This first technical session is further developing the technological dimensions of technology transfer, with three illustrations of successful and representative industrial applications. It covers the cases of embedded autonomy in spacecraft applications, advanced avionics solutions for satellite communication and component hybridization for navigation.

Industrial applications

Use of glycerol obtained from renewable raw materials, as starting product for producing organic compounds. Process for producing dichloropropanol, according to which glycerol is subjected to a reaction with a chlorinating agent, with the exception of a batch reaction carried out in the presence of acetic acid or its derivatives.

Process for producing dichloropropanol from glycerol, the glycerol coming eventually from the conversion of animal fats in the manufacture of biodiesel

Product engineering is the design of products with desired properties using the methods of process engineering. To reduce the number of process parameters, necessary to obtain the desired properties, a characteristic feature of the respective product is helpful. For a dispersed system this characteristic feature is its complex structure on a micro-scale. This micro-structure is the link between the process and the properties of the final product. The principles of product engineering of dispersed systems are explained and demonstrated by means of different examples: Though there are limits to this concept, certain properties of dispersed systems can be obtained by determining and applying property and process functions.

Product engineering of dispersed systems

Hybrid separation processes combine different separation principles and constitute a promising design option for the separation of complex mixtures. Particularly, the integration of distillation with other unit operations can significantly improve the separation of close-boiling or azeotropic mixtures. Although the design of single-unit operations is well understood and supported by computational methods, the optimal design of flowsheets of hybrid separation processes is still a challenging task. The large number of operational and design degrees of freedom requires a systematic and optimization-based design approach. To this end, a structured approach, the so-called process synthesis framework, is proposed. This article reviews available computational methods for the conceptual design of distillation-based hybrid processes for the separation of liquid mixtures. Open problems are identified that must be addressed to finally establish a structured process synthesis framework for such processes.

Conceptual design of distillation-based hybrid separation processes.

The invention relates to a method for the purification of a crude acrylic acid melt, whereby said crude acrylic acid melt is converted into a crude acrylic acid suspension, comprising acrylic acid crystals and residual melt, by the effect of cooling. The acrylic acid crystals in the crude acrylic acid suspension are separated from the remaining residual melt in a wash column. The production of the acrylic acid crystals in the crude acrylic acid suspension occurs in the presence of water. The wash column is a wash column with forced transport of the acrylic acid crystals and the melt from acrylic acid crystals purified in the wash column is used as washing fluid.

Method for the purification of a crude acrylic acid melt

Melt crystallization – Theoretical presumptions and technical limitations. The fundamentals of the design of melt crystallization processes on cooled surfaces are presented. Determination of the energy requirement is the essential point. During each freezing step a multiple of the heat of solidification must be removed and must be re-introduced during the subsequent melting step. Consequently, discontinuous processes of this nature can only compete with other thermal separation techniques – in which a continuous countercurrent operation can be realised – if the plant is well designed and the process is precisely controlled.

Schmelzkristallisation – theoretische Voraussetzungen und technische Grenzen

Electrodes, esp. cathodes for alkali chloride electrolysis cells, consist of an electrically conducting support with active layers contg. Ni and/or Co in addn. to Fe, the Ni and/or Co content being 10-20 wt.%. The electrodes have a low H2 overvoltage and can be made reproducibly without deforming the support. The active layers are produced electrolytically on the cathodically polarised support using an acetate-buffered acetic acid electrolyte contg. Fe and also Ni and/or Co salts. The electrolyte pref. contains 1.5-10 (wt.)% acetic acid, 1.0-12% acetate and 0.5-20 g/l Fe, Co and/or Ni salts (w.r.t. the metal content of the salts).

Electrode, esp. cathode for electrolysis of brine - has active coating of iron with specified nickel and/or cobalt content to reduce hydrogen overvoltage

Product properties and process engineering. The properties of solids are determined by their chemical composition, their state of dispersion, and their interfacial forces. They are largely responsible for the behaviour of the products during the manufacturing process and for the desired quality characteristics of the finished product. The aim of this survey is to illustrate the influence of particle size distribution and interfacial forces on product properties. The effects shown can be explained with the aid of a few physical modes. The first part shows how product properties can be adjusted to achieve a particular aim, principally by modifying the particle size. These include product-relevant properties such as filtration properties, miscibility, and potential for dust explosion, as well properties relevant to the (final) product such as colour and taste. As the particle size decreases, the forces acting between the particle become increasingly important. The second part of this article therefore focuses on those product properties which can be influenced by way of changes in the cohesive forces. Production-relevant properties are flow properties, bulk density, agglomeration behaviour; product-relevant properties are tablet stability and redispersibility of foods, dyes, etc. Among the cohesive forces, capillary forces deserve particular attention. The paper concludes with an account of their role in the manufacture and use of solids. The pore structure of an agglomerated solid is determined by capillary forces and the external forces required during the manufacturing process.

Produkteigenschaften und Verfahrenstechnik

Verfahren zur stofftrennung aus einem fluessigen gemisch durch fraktionierte kristallisation

A method of separation by fractional crystallization from a liquid mixture in which the liquid mixture is repeatedly passed in turbulent flow through an indirectly cooled crystallization zone, which must be kept full. The liquid remaining after deposition of a layer of crystals on the wall of the crystallization zone is removed, whereupon the surface of the layer of crystals is washed and the crystals are melted by passing a melt of similar compositions to that of the layer of crystals through the crystallization zone. During crystallization the melt is maintained at the temperature of crystallization and crystallization is stopped when the frozen fraction is from 70 to 98%.

Klaus Wintermantel

Papers

Schmelzkristallisation – theoretische Voraussetzungen und technische Grenzen

Electrode, esp. cathode for electrolysis of brine - has active coating of iron with specified nickel and/or cobalt content to reduce hydrogen overvoltage

Produkteigenschaften und Verfahrenstechnik

Verfahren zur stofftrennung aus einem fluessigen gemisch durch fraktionierte kristallisation

Method of separation by fractional crystallization from a liquid mixture