeze drying chamber during the sublimation; and a condensation chamber having a cold condenser, the condensation chamber being in communication with the freeze drying chamber for condensing the vapour, characterised in that the at least one element is a vertical plate. The pressurisation of the condensation chamber generally produces an on rush of gas into the freeze drying chamber to drive the substance back into the freeze drying chamber and away from the condensation chamber. Such pressurisation segregates the condensing chamber from the freeze drying chamber without the need to use a filter although a filter could be used for added security. Additionally, the use of a vertically orientated plate provides much more surface area than a pipe and can be easily replaced by disconnecting the plate from inlet piping to which the plate connects. For a better understanding of the invention, reference will be made, by way of exemplification only, to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a freeze drying apparatus for carrying out a method of the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of Figure 1 showing details of the attachment of vertical plates within the freeze drying chamber. With reference to Figure 1, a freeze dryer 1 in accordance with the invention is shown is specifically adapted to process radioactive wastes. However, it is reiterated that the invention has broader application to the solution of freeze drying problems relating to isolation of the substance being freeze dried from the environment and the bulk freeze drying of solutions. The freeze dryer 1 is provided with a freeze drying chamber 10 for freeze drying an aqueous solution which can be a nitric acid solution containing radioactive nuclear wastes. Vapour sublimated during the freeze drying of the aqueous solution is condensed within a cold condensing chamber 12. A hot condensing chamber 14 is provided as a cold trap to condense any vapour not condensed within freeze drying chamber 10 during the freeze drying process. The freeze drying chamber 10 is provided with five vertically oriented plates 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24, but this could be just one or more. During the freeze drying process, a solution is admitted into the freeze drying chamber 10 through a freeze drying chamber inlet 36. A refrigerant such as cold diathermic fluid is introduced into and discharged from the vertically oriented plates 16-24 through diathermic fluid inlets 28 and 30 and diathermic fluid outlets 32 and 34, respectively. The circulation of the cold diathermic fluid causes a build-up of frozen solution into opposed solid layers on the opposed surfaces of the vertically oriented plates 16-24. After a sufficient build-up of solid, excess solution that has not frozen on the vertically oriented plates 16-24 is discharged from freeze drying chamber 10 through a solution outlet 26. With reference to Figure 2, the vertically orientated plate 24 is suspended within the freeze drying chamber 10 by provision of a branch 38 of diathermic inlet manifold 28 and a branch 40 of diathermic fluid outlet manifold 32. Quick disconnect fittings 41 can be provided to connect the vertically oriented plate 24 to the branch 38 and the branch 40. The vertically oriented plate 24 has an outer rectangular frame 42 and a pair of first and second rectangular metallic sheets 44 and 46 connected to the outer frame 42. Ribs 48 are connected to the outer frame 42 and the first and second metallic sheets 44 and 46 to provide heat exchange passages within the plate 24. Diathermic fluid circulates in the direction of arrowheads A within the plate 24 from the inlet branch 38 to the outlet branch 40. After removal of excess solution from the freeze drying chamber 10, cold diathermic fluid is circulated through a heat exchange coil 50 of the hot condensing chamber 14 through a diathermic inlet 52 and a diathermic outlet 54. Suction applied through a vacuum line 56 by a booster pump 58 and a vacuum pump 60 draws the atmosphere within the freeze drying chamber 10 across coils 50 to freeze out any moisture present within such atmosphere. During this stage of the freeze drying process, the hot condensing chamber 14 is pumped down to a pressure within a range of about 133 and about 1332 N/m 2 (about 1 and about 10 torr). During the foregoing operation of the hot condensing chamber 14, the cold condensing chamber 12 is activated by passing a flow of diathermic fluid through a condensing coil 62. Diathermic fluid enters the condensing coil 62 through a diathermic fluid inlet 64 and is discharged from the condensing coil 62 through a diathermic outlet 66. When the cold condensing coil 62 is approximately minus 80°C., a valve 68 is opened to bleed nitrogen into the cold condensing chamber 12 so that the cold condensing chamber 12 is approximately 133 N/m 2 (1 torr) above the pressure of the freeze drying chamber 10 which has been pumped down to between about 133 and about 1332 N/m 2 (about 1 and about 10 torr) by the booster pump 58 and the vacuum pump 60. The cold condensing chamber 12 and the freeze drying chamber 10 are joined by a conduit 70. It is to be noted that the conduit 70 is vertically oriented and, as illustrated, cold condensing chamber 12 is located above the freeze drying chamber 10. Valves 72 and 74, which when closed isolate the freeze drying chamber 10 from the cold condensing chamber 12, open and due to the differential pressure between the cold condensing chamber 12 and the freezing chamber 10, the down rush of nitrogen occurs through the conduit 70. The vertical orientation of the conduit 70 and the down rush of nitrogen inhibit any of the solids produced during freeze drying within the freeze drying chamber 10 from contaminating the cold condensing chamber 62. After the opening of isolation valves 72 and 74, a valve 76 between the freezing chamber 10 and the hot condensing chamber 14 is closed and the sublimation process starts by now circulating heated diathermic fluid through the vertically oriented plates 16-24. At the same time, a booster pump 78 and a vacuum pump 80 are turned on and a valve 83 is opened to permit maintenance of vacuum conditions from the cold condensing chamber 12 to the freezing chamber 10 of a pressure in a range of between about 133 and about 1332 N/m 2 (about 1 and about 10 torr). In the event that lower pressure conditions are required for the particular mixture being freeze dried, a valve 82 can be opened and a turbo molecular pump 84 can be used to pump down to approximately 0.4µm (0.4 microns). At the conclusion of the sublimation process, the valves 72, 74, 82 and 83 are closed and the valve 68 is opened. Nitrogen is thereby admitted into the condensing chamber 12 in order to raise the pressure of the cold condenser to atmospheric pressure. Additionally, a valve 88 is opened to bring the freeze drying chamber up to approximately atmospheric pressure with helium or nitrogen. At the same time a gate valve 90 is opened. The admission of helium or nitrogen into the freeze drying chamber 10 knocks particles that have been freeze dried onto the vertical plates 16-24 off of such plates and into a collection receptacle 92. At this point, the hot condensing chamber 14 and the conduit 70 are also backfilled with nitrogen up to about atmospheric pressure by opening valves 94, 96 and 98. After the backfilling operations, described above, hot diathermic fluid is circulated through the cold condensing coil 62 and the hot condensing coil 50 in order to melt condensed solutions. A valve 100 can be opened to recirculate melted solutions back to the solution tank for recycling purposes. A valve 102 can be opened to drain the hot condensing chamber 14 into a hot solution tank. It will be appreciated that some or all of the valves are capable of remote activation. Moreover such activation is preferably controlled by a controller such as a programmable logic computer that is programmed to open and close the valves on a timed basis. Also creation and circulation of hot and cold diathermic fluid, also not illustrated, is effected in a known manner used in the freeze drying art.

