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EngineeringComplete PlantsSpecial ApparatusProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 1 01.03.2007 17:46:02Schulz+Partner GmbHSince its foundation in October 1994, Schulz+Partner GmbH, a process engineering company, has specialized in the treatment and regeneration of industrial process liquids. As a competent and experi-enced systems supplier, we design and implement customized solu-tions in accordance with your per-sonal needs and requirements.1994 Schulz+Partner GmbH is founded1997 Schulz+Partner joins Ebner Group2003 Merger with Kuenzi ACS AGThe CompanyDevelopment and InnovationOptimal designs and plant safety are ensured by process simulation coupled with extensive lab and pilot plant testing. Moreover, we are dedicated to continuous further development and integration of innovative technologies. This puts us in a position to satisfy the high-est customer demands in the long term, combining economy with guaranteed operational safety.LaboranlageProcess visualisation3D DesignProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 2 01.03.2007 17:46:30Fields of ActivitiesEvaporation Heat-pump evaporators Falling-fi lm evaporators Forced and natural circulation evaporators Vapor compression evaporators Thin-fi lm evaporators Molecular distillationCrystallization Evaporating crystallizers Cooling crystallizersDrying  Thin-fi lm dryers, combi-dryers Heat-pump dryersRectifi cation, Absorption Tray and structured packing columnsLiquid-liquid extraction Stirred and pulsed columns Mixer-settlersEngineering Process solutions & consulting Lab/pilot-plant testing Process simulation Preliminary projects Basic and detail engineering Installation planning, 3-D Automation, measuring and control engineering Material procurement  Installation & project management CommissioningPlant engineering Turnkey plants Skid units  Process stages Special plants Single componentsPlant maintenance Service contracts, especially for heat-pump units Spare parts express delivery serviceOur Products and Servicesprocess effl uents – salt solutions – organic solutions – mineral acids – alkaline solutions (lyes) – pickling solutions – fermentation effl uents – solvents – mineral oils – landfi ll water Prospekt_2005_Image_en.indd 3 01.03.2007 17:46:47MMM12345B A CHeat-pump evaporators are based on a compressor-driven refrigerant circuit. The heat generated by the compression stage is used for evap-oration, whereas the cold output is employed for vapor condensation. Apart from electric power, these plants require no additional energy input at all.Advantages: Energy savings of up to 90%, compared with conventional evaporators Only electric power is required as an energy source, no heating steam, no cooling water  Delivered as tested compact units (skids), ready for operationLow operating temperature (vacuum, t < 50°C) guarantees adequate, non-destructive treat-ment of heat-sensitive media (or feed products) – and plant corrosion is minimized as well. This allows the use of plastic materials for processing highly aggressive acids such as HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, HF, etc. Construction materials: all weldable metals such as stainless steel, Hastelloy, tita-nium, zirconium, etc. glass-lined steel, graphite, silicon carbide plastics such as PP, PE, PTFE, PVDF, PFA, etc. plastic linings, glass fi ber-rein-forced plastics, hard-rubber lin-ings, etc.EvaporationCONfi x® Ex-design (explosion proof)Heat-Pump Evaporators Typ Confi x®Nearly a “Perpetuum Mobile”1 Heat exchanger2 Seperator3 CondenserA Feed product entryB ResidueC DistillateProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 4 01.03.2007 17:47:0312ANatural/Forced Circulation Evaporatorsheated up by a few degrees when passing through the heat exchan-ger tube. This prevents precipita-tion and tube encrustations.Thanks to their straightforward design without any moving parts, forced and natural circulation evap-orators are extremely robust and safe to operate.Circulation type evaporator with elbow pumpForced circulation evaporator used for concentrating hydrofl uoric/sulphuric acid Natural circulation evaporators operate by the “thermosiphon” principle, in which no circulating pump is usually required. They can be used for processing practically any low-viscosity liquid. In the case of solutions with poor heat trans-mission (due to higher viscosity, for example), a pump (such as an elbow propeller pump – see dia-gram) may be required to ensure suffi cient circulation.Forced circulation is required for contaminated media or feed products with higher viscosities. In contrast to natural-circulation processes, the evaporation will not take place in the heat-exchanger tube but at a later stage when the feed product enters the separator (so-called fl ash vaporization). The pump pressure ensures that the product is not evaporated but just 1 Heat exchanger2 SeparatorA FeedB ResidueC DistillateD Heating steamE Steam condensateForced circulation evaporatorProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 5 01.03.2007 17:47:14121212Falling-Film Evaporators Universally applicable, thus suit-able for most evaporation tasks.  