Development of a unique modular distillation column using 3D printing

Abstract 3D printing is recently used in many fields of technology, from medical science to aerospace and food products. In some cases, this technique is faster and increases the design flexibility in comparison with conventional machining. In this article, the design and manufacturing of a modular distillation column are presented using 3D printing. The flexibility and freedom in 3D model designs and the challenges for developing a small scale distillation column are demonstrated. The column was designed in a coil shape with modular structure to overcome the printing area limitation of the used 3D printer. The chemical compatibility of the printed polymer with several common solvents was examined. A 3D printable packing, and a commercially available stainless steel spring packing were used in the distillation. The column was used to distill a binary mixture of hexane + cyclohexane in full reflux and continuous mode. The heat loss of the column was also measured at the boiling points of hexane and cyclohexane. The composition of reflux and boilup streams were analyzed online using a gas chromatograph equipped with two sampling valves. The temperature of the vapor phase was measured at the top (vapor outlet) and bottom (boilup) of the column.

[1]  Liz Nickels,et al.  AM and aerospace: an ideal combination , 2015 .

[2]  Ville Alopaeus,et al.  The use of microplants in process development—Case study of etherification of 2-ethoxy-2-methylbutane , 2013 .

[3]  D. Jan,et al.  Vapor-Liquid Equilibria of n-Hexane + Cyclohexane + n-Heptane and the Three Constituent Binary Systems at 101.0 kPa , 1994 .

[4]  Ville Alopaeus,et al.  Novel micro-distillation column for process development , 2009 .

[5]  C. P. Purssell,et al.  A miniature flow sensor fabricated by micro-stereolithography employing a magnetite/acrylic nanocomposite resin , 2011 .

[6]  Clément Gosselin,et al.  Large-scale 3D printing of ultra-high performance concrete – a new processing route for architects and builders , 2016 .

[7]  F. Vesely,et al.  Enthalpy data of liquids. II. The dependence of heats of vaporization of methanol, propanol, butanol, cyclohexane, cyclohexene, and benzene on temperature , 1973 .

[8]  Leo S. Ojala,et al.  Prototyping a calorimeter mixing cell with direct metal laser sintering , 2016 .

[9]  Lung-Ming Fu,et al.  Micro-distillation system for formaldehyde concentration detection , 2016 .

[10]  Michael C. McAlpine,et al.  3D Printed Bionic Ears , 2013, Nano letters.

[11]  B. Sage,et al.  Isobaric Heat Capacities at Bubble Point - Propene, Neohexane, Cyclohexane, and Iso-octane , 1950 .

[12]  Bhesh Bhandari,et al.  3d printing technologies applied for food design: Status and prospects , 2016 .

[13]  Walter Lang,et al.  Miniature 3D Gas Chromatography Columns with Integrated Fluidic Connectors Using High-resolution Stereolithography Fabrication☆ , 2015 .

[14]  Eugeny Y. Kenig,et al.  Micro-separation of fluid systems: A state-of-the-art review , 2013 .

[15]  J. Lewis,et al.  Conformal Printing of Electrically Small Antennas on Three‐Dimensional Surfaces , 2011, Advanced materials.

[16]  D. R. Douslin,et al.  Experimental Vapor Heat Capacities and Heats of Vaporization of n-Hexane and 2,2-Dimethylbutane1 , 1947 .

[17]  A. Gavriilidis,et al.  In situ monitoring of microfluidic distillation , 2013 .

[18]  Y. H. Kim,et al.  A new horizontal distillation for energy saving with a diabatic rectangular column , 2015, Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering.

[19]  Masaki Tsuchiya,et al.  Microfluidic devices fabricated using stereolithography for preparation of monodisperse double emulsions , 2016 .

[20]  W. Sha,et al.  Electroless nickel, alloy, composite and nano coatings – A critical review , 2013 .

[21]  Jochen Strube,et al.  Development of Micro Separation Technology Modules. Part 2: Distillation , 2015 .

[22]  Volker Hessel,et al.  Entwicklung einer leistungsstarken Mikrorektifikationsapparatur für analytische und präparative Anwendungen , 2011 .