Method and system for producing high-yield, high-gloss pure lactide by using biological fermentation technology to prepare lactic acid
阅读说明：本技术 利用生物发酵技术制备乳酸以生产高产率、高光纯丙交酯的方法和系统 (Method and system for producing high-yield, high-gloss pure lactide by using biological fermentation technology to prepare lactic acid ) 是由 崔兆宁 佟毅 李义 许克家 杨凯 周卫强 于 2020-06-08 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及发酵生物学和生物可降解材料领域,具体地涉及一种利用生物发酵技术制备乳酸以生产高产率、高光纯丙交酯的方法和系统。该方法包括：将乳酸发酵菌(保藏编号为CGMCC No.19507的鼠李糖乳杆菌)接种至发酵培养基中进行乳酸发酵,得到乳酸发酵液,将所述乳酸发酵液进行分离,得到L-乳酸原料,在第一聚合条件下,将乳酸进行预缩聚反应,得到聚合度小于5的乳酸预聚体和含有乳酸的气相；在第二聚合条件下,在降膜式反应器中,将乳酸预聚体进行缩聚反应,得到聚合度在10以下的乳酸低聚物；将乳酸低聚物在催化剂的作用下进行解聚,得到含有丙交酯的产物。利用本发明的方法和系统,可以得到高光纯的丙交酯,且产率高。(The invention relates to the field of fermentation biology and biodegradable materials, in particular to a method and a system for preparing lactic acid by utilizing a biological fermentation technology to produce high-yield and high-gloss pure lactide.)
1. A method for preparing lactic acid to produce lactide by utilizing a biological fermentation technology is characterized by comprising the steps of inoculating lactic acid fermentation bacteria into a fermentation culture medium for lactic acid fermentation to obtain a lactic acid fermentation liquid, and separating the lactic acid fermentation liquid to obtain L-lactic acid with the optical purity higher than 99%;
the method further comprises the following steps:
(1) under a first polymerization condition, carrying out a pre-polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5 and a gas phase containing the lactic acid;
(2) under a second polymerization condition, performing polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid prepolymer in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of below 10;
(3) and depolymerizing the lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the lactic ferments are lactobacillus rhamnosus with a collection number of CGMCC number 19507.
3. A method for producing lactide, comprising:
(1) under the first polymerization condition, carrying out pre-polycondensation reaction on lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5 and a gas phase containing lactic acid;
(2) under a second polymerization condition, performing polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid prepolymer in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of below 10;
(3) and depolymerizing the lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
4. The process of claim 1 or 3, wherein in step (1), the first polymerization conditions comprise: the temperature is 140-160 ℃, the pressure is 10-30KPa, and the time is 1-2 hours.
5. The process of claim 1 or 3, wherein in step (2), the second polymerization conditions comprise: the temperature is 160-180 ℃, and the pressure is 3-10 KPa; and the temperature of the second polymerization is higher than the temperature of the first polymerization, and the pressure is lower than the pressure of the first polymerization; and/or
The lactic acid oligomer comprises a first liquid phase lactic acid oligomer and a gas phase comprising droplets of lactic acid oligomer, the method further comprising: and performing cyclone separation on the gas phase to obtain a second liquid-phase lactic acid oligomer, and then depolymerizing the second liquid-phase lactic acid oligomer liquid and the first liquid-phase lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
6. The process according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the falling film reactor comprises an evaporation section, the evaporation section being of titanium or graphite; and/or
The falling film reactor comprises a liquid collecting section, and the material of the liquid collecting section is enamel or hastelloy.
7. The method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein, in step (3), the catalyst is a salt of zinc or tin, or an oxide of zinc or tin, and the catalyst is a paste catalyst; and/or
The depolymerization conditions include: the temperature is 180-210 ℃, and the pressure is 1-5 KPa; and the temperature of the depolymerization is higher than the temperature of the second polymerization and the pressure is lower than the pressure of the second polymerization; and/or
The depolymerization is carried out in a falling film reactor, the falling film reactor comprises an evaporation section, and the evaporation section is made of titanium or graphite; and/or the falling film reactor comprises a liquid collecting section, and the material of the liquid collecting section is enamel.
