Purification System Comprising Continuous Reactor and Purification Method Using Continuous Reactor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a purification system configured such that a solution stored in a solution storage tank is dispersed/stirred ultrasonically and sent by an air compressor to a reactor in which the sent solution and a solvent introduced through another pathway are stirred to produce a reaction product, and a purification method using the purification system.

1 . A purification system comprising:
 a solution storage tank configured to store a solution;   an ultrasonic disperser configured to ultrasonically disperse particles contained in the solution in the solution storage tank;   a stirrer configured to stir the solution stored in the solution storage tank;   a heating jacket provided outside the solution storage tank and configured to control the internal temperature of the storage tank;   an air compressor configured to suck the solution from the solution storage tank and send the sucked solution to a position next thereto; and   a continuous reactor configured to be supplied with the solution sent by the air compressor together with a solvent sent through a separate pathway and to stir the supplied solutions at high speed to continuously produce a reaction product having uniform particles.   
     
     
         2 . A purification system comprising:
 a solution storage tank configured to store a solution;   an ultrasonic disperser configured to ultrasonically disperse particles contained in the solution in the solution storage tank;   a stirrer configured to stir the solution stored in the solution storage tank;   a heating jacket provided outside the solution storage tank and configured to control the internal temperature of the storage tank;   an air compressor configured to suck the solution from the solution storage tank and send the sucked solution to a position next thereto; and   a filter cartridge configured to filter fine impurities contained in the solution sent by the air compressor;   a temperature controlling unit comprising a casing enclosing the filter cartridge, a heating medium filled in the casing, and a heater for heating the heating medium;   a continuous reactor configured to be supplied with the filtered solution that passed through the filter cartridge, together with a semi-solvent stored in a semi-solvent storage tank, and to stir the supplied solution and semi-solvent to produce a reaction product having uniform particles;   an organic material separator configured to be connected to a discharge port of the reactor and to separate a slurry-type reaction product, discharged from the continuous reactor, into an organic material and a liquid;   an organic material storage chamber configured to store the solid organic material separated by the organic material separator; and   an analysis and correction module configured to collect the liquid separated by the organic material separator, analyze whether or not the state of the collected liquid is normal, and correct process conditions into optimal conditions on the basis of the results of the analysis.   
     
     
         3 . The purification system of  claim 2 , wherein the filter cartridge comprises a filter case and a material filled in the filter case, in which the filled material consists of one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of metal oxides, including activated alumina, silica, and titanium oxide, and natural stones, including activated carbon, bentonite, acid clay, and diatomaceous earth. 
     
     
         4 . The purification system of  claim 2 , wherein the organic material separator is a centrifuge or a dewaterer. 
     
     
         5 . The purification system of  claim 1 , wherein the continuous reactor comprises:
 a cylinder that includes a reaction chamber configured to receive the filtered solution together with the semi-solvent, and has a semi-solvent injection port formed at the upper portion of the cylinder and configured to introduce the semi-solvent into the reaction chamber, and a solution injection port formed at the lower portion of the cylinder and configured to introduce the organic material solution into the reaction chamber;   a heating medium-filled chamber formed along the outer circumference of the reaction chamber and filled with a heating medium for controlling the temperature of the solution and semi-solvent received in the reaction chamber;   a plurality of partitioning plates configured to divide the space of the heating medium-filled chamber into a plurality of spaces and made of a thermal insulating material in order to block heat exchange between the heating media filled in the plurality of heating medium-filled chamber spaces;   a temperature controlling element configured to control the temperature of the heating medium filled in each of the heating medium-filled chamber spaces divided by the partitioning plates;   a stirring body rotatably provided in the cylinder and configured to stir the solution and semi-solvent in the cylinder;   a stirring motor disposed below the cylinder; and   a belt pulley and a belt, which connect the shaft of the stirring motor to one end of the stirring body so as to transfer power of the stirring motor to the stirring body.   
     
     
         6 . The purification system of  claim 5 , further comprising a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature of the heating medium in each of the heating medium-filled chamber spaces and transmit the sensed temperature to the analysis and correction module. 
     
     
         7 . The purification system of  claim 5 , wherein the wall surface of the reaction chamber and the heating medium-filled chamber is coated with corrosion-resistant Teflon or made of hastelloy-C. 
     
