Dissolvent recovered for derrumbar old myths of the chemical industry
13 May 2014
From his headquarters of Or Porriño (Pontevedra) and of Aveiro (Portugal), in Drugs Vigo satisfy the needs of dissolvent of some of the most important companies situated northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. In coherence with his corporate strategy of ‘Sustainable distribution', twelve years ago the company proposed a very ambitious challenge, oriented to help to his customers creating and offering them an able service to guarantee the sustainable management of the waste generated by the dissolvent that commercialised. That was the germ of the Recuperadora Galician of Dissolvent (Regadi), member of the Professional Association of Environingingmental Companies of Galicia (
The organisation of Regadi works to generate solutions medioambientalmente sustainable, offering to his customers the management of the dissolvent used, through the treatment, recovery and reuse of the dissolvent recovered. The waste of dissolvent come from of customers of different industrial states, such the chemist, the automotive sector, the manufacture of paintings or plastics, the production of biodiésel, etc.
“Like waste managers and inside the chemical sector, always have been engaged with the environingingment and have wanted to desmitificar the perception that, in determinate cases, can have the society, relating directly but wrongly to the chemical companies with the pollution. In reality, for many years, the chemical industry has been pioneering in devoting technical and financial efforts very important to end to improve the health and the hygiene, and his relation with the environingingment”, affirms the manager of the technical department of Regadi, Begoña Llauger.
A chemical plant of recycled
The installations of Regadi raise on a surface of 1.800 square metres, beside the dependencies of Drugs Vigo in the Road to Salceda. The design of the same was elaborated by the Department of Chemicals of the School of Engineers of the University of Vigo, thanks to an agreement of collaboration. The plant of recycled has of an inner zone and another external totally differentiated in where it carries out a totally automated “process” that favours the management of the processes at the same time that provides the maximum reliability to the results, according to Llauger.
The inner zone has sixteen tanks of reception and storage of the waste and another of storage of the dissolvent recycled. “All the tanks are of stainless steel and has a capacity of 24 cubic metres”, concrete Llauger. The external zone is formed by a team of empty; an evaporador of fine film agitated or ATFE (Agitated Thin Film Evaporator, in English) the innovative component of the installation, since it treats of a team used basically in the pharmaceutical industry; a column of distillation fractionated; and a tower of treatment of volatile organic compounds (COV), or what is the same, sequipment or gases that give off the compounds with carbon.
“The majority of the dissolvent and paintings have COV, which affects to the broadcasts to the atmosphere of some sequipment, from here the environingingmental control of said parameter”, explains the technician.
Two phases, two dissolvent distinct
In the ATFE and the column of distillation fractionated recae to a large extent the process of recycled of the plant. Both units represent the two phases that can cross the treatment of a dissolvent used in function of the purity that wish obtain after his treatment. Like this, for example, the typical process of waste treatment of dissolvent in Regadi, begins with the collected of dissolvent dirty by means of truck cisterna or containers of 1.000 litres. When the residue arrives to plant analyses , and only will accept his treatment if the characteristic technicians of the same are inside the exigible to be able to be recycled. Happened this cut, stores in the tanks of decantation to separate the inert components heavier. The most liquid mix of polymers and dissolvent is the one who allocates to the ATFE to initiate the process of recycled properly said.
In the ATFE will realizar the processes that give place to the dissolvent recycled, which will be able to again reutilizar in different processes and industrial applications with low technical requirements, as they can be cleaning products for maintenance of equipment and installations. “In this phase, also generates a residual mix of polymers and slimes of distillation that send to the agent of waste authorised so that it manage them as the established in the valid legislation”, explains Llauger.
In the column of distillation fractionated carries out a finer separation of the mix of dissolvent, or a purification of the same, what allows that after this new process of purification, can be used in applications with special technical requests.
“The treatment in this column allows us separate the components to be able to later use them together with ‘dissolvent cool' in the manufacturing of a new formulation of dissolvent. After this operation, the mix of dissolvent is prepared to be able to to be used in the process original of production. Our technology allows us, if it was necessary and on request of our customers, separate individually each one of the dissolvent of the mix” indicates the technician of Regadi.
The column of distillation also has the capacity to treat waste without solid rests. A concrete case is of the purification of a mix of dissolvent to end to diminish the humidity of the mix, as it occurs, for example, in the process of recycled of the methanol. In this process, the plant separates the glicerina and the biodiésel, attaining a methanol 99% pure and with a lower humidity to 0,1% in weight, and smart to go back to use in origin.