8. The process according to claim 1 or 3, wherein in step (1), the water content of the lactic acid is less than 1% by weight, and the lactic acid is obtained by first concentrating a lactic acid raw material in a first concentration column: the primary concentration tower comprises a primary atomization rectifying section, and the primary atomization rectifying section is an empty barrel body and is made of enamel or hastelloy; the primary concentration method comprises the following steps:
(i) heating a lactic acid raw material with the water content of less than 10 weight percent to 90-120 ℃;
(ii) introducing the heated lactic acid raw material into a primary atomization rectification section in a fogdrop mode for flash evaporation to obtain first dehydrated lactic acid fogdrop and flash steam, wherein the flash steam contains water vapor and lactic acid vapor; the pressure of the first-stage atomization rectifying section is 20-50 KPa;
(iii) making the first dehydrated lactic acid fog drops reversely contact with a lactic acid gas flow from the lower part of a primary concentration tower in the falling process, wherein the temperature of the lactic acid gas flow is higher than that of the first dehydrated lactic acid fog drops but lower than the boiling point of lactic acid, and the lactic acid with the water content of less than 1 weight percent is obtained;
wherein the lactic acid gas stream is derived from the lactic acid containing gas phase described in step (1).
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises: (iii) performing secondary concentration of the lactic acid on the flash steam in the step (ii) in a secondary concentration tower, wherein the secondary concentration tower comprises a secondary atomization rectification section, and the secondary atomization rectification section is an empty barrel body; the method for the secondary concentration comprises the following steps:
(a) adjusting the temperature of the flash steam to 90-120 ℃;
(b) introducing the condensate after temperature adjustment into a secondary atomization rectification section in a fogdrop mode for flash evaporation to obtain second dehydrated lactic acid fogdrops and flash evaporation steam; the pressure of the second-stage atomization rectifying section is 20-50 KPa;
(c) making the second dehydrated lactic acid fog drops reversely contact with a lactic acid gas flow from the lower part of a secondary concentration tower in the falling process, wherein the temperature of the lactic acid gas flow is higher than that of the second dehydrated lactic acid fog drops but lower than the boiling point of lactic acid, and obtaining third dehydrated lactic acid;
wherein, if the water content of the third dehydrated lactic acid is more than 10 wt%, the third dehydrated lactic acid is circularly concentrated in the secondary concentration tower until the water content is less than 10 wt%; wherein, during cyclic concentration, the third dehydrated lactic acid is introduced to the lower part of the second-stage atomization rectification section;
if the water content of the third dehydrated lactic acid is less than 10% by weight, it is introduced into the first-stage concentration tower to perform first-stage concentration.
10. The method according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the method further comprises subjecting the depolymerized waste liquid to hydrolysis reaction under the condition of adding water and optional lactic acid to obtain hydrolysate, and evaporating the hydrolysate to obtain lactic acid;
wherein the lactic acid is recycled to the first concentration tower for reuse or disposed as a byproduct.
11. A system for producing lactide from lactic acid using a biological fermentation technique, the system comprising:
the lactic acid fermentation unit is used for inoculating lactic acid fermentation bacteria into a fermentation culture medium for lactic acid fermentation to obtain a lactic acid fermentation liquid, and separating the lactic acid fermentation liquid to obtain L-lactic acid with the optical purity higher than 99%;
a lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit and a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit which are connected in series in sequence;
in the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit, a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle (11) and a polycondensation reaction kettle (12) which are sequentially connected in series are arranged according to the flow direction of materials and are respectively used for pre-polycondensation and polycondensation of lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
a depolymerization reaction kettle (21) is arranged in the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit and is used for depolymerization of the lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
wherein the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle (11), the polycondensation reaction kettle (12) and the depolymerization reaction kettle (21) are respectively and independently provided with heating equipment and vacuum equipment;
wherein the polycondensation reaction kettle (12) is a falling film reactor.