Compact design allows imple-mentation of apparatuses with very large heating surfaces. Due to their minimal hold-up and correspondingly low residence time (the evaporator tubes are coated with just a thin fi lm), these plants are specially suitable for the evaporation of heat-sensitive products. Low pressure loss combined with good heat transfer charac-teristics make these evaporators ideal for use with thermal or mechanical vapor compression. The result: highly energy-effi -cient evaporating plants.Multi-stage EvaporatorsWater evaporation generally re-quires a high energy input. One of the options to reduce or minimize the heat energy requirements are multi-stage evaporators, based on the principle that the vapor produced in the fi rst evaporator is used for heating up the next evaporator and so on. The larger the number of evaporator stages in series, the lower the heating-steam consumption. A three-stage evaporator, for example, requires only half as much heating steam as a single-stage evaporator. The basic investment costs, though, are cor-respondingly higher.EvaporationFalling-fi lm evaporator 2400 m², evaporation capacity 20 t/h with mechanical vapor compression3-stage falling-fi lm evaporator1 Falling-fi lm evaporator2 Separator3 Condenser4 Discharge vesselA FeedB ResidueC DistillateD Heating steamE Steam condensateF Cooling waterProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 6 01.03.2007 17:47:31A1212Vapor Compression EvaporatorsAs an alternative to multi-stage evaporation, you can also use ther-mal or mechanical vapor compres-sion to drastically minimize the required energy input. Depending on the type of compression used, energy savings of up to 95% can be achieved. Vapor compression sim-ply means pressurizing the vapor produced by the evaporator and subsequently feeding it back as heating steam. Thermal Vapor CompressionA venturi steam-jet compressor operated with live steam is used for vapor pressurization. Venturi steam compressors have no mov-able parts and are therefore ex-tremely resistant and reliable. De-pending on operating conditions, steam savings of up to 50% can be achieved. A disadvantage of steam jet compressors is their lack of fl ex-ibility under changing operating conditions.Mechanical Vapor CompressionMechanical vapor compression uses compressors of various de-signs (e.g. reciprocating, screw-type, Roots-type or axial compres-sors, axial fans). During operation, no additional heating steam is usually required. The electric power input, which is used to repressurize the generated steam to a higher level, amounts to just 10–20% of the energy needed for single-stage evaporation.All compressors operate at high to very high rotational speeds, de-pending on the type used, and are therefore very noisy. Sound insula-tion is usually necessary.Falling-fi lm evaporator with steam-jet vapor compressionFalling-fi lm evaporator with mechanical vapor compression1 Falling-fi lm evaporator2 Separator4 Discharge vesselA FeedB ResidueC DistillateD Heating SteamE Steam condensateG Exhaust airProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 7 01.03.2007 17:47:49The term “thin-fi lm technology” comprises all thermal processes using mechanically generated thin fi lms. Thin-fi lm apparatuses are used where conventional evapora-tors fail (usually due to increased viscosity of the media to be proc-essed). Apart from classic thin-fi lm evaporators, we offer special de-signs for the following applications: short-path evaporation (molec-ular distillation) at low vacuum thin-fi lm dryers for continuous operation to achieve dry resi-dues degassing or vaporization of re-sidual low-boiling components (e.g. monomers) from high-vis-cosity products, pastes and plas-tic melts thin-fi lm heat exchangers for cooling/heating high-viscosity products, pastes and meltsThin-Film EvaporatorsThin-fi lm evaporators with rigid-blade rotors For high product viscosities of up to approx. 60,000 mPas; evaporation degree of 80% in single-cycle mode (no recycling).  