     
         8 . A purification system comprising:
 a filter configured to filter out solids from a solution while allowing the solution to pass therethrough;   a solution storage tank configured to store the solution that passed through the filter;   an ultrasonic disperser configured to ultrasonically disperse particles contained in the solution in the solution storage tank;   a stirrer configured to stir the solution stored in the solution storage tank;   a heating jacket provided outside the storage tank and configured to control the internal temperature of the storage tank;   an air compressor configured to suck the solution from the solution storage tank and send the sucked solution to a position next thereto;   a continuous reactor configured to be supplied with the solution sent by the air compressor together with a solvent sent through a separate pathway and to stir the supplied solutions at high speed to continuously produce a reaction product;   a dewaterer configured to be connected to a discharge port of the continuous reactor and to separate a liquid from a slurry-type reaction product discharged from the continuous reactor; and   a dryer configured to dry a solid component separated by the dewaterer.   
     
     
         9 . A method for purifying tryptophan using the purification system of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 allowing a tryptophan solution to pass through a filter before storage in a storage tank to remove solids having a size larger than a predetermined size;   introducing NaOH into the storage tank to adjust the pH of the tryptophan solution;   maintaining the temperature of the tryptophan solution in the storage tank at a predetermined temperature using a heating jacket provided outside the storage tank;   adding a polymer material to the tryptophan solution in the storage tank to increase the density of particles in the tryptophan solution;   supplying the tryptophan solution from the storage tank to a continuous reactor;   adding an acid solution to the tryptophan solution supplied to the continuous reactor to neutralize the pH of the tryptophan solution to thereby precipitate crystals;   dewatering the precipitated crystal particles by a dewaterer to separate the particles into a solid and a liquid; and   drying the solid of step (S 70 ) in hot air.   
     
     
         10 . The purification system of  claim 2 , wherein the continuous reactor comprises:
 a cylinder that includes a reaction chamber configured to receive the filtered solution together with the semi-solvent, and has a semi-solvent injection port formed at the upper portion of the cylinder and configured to introduce the semi-solvent into the reaction chamber, and a solution injection port formed at the lower portion of the cylinder and configured to introduce the organic material solution into the reaction chamber;   a heating medium-filled chamber formed along the outer circumference of the reaction chamber and filled with a heating medium for controlling the temperature of the solution and semi-solvent received in the reaction chamber;   a plurality of partitioning plates configured to divide the space of the heating medium-filled chamber into a plurality of spaces and made of a thermal insulating material in order to block heat exchange between the heating media filled in the plurality of heating medium-filled chamber spaces;   a temperature controlling element configured to control the temperature of the heating medium filled in each of the heating medium-filled chamber spaces divided by the partitioning plates;   a stirring body rotatably provided in the cylinder and configured to stir the solution and semi-solvent in the cylinder;   a stirring motor disposed below the cylinder; and   a belt pulley and a belt, which connect the shaft of the stirring motor to one end of the stirring body so as to transfer power of the stirring motor to the stirring body.   
     
     
         11 . The purification system of  claim 10 , further comprising a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature of the heating medium in each of the heating medium-filled chamber spaces and transmit the sensed temperature to the analysis and correction module. 
     
     
         12 . The purification system of  claim 10 , wherein the wall surface of the reaction chamber and the heating medium-filled chamber is coated with corrosion-resistant Teflon or made of hastelloy-C. 
     
     
         13 . A method for purifying tryptophan using the purification system of  claim 2 , the method comprising:
 allowing a tryptophan solution to pass through a filter before storage in a storage tank to remove solids having a size larger than a predetermined size;   introducing NaOH into the storage tank to adjust the pH of the tryptophan solution;   maintaining the temperature of the tryptophan solution in the storage tank at a predetermined temperature using a heating jacket provided outside the storage tank;   adding a polymer material to the tryptophan solution in the storage tank to increase the density of particles in the tryptophan solution;   supplying the tryptophan solution from the storage tank to a continuous reactor;   adding an acid solution to the tryptophan solution supplied to the continuous reactor to neutralize the pH of the tryptophan solution to thereby precipitate crystals;   dewatering the precipitated crystal particles by a dewaterer to separate the particles into a solid and a liquid; and   drying the solid in hot air.