In Perm, a method has been developed to manage solid sediments in technological equipment effectively.

In the chemical and mining industries, immersion combustion devices are utilized. These are employed in the production of potassium fertilizers to evaporate contaminated liquids or concentrated salt solutions. During this process, a sediment forms in the form of fine particles, and their uncontrolled movement often results in frequent blockages of the equipment, leading to extended downtimes for cleaning. Researchers at Perm Polytechnic University have investigated how sediment forms and moves within these systems. This understanding will help manage its movement, thereby reducing the risk of production slowdowns or stoppages.

2024-10-24 07:32:06https://naked-science.ru/article/column/sposob-upravlyat-tverdymi

The article was published in the journal "Bulletin of Tomsk State University". The research was conducted as part of the strategic academic leadership program "Priority 2030". Immersion combustion devices are designed for direct heating of liquids.

The process occurs when the liquid is in direct contact with a stream of hot gases, which breaks into bubbles. The heated substance spills over the threshold, enters the receiving container, and mixes with newly incoming portions of liquid, after which it is pumped into the evaporation chamber. This causes solid particles to settle at the bottom, clogging the device and hindering its operation.

For instance, during the evaporation of brine to obtain technical salt, this issue is particularly pronounced – one cubic meter of the substance yields 300 kilograms of sediment. If the deposition of salt at the bottom of the unit is not prevented, its operation will need to be interrupted daily for several hours, which is unacceptable for chemical industry enterprises.

To monitor the clogging of the unit by fine particles, it is essential to identify the patterns of their movement. For this purpose, scientists from Perm Polytechnic analyzed a model case of the thermal regime of the device without the subsequent transition of the liquid phase to vapor.

“We conducted comprehensive three-dimensional numerical modeling of particle deposition and bubble phase ejection, constructing trajectories of their movement. We found that solid inclusions follow the flow of liquid for some time before settling in specific areas at the bottom of the device,” says Alexey Kostyra, a graduate student at the Department of General Physics at PNIPU.

“The percentage of particles settling in the evaporation part of the unit increases with the growth of their diameter, exceeding 95 percent already at a particle size of 0.12 millimeters. This indicates that larger particles can only be removed from the system in the area of the rapid upward flow of liquid, that is, near the burner, while they still hover around the free surface,” comments Vitaly Demin, a professor at the Department of General Physics at PNIPU, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

The results of the research conducted by the scientists at Perm Polytechnic will help prevent uncontrolled particle deposition, thereby reducing the risk of production process interruptions at potash enterprises due to equipment cleaning.