Rigid rotor blades making no wall contact; gaps ranging be-tween 0.5 and 2 mm, depending on size.Thin-fi lm evaporators with fl exible wipers For product viscosities of up to approx. 30,000 mPas; allows solids content; high evaporation degree of up to 95% in single-cy-cle mode. Centrifugal forces press fl exible wipers against evaporator wall. Wiper edge made of metal, PTFE (with additions) or carbon.Thin-fi lm heat exchangers Heating or cooling viscous feed products, melts or pastes requires mechanical product circulation.  The thin-fi lm heat exchanger consists of a jacked shell tube and a rotor with mixer ele-ments welded on. For product transport, either the rotor itself (DSHP) or an external high-pres-sure pump can be used. Thin-Film Technology1 Evaporator heating zone2 Rotor3 CondenserA FeedB ResidueC DistillateD Heating steamE Steam condensateF Cooling waterThin-fi lm evaporator with fl exible wipersThin-fi lm evaporator with rigid-blade rotorProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 8 01.03.2007 17:48:04Thin-fi lm short-path evaporators For low-temperature evapora-tion of high-boiling substances under vacuum ranging between 10 and 10-2 mbar. To minimize pressure losses, the condenser is arranged concen-trically inside the evaporator at a short distance to the evapora-tor surface.Thin-fi lm viscotruders For evaporating/degassing low-boiling components (e.g. monomers) from very viscous, no longer free-fl owing media such as pastes and (plastic) melts with viscosities > 10 Pas. The rotor features both vertical wiper blades (for fi lm formation and mixing – no direct wall con-tact; gap 0.5 mm) and inclined blades (for moving the feed product along the heating sur-faces).Prospekt_2005_Image_en.indd 9 01.03.2007 17:48:17MMM1234B ACThin-fi lm dryers Continuous evaporation that leaves a dry, powdery residue; also under vacuum. Residual humidity 0-10%, depending on product. Rotor with pendulum-type wip-ers that make no direct wall contact (gap 0.5 mm)DryingCombi-dryerThin-fi lm combi-dryers These achieve absolutely dry powder without any residual humidity. When using a normal thin-fi lm dryer, the result is usually a more or less fi ne powder that feels dry to the touch but in fact contains some residual humidity upon closer examination. Removing this residual humidity requires a longer residence time (approx. 30 min) – which is not possible with a thin-fi lm dryer. However, combining a vertical thin-fi lm dryer with a subsequent horizontal contact dryer satisfi es these requirements per-fectly.DRYfi x® heat-pump dryers Discontinuous evaporator with scrape-type agitator, for volumes of up to 100 kg/h per batch. Standard model with heat-pump system; requires only electric power, no heating medium, no cooling water; energy savings of approx. 85%.1 Heating shell2 Rotor3 CondenserA FeedB Powdery residueC DistillateD Heating steamE Steam condensateF Cooling waterM Exhaust air fanThin-fi lm dryerHeat-pump dryerProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 10 01.03.2007 17:48:331Crystallization occurs as soon as the temperature-dependent saturation concentration has been exceeded. This can be achieved either by evapora-tion or by cooling of the concentrated solution. Continuous or discontinuous plant operation is possible.CrystallizationCooling crystallizers Cooling by fl ash evaporation into vacuum (fl ash crystallization) Cooling with heat exchanger, especially for discontinuous operation Cooling with self-cleaning heat exchanger, thanks to fl uid-bed technologyEvaporating crystallizers Used for diluted solutions With heat pump; requires only electric power – no heating medium, no cooling water With vapor compression Crystallizer combined with single- or multi-stage evapo-ration 1 Heat exchanger2 Crystallizer5 Centrifuge6 CoolerCooling crystallizerEvaporating crystallizerA FeedB CrystalsH Mother liquorProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 11 01.03.2007 17:48:49Rectifi cation is the most widely used separation process in the fi eld of chemical engineering.Our services: provision of know-how in the form of concepts, simulations, calculations lab and pilot plant testing basic and detail engineering automation, process control engineeringOur specialties: tray and packed columns of all types, divided-wall rectifi cation col-umns turnkey plants, complete pro-duction units skid unitsPacked rectifi cation/absoption columns Structured wire-mesh and metal-sheet packings Random packings Liquid distributors, collectors and supports  Revamping of existing columns on a time-optimized basis to minimize interruption of the client’s production processesScrubbers For exhaust air or process gases Random or structured