Distillation Technology
Distillation Test Facilities at Karlsruhe R&D Center
For the different distillation and rectification systems, various laboratory and pilot plant are available.
Most pilot plants are mobile so that it is also possible to perform tests on our customers' premises. In such a case the plants can be controlled and monitored by a remote control system. As a matter of course, the process data can be recorded and processed electronically.
Our laboratory is designed to determine and analyze important physical characteristics such as viscosity, boiling point elevation, thermal conductivity and dry matter.
Moreover, product compositions can be determined in our analyzing laboratory with GC and HPLC.
We use the latest software and hardware to simulate the operating behaviour of the plants and adapt them to individual customer specifications. The determined process parameters and substance properties are directly used for the design of our plants.
The following pilot plants are available for testing:
- Fermentation plant for continuous fermentation/batch fermentation
- Glass Distillation column DN50 for first evaluations equipped with packed columns or sieve trays with electrical heating
- Glass Distillation column DN100 with stainless steel sieve trays mainly for observation of foaming and treatment of higher viscous products either with direct steam heating or natural circulation evaporator
- Mobile stainless steel column DN250 equipped with random packaging or trays (sieve trays and Thormann trays) and direct steam heating – also heating possibility with existing falling film evaporator (ATEX)
- Stationary random packed column suitable for temperatures up to 300°C with forced circulation evaporator heated with thermal oil
Combination of above stated systems and arrangements of process lines consisting of different technologies (e.g. membrane filtration, distillation, evaporation, centrifuge, decanter, dryer, etc.)
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Dehydration and Purification
Where product purities superior to feasible concentrations through rectification are required, one of these technologies come to operation: Molecular Sieve Technology, Distillation with Entrainer, and Pervaporation through Hydrophilic Membranes.
Skid Mounted Distillation Units
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Batch Distillation Plants
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