Specifications

• Available for licensing in capacities from 1,000 to 200,000 gallons glycerol feed per day (3.8 to 760 cubic meters per day; 3 million to 730 million pounds per year)
• USP 99.7 production rates from 850 to 170,000 gallons per day (3.2 to 644 cubic meters per day; 3 million to 620 million pounds per year)
• Feed TDS up to 12 wt%
• Feed temperatures to 35°C (95°F) using standard system components
• Feed pH 3 to 7
• Up to 99+% glycerol recovery, depending on feed composition and end product characteristics

Key Features

• Proven technology with full-scale installations currently in operation
• High recoveries with much lower capital and operating costs compared to other technologies
• Salt removal to specified levels, including to USP glycerol, with the system able to adapt to changing feed supply contaminant types and concentrations
• Robust unit operation(s) for removal of Free Fatty Acids (FFAs), Matter Organic Not Glycerol (MONG), organic acids, color and odor
• Modular systems, easily scaleable to increase capacity
• Semi-automated system easy to use and control
• Minimum downtime required (typically 23+ operating hours per day)
• Nonhazardous side streams consisting of dry filter cake and aqueous brine solution for easy disposal

Space, Utility, and Tank Requirements

• The space/footprint needed will depend on the overall production capacity, feed chemistry, and product characteristics. In general, the process equipment requires only a fraction of the space of storage tanks for feed and product. For example, processing equipment with work tanks for a 10 million pound/year (~2,500 gpd) plant producing USP 99.7 grade glycerol using typical chloride containing crude feed will occupy about 7,000 square feet, while the actual process equipment will occupy only about 1,000 square feet (see EET facility photos)
• Three-phase 480V electrical utility preferred; three-phase 230V or single-phase 110V acceptable for some size units
• Process air
• Softened, de-chlorinated make-up water (or tap water with <3 ppm free chlorine)
• Appropriate feed, product, and brine concentrate tanks and lines to and from these to the working tanks of the EET-supplied systems

Maintenance

Maintenance requirements for the EET glycerol purification system are minimal. Depending on feed characteristics, periodic cleaning, typically <1 hour per day, is required. Although each installation and application will vary, installed units have been in operation for over 5 years with no change in HEED® membrane stack and no major component (e.g., pumps, rectifier, controls) replacement

Contact EET for more information.

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