12. A system for producing lactide, characterized in that the system comprises a lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit and a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit connected in series in this order;
in the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit, a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle (11) and a polycondensation reaction kettle (12) which are sequentially connected in series are arranged according to the flow direction of materials and are respectively used for pre-polycondensation and polycondensation of lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
a depolymerization reaction kettle (21) is arranged in the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit and is used for depolymerization of the lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
wherein the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle (11), the polycondensation reaction kettle (12) and the depolymerization reaction kettle (21) are respectively and independently provided with heating equipment and vacuum equipment;
wherein the polycondensation reaction kettle (12) is a falling film reactor.
13. The system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the falling film reactor comprises an evaporation section, the evaporation section being made of titanium or graphite; and/or the falling film reactor comprises a liquid collecting section, and the material of the liquid collecting section is enamel or hastelloy; and/or
The depolymerization reaction kettle (21) is a falling film reactor.
14. The system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit further comprises a cyclonic separation system (13) arranged downstream of the polycondensation reaction vessel (12), the inlet of the cyclonic separation system (13) being connected to the upper outlet of the liquid collection section of the polycondensation reaction vessel (12).
15. The system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the system further comprises a lactic acid concentration unit comprising a primary lactic acid concentration column (31) and optionally a secondary lactic acid concentration column (41);
the lactic acid concentration unit further comprises a primary concentration preheater (32) disposed upstream of the primary lactic acid concentration tower (31) and a secondary concentration preheater (42) disposed upstream of the secondary lactic acid concentration tower (41);
wherein the primary lactic acid concentration tower (31) and the secondary lactic acid concentration tower (41) are respectively and independently provided with a vacuum pumping system;
wherein the primary lactic acid concentrating tower (31) comprises: the device comprises a primary atomization rectifying section (311), a primary packing section (312) and a primary liquid collecting section (313), wherein the primary atomization rectifying section (311) is an empty barrel body and is made of enamel or Hastelloy; the upper part of the primary liquid collecting section (313) is connected with the upper part of the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle (11);
wherein the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower (41) comprises: a secondary atomization rectifying section (411), a secondary packing section (412) and a secondary liquid collecting section (413), wherein the secondary atomization rectifying section is an empty barrel body; the upper part is provided with a lactic acid nozzle, and a heating device is arranged in the secondary liquid collecting section (413).
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a waste treatment unit comprising:
the kettle residue hydrolysis kettle (51) is used for receiving kettle residues of the depolymerization reaction kettle (21) and hydrolyzing the kettle residues, and the kettle residue hydrolysis kettle (51) is provided with a water inlet and a lactic acid inlet;
the hydrolysate evaporator (52) is used for evaporating hydrolysate obtained from the kettle residue hydrolysis kettle to obtain lactic acid;
optionally, the hydrolysate evaporator (52) is also communicated with the primary lactic acid concentration tower (31) through a pipeline.
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of fermentation biology and biodegradable materials, in particular to a method and a system for preparing lactic acid by utilizing a biological fermentation technology to produce high-yield and high-gloss pure lactide.
Background
Under the global plastic-limited background, new biodegradable polylactic acid materials are more and more concerned, and the consumption amount per year is continuously increased. The statistics of the european bioplastic society show that the production of degradable materials is increasing at a rate of approximately 20% per year, the demand is increasing at a rate of 30%, and the products are in short supply for a long time. Generally, the synthesis of bio-based polylactic acid takes glucose with a high DE value as a raw material, high-gloss pure lactic acid is generated through biological fermentation, lactide is firstly obtained through steps of dehydration concentration, condensation recovery, polycondensation depolymerization and the like, and polylactic acid is obtained through ring-opening polymerization. The method has good controllability in the operation process and stable product quality. Because water which is a byproduct is not generated during the ring-opening polymerization reaction of the lactide, the molecular weight of the polymerization reaction can be accurately controlled to reach more than 10 ten thousand, and impurities and a small amount of meso-lactide in lactic acid raw materials can be removed in the preparation and purification of the lactide, so that the optical purity is improved, the two-step method is a classical method for preparing the high-molecular-weight polylactic acid and is suitable for large-scale industrial production. However, in the industry, the lactide production process with high optical purity and high yield has become a 'neck clamp' engineering developed in the industry.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to overcome the problems of low light purity and low yield of lactide prepared by a lactide production process in the prior art, and provides a method and a system for preparing lactic acid by using a biological fermentation technology to produce high-yield and high-light purity lactide.
