Phase Seperators

Why Phase Separators?
Phase separators remove droplets with diameters >0.1µm from liquid/ liquid dispensions. The resulting improvement in the purity of liquid recovered from both dispersed and continuous phases increases product quality and reduces the need for downstream treatment. FRANKEN Phase separators thus increase profits significantly as the investments and operating costs are low.

Phase Separators ('Separators') : FRANKEN designed separators guarantee a very high performance because of application of state-of-the-art design rules based on empirically verified CFD design models and use of the proprietary range of high performance internals.

Design philosophy : Droplete- droplet coalescence on microfibre, wire mesh and profile surfaces allows large droplets ( d> 1,000 µm) to form quickly and efficiently. As these droplets flow through the phase separator vessel, density differences cause them to migrate to the liquid interface under the influence of gravity.
Since coalescence is a mechanical separation process, it cannot remove the dissolved liquids.

Perfect Separation : FRANKEN phase separators are designed for optimal coalescence in separating organic or aqueous droplets.To design each separator the major parameters are
1. Droplet size distribution at the inlet
2. Wetting behavior of the two liquids
3. Interfacial tension.

Separation task defines the phase separation procedure :

PT phase Separator	MPT phase Separator	PTG phase Separator
Fine droplets >0.1µm	medium droplets >10µm	coarse droplets >50µm
Coalescence process - Droplet formation and separation
In Microfibre beds	At profile surfaces	At the interface
Flow guides the fine droplets to the micrifibers	Density difference guides the droplets to the profile surfaces	Coarse droplets shift to the interface under gravity
Droplet-droplet coalescence (collection of droplets) at the fiber cross points	Droplet-droplet coalescence at the profile surfaces	Droplet- droplet coalescence at the interface
Displacements of coarse droplets (d >1,000µm) at the fiber bed	Displacements of coarse droplets ( d > 1,000µm) at certain profile areas

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Process Conditions :

	Units	PT	MPT	PTG
Density difference	Kg/m3	>10	>50	>150
Viscosity of continuous phase	Mpas	<500	<20	<5
Viscosity of dispersed phase	Mpas	<500	<1,000	<2,000
Interfacial tension( no surfactants)	mN/m	>2	>2	>2
Maximum concentration of dispersed phase	vol%	<10	Any	Any
Differential pressure (clean/ maximum)	bar g	<0.05/1.5	<0.02	<0.02
Solid particles	µm	<5	<25

Application :

PT Phase separator	MPT Phase separator	PTG Phase separator
Product treatment - water from silicone oil - water from polycarbonate	Biodiesel - Glycerine from methyl ester - Fatty acid from glycerine water	Process enhancement - Water from cumene - Raffinate from methyl pyridine
Process enhancement - Rh solution from aldehyde - extractant from Cs solution - benzene fron hydrochloric acid	Hydrocarbons from waste water Process enhancement - Caustic soda from vinyl chloride - Silicone oil from hydrochloric acid	Capacity Enhancement - Reservoir water from crude oil - MCB/DCM from waste water - Hydrocarbon from water

Benefits :

• Very high separation efficiency
• Separation down to solubility limit
• Low pressure drop (<50 mbar)
• Wide selection of material
• Low operating costs
• Low maintenance
• Customized engineering and manufacture

Focus on the Environment :

• Our technologies contribute to ecological sustainability and lower energy use.
• Modular and extensible design helps to make phase separaters future- proof.
• At the end of there operating lives, the internals can be refurbished or recycled.

For laboratory and pilot plant scale testing, we are able to manufacture phase Separation elements of smallest dimensions for subsequent scale-up (e.g. Ø 50 mm)

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