PLUS CHEMISTRY
WE ARE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
FULLER EARTH DEPLETED
Technology for regeneration and reuse of bleaching earth
One of the major inputs used by the edible vegetable oil refining industry is bleaching earth, also known as Fuller's earth. This earth comes from mineral sources and its use is widespread due to the lack of technical and economic alternatives. A drawback is that this earth tends to become saturated with oil, and when this occurs, it is discarded.
Discarded depleted soil represents a high-impact environmental waste, as it contains a high percentage of crude oil which oxidizes and alters the chemical balance of the surrounding environment, causing an imbalance in the COD and BOD of ecosystems. Furthermore, it poses a potential hazard as it can ignite and cause uncontrolled fires.
One of the most widespread current methods for preventing used cooking oil from reaching the environment is the use of spent soil in solid fuel boilers. However, because the soil is non-combustible, it creates operational problems in this industrial equipment, so the soil is usually incinerated before being disposed of. This results in pollution from combustion gases.
With traditional technology, depleted land is considered single-use and therefore causes high operating costs in vegetable oil refining plants.
Our technology for regenerating depleted bleaching earth allows us to increase the useful life of depleted fuller earth; allowing the industry to reduce its costs for bleaching earth consumption.
The application of our technological development allows the removal of contaminated oil embedded in the interstices of depleted soil without the use of solvents or acids that degrade the quality of the soil, allowing easy removal of this oil and reuse for other commercial processes.
Oil removed from depleted soil
regenerated fuller earth
Initial oil content 50%
Final oil content 4%
Once the soil contamination is removed, it can be reused in bleaching processes. Depending on operating conditions or process requirements, 100% of the reclaimed soil can be used, or a mixture of virgin and reclaimed soil. The ratio must be determined through laboratory testing.
For more information about our technology, please contact us.