packingsTray columnsAdvantages: No need for collectors and liquid distributors; feed inlets or side-stream outlets may be located at any plate. Type “KSB” perforated plates – a generic S+P design. Thanks to a spacing of just 200 mm Rectifi cation-Absorption(5 practical trays/m = 4 theoret. plates/m) and the elimination of collectors and distributors, the resulting stack will be lower than a packed column of com-parable effi ciency. Insensitive to solids and dirt Bubble-cap and tunnel trays  Valve trays Trays with cooling/heating coils for removing/supplying reaction or absorption heat.Structured ceramic packing Vaccum rectifi cation plant Structured sheet packingProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 12 01.03.2007 17:49:12Absorption columns KSB-type plate columns, with integrated cooling coils for heat supply/removal Packing columns Packed columnsRektifi cation plant for solvent regenerationProcess control cabinetKSB jet-trayAbsorption tray with cooling coilsProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 13 01.03.2007 17:49:26Liquid-liquid extraction is a proven separation technique, frequently used in cases where other tech-nologies (such as rectifi cation) are no longer feasible options. The extraction process as such requires almost no energy input (pumps and agitator ignored); very often operation takes place at ambient temperature. However, solvent ex-traction necessarily requires treat-ment of the extract and raffi nate output streams, usually through distillation. Of course, this requires some energy input.Advantages: Selective separation where oth-er methods fail (due to nonselec-tive separation, temperature sensitivity, etc.) Processing large volumes (up to 1,000 m3/h) with relatively small extracting towers Separation of heat-sensitive substances at ambient tempera-tures (e.g. vitamins)Liquid-Liquid ExtractionStirred extraction columns of type “Kuenzi” Of all extraction systems, the stirred column is the most fl ex-ible one and can be used across the widest range of applications. In fact, the limitations of this technique can be seen in just two requirements: a minimum density difference of 30 kg/m3, and no tendency to form stable emulsions when mixed.The “Kuenzi” AME type extrac-tion column consists of a larger number of stacked compartments, each with a 6-blade agitator in-stalled on a central shaft. The agi-tator unit can be pulled out by the top. The design of the stages (in particular the stator, hold-up disk and agitator dimensions as well as the stage spacing) are customized in accordance with given media and operational requirements. The column can be designed either for large volumes (high throughput rates) with relatively low separat-ing effi ciency or, conversely, for a high separating effi ciency with lower throughput rates.Advantages: Variable geometry allows ad-aptation to given media and operational requirements. Later adaptation to changing operating conditions through simple replacement of the hold-up plates Insensitive to solids Minimal maintenance costs thanks to low agitator speeds Safe and proven scale-up, even for very large columnsTyp “Kuenzi” AMEStirred extraction column with defi ned stage geometryTyp “Kuenzi” AMEXStirred extraction column with externally adjustable stage geometryLiquid-liquid extraction plantExtracting column with statorPilot column with glass shellAgitatorProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 14 01.03.2007 17:49:45Pulsed perforated tray columnsSuitable for smaller throughputs with clean media and preferably low interfacial tension For smaller columns with diam-eters of up to 600 mm  No movable parts except exter-nal pulsatorMixer-Settler Preferably used where only a small number of stages (1 to 4) is required High stage effi ciency of 80–100% Each stage features an inde-pendently adjustable agitator. This allows stage-wise adjust-ment of the dispersion intensity and thus an optimization of the required decanting volume Operation can be interrupted anytime, to be resumed later without any additional start-up timeDepending on construction materi-als and operational requirements, special models are available:Type MSBBox-type, with rectangular ground plan; available as single stage or „battery-type“ multiple stages (arranged side by side)Typ MSTTube-type, only for single stagesTyp MSVStirred-vessel shape, with centric mixer and externally arranged set-tler. Single-stage or max. 3 stages per vessel.Mixer-Settler-Reaction-Column2-sage mixer-settler of type MSBMixer-settler of type MSVProspekt_2005_Image_en.indd 15 01.03.2007 17:49:58Prospekt_2005_Image_en.indd 16 01.03.2007 17:50:17