Purification of hydrogenated oil by microchannel separation coupling hydrocyclone

Hydrogenated oils are commonly used as solvents in the petroleum resin industry. The separation of particulate matter from hydrotreating oil is critical to product quality and the service life of the catalyst in the downstream fixed bed. Conventional separation methods, represented by diatomaceous earth filtration, suffer from low separation efficiency, high material consumption, generation of large amounts of hazardous waste, and cumbersome operation. Therefore, a physical method of microchannel separation coupling hydrocyclone was proposed. A 1 m3/h pilot pretreatment device was established to comprehensively evaluate the particle removal in hydrogenated oil. The high separation efficiency and long operation cycle were achieved by a microchannel separator with 0.5–1 mm particle size quartz sand. The single cycle of the microchannel separator was 75 h. The turbidity was decreased by about 64.3%, which was better than that of the traditional separation method (49.9%). The particle removal in hydrogenated oil by microchannel separator was about 75.0%, while the removal of diatomite separator in the same period was only 44.7%. In a 40 m3/h petroleum resin plant based on a microchannel separator, the operating cost and the hazardous waste emissions are reduced by 1,815,000 CNY/year and 208 tons/year, respectively. It is hoped that this study can not only promote the energy-saving and cleaner production of hydrogenated oil but also provide useful guidance for other petrochemical industries.