DIMONT IMPIANTI, Italy

Calcium-Chloride-plant:Process-Description

This unit is designed to produce 35,000 metric tons per year of calcium chloride dihydrate or calcium
chloride with a purity of 99%.

The raw materials fed to the unit are :

Hydrochloric acid at 33% We assume that demi water is used for gaseous acid absorption.

Limestone at 99.5 purity level grinded at 200 mesh

Demi water

Other required chemicals are:

Lime milk 10% of concentration

The following utilities are available:

Saturated steam at 4 barg minimum

Cooling water at 28C

Instrument air at 5 barg min and dew point at -20C

LV Electric power 380 V 3 ph 50 Hz

LPG liquid fuel (LHV 46,1 KJ / g)

The unit is producing, as by product, about 1400 kg/h of carbon dioxide at 95% saturated of water at
ambient temperature. The carbon dioxide could be compressed and dried , but no facilities are provided
in this proposal for this recovery.

Part of the evaporated water from reaction liquor is recovered as soft water to be reused inside the
factoryThe product is available as dry powder ready to be stored (storage and packing not included in this
proposal)

The gaseous emissions of the unit are :

The mentioned concentrate carbon dioxide if not compressed treated and reused.

The dryer emissions (800 kg/h of CO2)

There are not pollutant liquid emissions.

Design basis of Calcium Chloride Plant

The mechanical design is oriented to skid mounted equipment.

The unit is designed for continuous operation, with a service factor of 7500 h/y.

The unit is designed for centralized operation from control room in this proposal we suppose the DCS
supplied by others. The chemicals preparation and daily tank handling are manual operations

It is foreseen to provide a safety system installed on a dedicated PLC in the control room.

It is foreseen to provide an electrical panel in the mcc room fed by LV distribution

Raw material feeding of Calcium Chloride Plant

The hydrochloric acid is fed to the reactors from a surge tank by a centrifugal pump, the flow is controlled
by a flow control loop. The surge tank has a capacity of 50 m3 (12 hour at full capacity)

The limestone, already grinded at suitable size, is fed from a storage vessel to a temporary hopper by a
suitable conveyor. The limestone storage is foreseen of 50 m3 of capacity. A rotary vane valve supply
the limestone to the first reactor. The feeding rate is kept at constant ratio with the acid flow.

Reaction of Calcium Chloride Dihydrate

In this section the reaction between acid and limestone take place in liquid phase with a large
development of gaseous carbon dioxide. The gas is routed out from the reactors by a closed vent
system while the slurry (aqueous acid solution and limestone) overflows from first reactor to the second
reactors, where the process is completed.

The reaction produces also water and calcium chloride accordingly with the following reaction model:

2 HCl + CaCO3 = Ca Cl2 + H2O + CO2 + heat

The produced heat is more than one million of kjoule and must be removed in order to avoid a massive
evaporation of acid, this function is provide by two heat exchangers (one for each reactor) cooled with
water. Two recirculation pumps provide the necessary flow to the external cooler. Each reactor is
provided with a stirrer in order to guarantee the intimate contact of the dishomogeneous reacting phases.

In each reactor the limestone concentration is kept higher than the stechiometric ratio, in order to
promote the total consumption of the acid and reduction of concentration in the reactors. The acid water
from the gas scrubber is recycled to the reactors.

Then the liquid phase leaving the reactors shall be a liquor with about 40% w/w of calcium chloride, with
a solid dispersed phase of limestone. This slurry is fed with a pump to an hydrocyclon where the
limestone is separated and recycled to the reactors.

The hydrocyclone overflow (almost clear liquor) is fed to neutralization section.

Carbon dioxide scrubbing section of Calcium Chloride Plant

The reactor vented carbon dioxide washed in a packed column with soft water from concentration
section in order to eliminate the evaporated acid gas and reduce the associated water vapor . The
washing water is recirculated with a pump. The bleeding of the closed circuit is sent to the first reactor.

Liquor of Calcium Chloride Plant : neutralization and clarification

The liquor of Calcium Chloride Plant leaving the second reactor is fed by gravity to the neutralization
tank where the pH correction takes place adding a suspension at 10% of lime milk.. The neutralization
tank is provided with a stirrer and with an automatic pH control system. At neutralization tank outlet the
liquor is added with a flocculent and discharged by gravity in a clarifier In this equipment the residual
suspended solids are settled. The overflow is recovered in a buffer tank.The under is recycled to the first
reactor by volumetric (mono ) pump,

The CaCl2 solution at about 40% is concentrated up to 55-58% in a triple effect evaporator.

The last effect, operating at about 0,3 is connected with a liquid ring vacuum pump system.

The water vapor is condensed and received in a barometric receiver. Part of condensed water is reused
in the scrubbing sector, the remaining is available as soft water for the factory uses.

Calcium Chloride Plant- Product drying

The liquor stored in the buffer tank is fed by a centrifugal pump a steam heater and then to a spray dryer.
The heat necessary to evaporate the water is given by a natural gas burner system providing the hot air
to the dryer. The product, in form of powder, is recovered on the equipment bottom. The temperature
control in the dryer is a crucial parameter in order to obtain the dehydrate crystallization form. The
powder is discharged from the dryer in a service bin suitable for a pneumatic transport in dense phase
and high pressure in order to be sent to a storage vessel. The exhaust air is filtered in a bag filter the
entrained powder returns to the dryer and the exhaust air is sucked up by an end blower