The inventor of the invention finds that the reasons that the yield and the optical purity of lactide cannot be effectively improved in the prior art are that 1) in the prior art, a lactic acid oligomer is usually obtained by a one-step polycondensation method, and the lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of 5-10 cannot be effectively obtained by the one-step polycondensation, so that the subsequent reaction efficiency is low, and a large number of byproducts are generated; 2) in the prior art, effective dehydration of lactic acid (including water carried by lactic acid itself and water generated by polycondensation) and timely evaporation of lactide product generated by depolymerization are generally required to obtain good reactivity, and in order to obtain good water content and lactide evaporation effect, the method is generally realized by increasing system temperature and reducing system pressure, but many side reactions occur at high temperature and low pressure, for example, carbonization and oxidation of lactic acid oligomer, racemization and even decomposition of lactide, thereby resulting in low lactide yield and low optical purity.
In order to effectively solve the technical problems, the invention provides a two-step method for carrying out polycondensation on lactic acid, firstly, the lactic acid is prepolycondensation polymerized into a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5, then, the lactic acid prepolymer is further polycondensed into a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of 5-10, and the polycondensation reaction is carried out in a falling film reactor, so that the reaction temperature of a system is reduced, the requirement of the system on pressure is relieved to a certain extent, the high-light-purity bio-based lactide is obtained, and the yield is high.
Based on the above research results, the present invention provides, in one aspect, a method for producing lactide using a bio-fermentation technique, the method comprising inoculating lactic ferments into a fermentation medium to perform lactic fermentation to obtain a lactic fermentation broth, separating the lactic fermentation broth to obtain L-lactic acid having an optical purity of more than 99%;
the method further comprises the following steps:
(1) under a first polymerization condition, carrying out a pre-polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5 and a gas phase containing the lactic acid;
(2) under a second polymerization condition, performing polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid prepolymer in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of below 10;
(3) and depolymerizing the lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a process for the production of lactide, the process comprising:
(1) under the first polymerization condition, carrying out pre-polycondensation reaction on lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5 and a gas phase containing lactic acid;
(2) under a second polymerization condition, performing polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid prepolymer in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of below 10;
(3) and depolymerizing the lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a system for producing lactide from lactic acid using a biological fermentation technique, the system comprising:
the lactic acid fermentation unit is used for inoculating lactic acid fermentation bacteria into a fermentation culture medium for lactic acid fermentation to obtain a lactic acid fermentation liquid, and separating the lactic acid fermentation liquid to obtain L-lactic acid with the optical purity higher than 99%;
a lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit and a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit which are connected in series in sequence;
in the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit, a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle and a polycondensation reaction kettle which are sequentially connected in series are arranged according to the flow direction of materials and are respectively used for pre-polycondensation and polycondensation of lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
a depolymerization reaction kettle is arranged in the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit and is used for depolymerization of the lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
wherein the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle, the polycondensation reaction kettle and the depolymerization reaction kettle are respectively and independently provided with heating equipment and vacuum equipment;
wherein the polycondensation reaction kettle is a falling film reactor.
The fourth aspect of the present invention provides a system for producing lactide, comprising a lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit and a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit connected in series in this order;
in the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit, a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle and a polycondensation reaction kettle which are sequentially connected in series are arranged according to the flow direction of materials and are respectively used for pre-polycondensation and polycondensation of lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
a depolymerization reaction kettle is arranged in the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit and is used for depolymerization of the lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
wherein the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle, the polycondensation reaction kettle and the depolymerization reaction kettle are respectively and independently provided with heating equipment and vacuum equipment;
wherein the polycondensation reaction kettle is a falling film reactor.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a system for producing lactide from lactic acid using a biological fermentation technique, the system comprising:
the lactic acid fermentation unit is used for inoculating lactic acid fermentation bacteria into a fermentation culture medium for lactic acid fermentation to obtain a lactic acid fermentation liquid, and separating the lactic acid fermentation liquid to obtain L-lactic acid raw material with the optical purity higher than 99%;
a system for the production of lactide as described above.
