Patent EP-2175012-A1 (EP)
Inventor: BOENSCH RUDOLF DR
IPC: C11C1/08
Filed: 2009-08-21
Abstract: Preparing biodiesel from fat, oil or split fatty acid containing steryl glycoside comprises (a) reacting fat, oil or split fatty acid with short chain alkanol to obtain a first product stream enriched with fatty acid alkyl ester, (b) washing first product stream with water, (c) treating a suspension layer, (d) separating a second product stream, (e) treating second product stream i.e. intensively mixing with water, (f) supplying obtained third product stream to mechanical separation process, (g) separating fourth product stream to obtain biodiesel, and (h) separating fifth product stream. Preparing biodiesel from fat, oil or split fatty acid containing steryl glycoside comprises (a) reacting the fat, oil or split fatty acid with short chain alkanol in the presence of a catalyst by transesterification or esterification to obtain fatty acid alkyl ester, where a first product stream enriched with fatty acid alkyl ester is obtained as light phase by liquid-liquid phase separation, (b) washing the first product stream with water in a washing device, (c) treating a suspension layer (containing steryl glycoside, fatty acid alkyl ester and water) formed between the heavy, water rich phase and light fatty acid alkyl ester rich phase, during washing, on the phase separation layer by supply of kinetic energy, (d) separating a second product stream, form the light phase, comprising steryl glycoside in homogenous dissolved form, colloidal dissolved form and/or steryl glycoside/fatty acid alkyl ester/water agglomerate in finely dispersed form, (e) treating the second product stream in at least one additional treatment step in which the product stream is intensively mixed with water to obtain a third product stream as light phase by liquid-liquid phase separation, where the third product stream comprises steryl glycoside/fatty acid alkyl ester/water agglomerate that are separable by mechanical separation method, (f) supplying the third product stream to a mechanical separation process, (g) separating a fourth product stream formed as light phase from the mechanical separation process and subsequently supplying to a product conditioning to obtain biodiesel, and (h) separating a fifth (steryl glycoside) enriched product stream from the mechanical separation process as heavy phase. An independent claim is included for a device, for preparing the biodiesel by the above process, comprising a washing column (3) to which the first product stream is supplied over a line (1), where the product stream is washed with water to obtain the second product stream, at least one mixer (9) to which the second product stream is supplied over a line (8), where the product stream is intensively mixed with water to obtain a third product stream, as light phase, after the liquid-liquid phase separation, a mechanical separation device (14) to which the third product stream is supplied over a line (13), where the fourth product stream, as light stream, is obtained after phase separation, the fourth stream is supplied to a product conditioning over a line (15) to obtain the biodiesel and steryl glycoside enriched product stream, as heavy phase, is obtained from the fifth product stream, which is extracted over a line (16) and after further processing is disposed or supplied to further use.