Process for the purification of glycerol water

摘要

The glycerol water (sweet water) accumulating in the high-pressure hydrolysis of natural fats and oils with steam into fatty acid and glycerol is continuously purified. Fats larger than 100 mu m in diameter are separated from the aqueous phase in a plate-type phase separator and are returned to the high-pressure hydrolysis process. The aqueous phase thus prepurified is passed through a cross-flow filtration membrane, more particularly a microfiltration membrane, and the concentrate is returned to the entrance of the plate-phase separator. Large product streams of glycerol water can be purified continuously, effectively and particularly economically despite frequent changes of provenance.