The invention polycondenses lactic acid by a two-step method, firstly, the lactic acid is polycondensed into a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree less than 5, and then the lactic acid prepolymer is further polycondensed into a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of 5-10, and the polycondensation reaction is carried out in a falling film reactor. On one hand, the lactic acid oligomer with 5-10 polymerization degree can be effectively ensured to be obtained in the polycondensation stage; on the other hand, the highest temperature (depolymerization temperature) of the reaction system can be reduced to below 210 ℃, the requirement on the vacuum degree of the reaction system is also reduced, the comprehensive yield of the lactide can be stably improved, the optical purity of the lactide can be remarkably improved, and meanwhile, the continuous production of the lactide can be ensured. In addition, the method of the invention also reduces energy consumption.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a system for producing lactide according to the present invention.
Description of the reference numerals
11-pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 12-polycondensation reaction kettle 13 cyclone separation system
14 polycondensation condenser 21 depolymerization reation kettle 22 depolymerization first order condenser
23 depolymerization secondary condenser 31 primary lactic acid concentration tower 32 primary concentration preheater
33 concentration primary condenser 34 primary condensate temporary storage tank 41 secondary lactic acid concentration tower
42 second-stage concentration preheater 43 concentration second-stage condenser 51 kettle residue hydrolysis kettle
52 hydrolysate evaporator 311 first-stage atomization rectification section 312 first-stage filling section
313 first-stage liquid collecting section 411 second-stage atomization rectifying section 412 second-stage packing section
413 secondary liquid collection stage.
Detailed Description
The endpoints of the ranges and any values disclosed herein are not limited to the precise range or value, and such ranges or values should be understood to encompass values close to those ranges or values. For ranges of values, between the endpoints of each of the ranges and the individual points, and between the individual points may be combined with each other to give one or more new ranges of values, and these ranges of values should be considered as specifically disclosed herein.
In the present invention, unless otherwise specified, the terms of orientation such as "upper and lower" are generally used to mean upper and lower defined in terms of the orientation of the lactic acid raw material.
In the present invention, unless otherwise specified, all pressures referred to are gauge pressures.
In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for preparing lactic acid to produce lactide using a biofermentation technique, the method comprising inoculating lactic ferments into a fermentation medium for lactic fermentation to obtain a lactic fermentation broth, separating the lactic fermentation broth to obtain L-lactic acid having an optical purity of greater than 99%;
the method further comprises the following steps:
(1) under a first polymerization condition, carrying out a pre-polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5 and a gas phase containing the lactic acid;
(2) under a second polymerization condition, performing polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid prepolymer in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of below 10;
(3) and depolymerizing the lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
Preferably, the lactic ferments are lactobacillus rhamnosus with the preservation number of CGMCC number 19507.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus of the invention: (Lactobacillus rhamnosus) And was deposited in China general microbiological culture Collection center (address: west road No.1, north west of the township, beijing, ministry of sciences, china, institute of microbiology, zip code: 100101) (abbreviated as CGMCC for the depository), and the accession number is CGMCC number 19507.
In the present invention, in order to enhance the effect of fermentation, it is preferable that the fermentation conditions include: the rotation speed is 100-180rpm, the temperature is 37-48 ℃, and the time is 40-50 h.
In the present invention, in order to further enhance the effect of fermentation, it is preferable that the fermentation conditions include: firstly, fermenting for 4-6h, more preferably for 5-6h at the rotation speed of 100-180rpm, more preferably at the rotation speed of 120-150rpm and the temperature of 37-40 ℃; then fermenting for 40-44h, more preferably 42-44h at the rotation speed of 100-180rpm, more preferably 120-150rpm, and the temperature of 42-48 ℃, more preferably 45-48 ℃, and further preferably 46-48 ℃ to obtain the fermentation liquid.
In the present invention, preferably, the acidogenic fermentation medium contains glucose, an organic nitrogen source, sodium acetate, phosphate, trace elements and a neutralizing agent.
In the present invention, the organic nitrogen source may be selected from a wide range, and preferably, the organic nitrogen source is yeast extract, peptone or corn steep liquor, more preferably yeast extract.
