US-12623234-B2 - Continuous centrifugal dewatering device

US12623234B2US 12623234 B2US12623234 B2US 12623234B2US-12623234-B2

Abstract

Disclosed is a continuous centrifugal dewatering device including an external case having an internal space, a feed supply pipe to which a slurry as a mixture of a solid and a liquid is supplied, a basket provided inside the external case, a plurality of holes formed in the basket, a pusher plate provided inside the basket and configured to discharge a slurry cake attached to an inner circumferential surface of the basket to the outside of the external case, a non-contact seal configured to prevent the first gas from flowing into a space between the external case and the basket, and a gas inlet to which a second gas, which flows in a reverse direction with respect to a flow direction of the first gas flowing to the space between the external case and the basket, is supplied.

Inventors

Sung Woo JEONG
Kee Sung CHO
In Yong JEONG
Sang Hyeon Kang
Eun Jung Joo

Assignees

LG CHEM, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210820
Priority Date: 20201005

Claims (9)

1 . A continuous centrifugal dewatering device comprising: an external case having an internal space; a feed supply pipe to which a slurry as a mixture of a solid and a first liquid is supplied; a basket provided inside the external case, configured to receive a first gas and the slurry provided thereto and rotate to apply centrifugal force to the slurry; a plurality of holes formed in the basket and configured to discharge a second liquid filtered from the slurry to an outside of the basket; a pusher plate provided inside the basket and configured to discharge a slurry cake attached to an inner circumferential surface of the basket to an outside of the external case; a non-contact seal configured to prevent the first gas from flowing into a space between the external case and the basket; and a gas inlet to which a second gas, which flows in a reverse direction with respect to a flow direction of the first gas flowing to the space between the external case and the basket, is continuously supplied, wherein the first gas is discharged externally from the basket through the plurality of holes formed in the basket, wherein basket has a cylindrical shape, and the gas inlet is provided in a form of one or more pores formed along a circumference of the basket, and wherein the gas inlet is positioned between the plurality of holes and the non-contact seal.
2 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , wherein the first gas is mixed with the slurry to form a mixed feed, and the mixed feed is supplied to the feed supply pipe.
3 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , further comprising: a gas supply pipe configured to supply the first gas into the basket.
4 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , wherein the first gas and the second gas are the same or different from each other and each independently comprises an inert gas.
5 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact seal is attached to the external case and spaced apart from the basket.
6 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , wherein the non-contact seal is attached to the basket and spaced apart from the external case.
7 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , further comprising: a dispersing plate provided inside the basket and configured to disperse the slurry supplied from the feed supply pipe to an inside of the basket.
8 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 7 , wherein the dispersing plate includes a support connected to the feed supply pipe to support the dispersing plate.
9 . The continuous centrifugal dewatering device of claim 1 , wherein the slurry is a polymer slurry generated by a polymerization.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Cross-Reference to Related Application The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0128011, filed on Oct. 5, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. Technical Field The present invention relates to a continuous centrifugal dewatering device (or a continuous centrifugal spin dryer), and more particularly, to a continuous centrifugal dewatering device having improved dewatering efficiency of a polymer slurry. Background Art In general, a process of producing polymers includes polymerization, agglomeration, dewatering, and drying processes, and a polymer slurry produced through the polymerization and agglomeration processes contains a large amount of moisture. During the drying process, a hot air drying method is generally used, which, however, incurs high energy cost, and thus, removing moisture of the polymer slurry as much as possible to lower a moisture content thereof during the dewatering process prior to performing the drying process is the key to improving economical efficiency of the processes. As described above, a slurry cake having a low moisture content by removing a portion of moisture from the polymer slurry during the dewatering process may undergo a drying process so as to be obtained as a powdery polymer solid having a moisture content of less than 1%. During the dewatering process, it is common to go through a centrifugal dewatering device to primarily remove moisture, and among the centrifugal dewatering devices, a pusher-type continuous centrifugal dewatering device capable of performing a continuous process is used to increase productivity. However, since the continuous centrifugal dewatering device of the related art simply dewaters using only centrifugal force, the dewatering efficiency is not excellent to lead to a problem that high energy cost is consumed during the drying process. In addition, when pores are developed inside polymer particles in the polymer slurry, moisture contained in the pores increases to lower the dewatering efficiency. Therefore, there is a need to develop a continuous centrifugal dewatering device capable of solving the above problems. DISCLOSURE Technical Problem An object of the present invention is to provide a continuous centrifugal dewatering device capable of improving dewatering efficiency of a slurry by using pressure and a blowing effect of a gas, as well as centrifugal force, by supplying the gas together with the slurry. Technical Solution In one general aspect, a continuous centrifugal dewatering device includes: an external case having an internal space; a feed supply pipe to which a slurry as a mixture of a solid and a liquid is supplied; a basket provided inside the external case, configured to receive a first gas and the slurry provided thereto and rotate to apply centrifugal force to the slurry; a plurality of holes formed in the basket and configured to discharge a liquid filtered from the slurry to the outside of the basket; a pusher plate provided inside the basket and configured to discharge a slurry cake attached to an inner circumferential surface of the basket to the outside of the external case; a non-contact seal configured to prevent the first gas from flowing into a space between the external case and the basket; and a gas inlet to which a second gas, which flows in a reverse direction with respect to a flow direction of the first gas flowing to the space between the external case and the basket, is supplied. Advantageous Effects In the continuous centrifugal dewatering device according to the present invention, a gas is supplied together with a slurry to improve the dewatering efficiency of the slurry by not only centrifugal force but also pressure and a blowing effect of the gas. That is, by using the continuous centrifugal dewatering device according to the present invention during a dewatering process, it is possible to obtain a slurry having a moisture content as low as possible, thereby reducing energy consumed in a subsequent drying process. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a continuous centrifugal dewatering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a continuous centrifugal dewatering device further including a gas supply pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a continuous centrifugal dewatering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a coupling relationship between a non-contact seal and an external case according to an embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODE Terms and words used in the present specification and claims are not to be construed as a general or dictionary meaning but are to be construed as meaning and concepts meeting the technical ideas of the present invention based on a principle t