Claims: A bulk freeze drying method for separating a substance from a solution, the method comprising: introducing the solution into a freeze drying chamber (10) having at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24), wherein the at least one element is a vertical plate; freezing part of the solution on the at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24) so that solid layers are formed on opposed surfaces of the at least one element; removing a remainder of the solution from the freeze drying chamber (10); sublimating the solid layers into vapour so that the substance forms a deposit on the at lease one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24); condensing the vapour on a cold condenser (62) located within a condensation chamber (12) in communication with the freeze drying chamber (10); removing the deposit from the at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24); and extracting the deposit from the freeze drying chamber (10) after having been removed from the at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24). A method according to Claim 1 in which prior to condensing the vapour, pressurising the condensation chamber (12) with a gas and allowing pressure within the freeze drying (10) and condensation chambers (12) to equalise so that the gas flows from the condensation chamber (12) to the freeze drying chamber (10) and thereby acts to inhibit the deposit from entering the condensation chamber. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the condensation chamber (12) is situated above the freeze drying chamber to inhibit the deposit from entering the condensation chamber (12) from the freeze drying chamber. A method according to any preceding claim in which the freeze drying chamber (10) is evacuated through a cold trap (14) prior to sublimating the solid layers in order to trap any portion of the solution not frozen but present within the freeze drying chamber. A method according to any preceding claim in which the deposit is extracted from the chamber by opening a bottom region (90) of the chamber and collecting the deposit within a container (92). A method according to any preceding claim in which the substance is a radioactive solute and the solution comprises the radioactive solute dissolved in an aqueous acid solution. A method according to any one of Claims 2 or 3-6 in combination with claim 2 in which the gas is nitrogen or helium. A freeze dryer for separating a substance contained in a solution, the freeze dryer comprising: a freeze drying chamber (10) for receiving the solution; at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24) located within the freeze drying chamber (10) having passages for circulation of a refrigerant to freeze the solution into opposed solid layers located on the at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24) and for circulation of a diathermic fluid for heating the at least one element during sublimation of the solid layers into a vapour, thereby to form a deposit of the substance on the at least one element; the freeze drying chamber (10) having an inlet (26) for receiving the solution and an outlet (36) for discharging from the freeze drying chamber a remainder of the solution not frozen on the at least one element; means for evacuating the freeze drying chamber during the sublimation; and a condensation chamber (12) having a cold condenser, the condensation chamber being in communication with the freeze drying chamber for condensing the vapour, characterised in that the at least one element (16, 18, 20, 22, 24) is a vertical plate. A freeze dryer according to Claim 8 comprising: means (8) for removing the substance from the at least one vertical plate; and means (90) for extracting the substance from the chamber after having been removed from the at least one vertical plate. A freeze dryer according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 further comprising: an isolation valve (72, 74) interposed between the cold condenser and the freeze drying chamber (10) for isolating the cold condenser (12) from the freeze drying chamber (10); and means for pressurising the condensation chamber (12) with a gas when the condensation chamber is isolated from the freeze drying chamber so that when the isolation valve (72, 74) is set in an open position pressure within the freeze drying and condensation chamber equalise, thereby to inhibit the substance from entering the condensation chamber (12). A freeze dryer according to any one of Claims 8 to 10 in which the condensation chamber (12) is situated above the freeze drying chamber (10) to inhibit substance from entering the condensation chamber (12) from the freeze drying chamber (10). A freeze dryer according to any one of Claims 8 to 11 further comprising a cold trap (14) interposed between the freeze drying chamber (10) and the evacuation means (58) so that the freeze drying chamber is evacuated through the cold trap (14) prior to sublimating the solid layers in order to trap any solution not frozen but present within the freeze drying chamber (10).

Inventors: COPPA NICHOLAS V, RENZI ERNESTO, STEWART PAUL, COPPA, NICHOLAS V., RENZI, ERNESTO, STEWART, PAUL
Applicants: BOC GROUP INC, UNIV CALIFORNIA, THE BOC GROUP, INC., THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Application year: 1997
Main classification: F26B5
IPC codes: G21F9, F26B5