Preferably, the phosphate is dipotassium hydrogen phosphate.
Preferably, the trace elements are provided by manganese sulfate.
In the present invention, it is a preferred embodiment that the acid-producing fermentation medium comprises, relative to the acid-producing fermentation medium of 1L, glucose 160-200 g/L, yeast extract 8-12 g/L, sodium acetate 1-3 g/L, KH2PO40.3-0.7g/L、MgSO4·7H2O 0.5-1 g/L、MnSO40.1-0.2 g/L, tween 800.5-1.5 ml/L and a neutralizing agent.
In the invention, the weight ratio of the content of the neutralizer in the acidogenic fermentation medium to the content of the glucose is preferably not less than 0.5, and more preferably 0.5-0.7: 1.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the neutralizing agent is CaCO3NaOH and Ca (OH)2More preferably CaCO3。
In the present invention, it is more preferable that the acid-producing fermentation medium comprises 200 g/L g/180 g of glucose, 9-11 g/L g of yeast extract, 1.5-2.5 g/L g of sodium acetate, KH, relative to 1L of the acid-producing fermentation medium2PO40.4-0.6 g/L、MgSO4·7H2O 0.5-1 g/L、MnSO40.1-0.2 g/L, tween 800.8-1.2 ml/L and CaCO390-100 g/L, but the invention is not limited thereto.
In the present invention, preferably, the method further comprises, before inoculating the lactobacillus rhamnosus, seed culturing the lactobacillus rhamnosus to obtain a seed solution.
In the present invention, the seed culture medium used for the seed culture is not particularly limited, and may be a seed culture medium conventionally used in the art for preparing lactobacillus rhamnosus seed liquid, and preferably, the seed culture medium is MRS liquid culture medium.
Preferably, the conditions of the seed culture include: the rotation speed is 100-180rpm, more preferably 120-150 rpm; the temperature is 37-40 ℃; the time is 12-24 h.
In the present invention, OD of the seed liquid600A value of 5 or more indicates that the strain grows normally, and it is preferable that OD in the seed liquid is increased in order to improve the fermentation effect600Is 10-15.
Wherein, OD600Refers to the absorbance of the seed solution at a wavelength of 600nm in a spectrophotometer.
In the present invention, preferably, the preparation method of the seed liquid comprises: and selecting a single colony of the lactobacillus rhamnosus, inoculating the single colony of the lactobacillus rhamnosus in a seed culture medium, and performing seed culture to obtain the seed solution.
In the present invention, in order to increase the yield of lactic acid, it is preferable that the inoculation amount of the seed solution is 5 to 10 parts by volume with respect to 100 parts by volume of the acid-producing fermentation medium.
In the present invention, lactic acid in the obtained fermentation broth can be isolated by a known method, for example, by removing cells from the fermentation broth, concentrating the fermentation broth after removing the cells to crystallize the product, or by ion exchange chromatography or the like.
In the present invention, lactic acid in the fermentation broth or lactic acid isolated from the fermentation broth may also be detected by known methods. For example, the yield and optical purity of lactic acid can be examined by high performance liquid chromatography and the like.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing lactide, the method comprising:
(1) under the first polymerization condition, carrying out pre-polycondensation reaction on lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5 and a gas phase containing lactic acid;
(2) under a second polymerization condition, performing polycondensation reaction on the lactic acid prepolymer in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of below 10;
(3) and depolymerizing the lactic acid oligomer under the action of a catalyst to obtain a product containing lactide.
According to the present invention, the source of the lactic acid is not particularly limited, and it may be any lactic acid available at present, for example, commercially available, or may be prepared by fermentation of an existing strain or a newly discovered strain.
The polycondensation and depolymerization steps of the first and second aspects are described in detail below.
Step (1)
According to the present invention, the polymerization degree of the lactic acid prepolymer having a polymerization degree of less than 5 may be 2, 3 or 4, and preferably, the lactic acid prepolymer having a polymerization degree of less than 5 is a lactic acid dimer and/or a lactic acid trimer.
According to the present invention, the first polymerization condition may be such that lactic acid is prepolycondensation polymerized to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer having a degree of polymerization of less than 5, preferably 2 to 3, but in order to further improve the purity and yield of lactide, it is preferable that the first polymerization condition includes: the temperature is 140-; the pressure is 10 to 30KPa, for example, 10KPa, 12 KPa, 14 KPa, 16 KPa, 18 KPa, 20KPa, 22 KPa, 24 KPa, 26 KPa, 28 KPa, 30KPa, preferably 10 to 20 KPa; the time is 1 to 2 hours, for example, 1 hour, 1.2 hours, 1.4 hours, 1.6 hours, 1.8 hours, 2 hours, preferably 1 to 1.5 hours.
Wherein the pre-polycondensation can be carried out in a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle.
Preferably, the prepolycondensation is carried out under stirring conditions.
According to the invention, it is preferred that the water content of the lactic acid used for the precondensation of lactic acid is less than 1% by weight. Wherein the lactic acid having the water content can be obtained by dehydrating a lactic acid raw material. When the water content of the lactic acid raw material is less than 10 wt%, the lactic acid raw material can be directly dehydrated to obtain lactic acid with the water content of less than 1 wt%, when the water content of the lactic acid raw material is greater than 10 wt%, the lactic acid raw material can be pre-dehydrated to obtain lactic acid with the water content of less than 10 wt%, and then the lactic acid with the water content of less than 1 wt% is obtained by dehydration, wherein the method for pre-dehydrating the lactic acid raw material with the water content of more than 10 wt% can refer to a conventional method in the art, and the method is not repeated herein.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lactic acid is obtained by first concentrating a lactic acid raw material having a water content of less than 10% by weight in a first concentration tower. The first-stage concentration tower comprises a first-stage atomization and rectification section, the first-stage atomization and rectification section is an empty barrel body (an empty barrel body without a filler or a tower plate is arranged at one section), and the first-stage concentration method comprises the following steps:
(i) heating a lactic acid raw material with the water content of less than 10 weight percent to 90-120 ℃, preferably 105-120 ℃;
(ii) introducing the heated lactic acid raw material into a primary atomization rectification section in a fogdrop mode for flash evaporation to obtain first dehydrated lactic acid fogdrop and flash steam, wherein the flash steam contains water vapor and lactic acid vapor;
(iii) and enabling the first dehydrated lactic acid fog drops to reversely contact with a lactic acid gas flow from the lower part of a primary concentration tower in the falling process, wherein the temperature of the lactic acid gas flow is higher than that of the first dehydrated lactic acid fog drops but lower than the boiling point of lactic acid, and the lactic acid with the water content lower than 1 weight percent is obtained.
After the material enters the first-stage atomization rectifying section in the preferred concentration mode, a continuous liquid stream is atomized into numerous fine droplets. Because the pressure is reduced sharply, after the material is sprayed, flash evaporation is firstly carried out in the vacuum environment in the tower, a part of liquid in the fog drops is vaporized into gas, and meanwhile, the heat is taken away, so that the temperature of the fog drops is reduced rapidly. The boiling point of water is lower than that of lactic acid under the same pressure, namely the water is easier to gasify than the lactic acid, so that the proportion of the moisture in the flashed gas is higher than that in the fog drops, namely the moisture content in the fog drops can be reduced through flash evaporation, and the primary concentration is finished.
The flashed fog drops are in countercurrent contact with the gas flow with higher temperature rising from the lower part of the first-stage concentration tower in the falling process of the first-stage atomization rectification section, and through heat transfer and mass transfer between the gas flow and the fog drops, the water with lower boiling point in the fog drops is heated by the gas to be vaporized and then is enriched into rising gas flow; and lactic acid vapor with relatively high boiling point in the ascending gas flow is absorbed by the subsequently falling fogdrops and liquefied, so that the lactic acid contained in the ascending gas flow in the tower is enriched in the falling fogdrops, and the primary concentration is completed.
With the primary concentrating tower of the present invention, the specific surface area is increased hundreds of times after the continuous liquid stream is atomized into fine droplets. Compared with the traditional gas-liquid contact mode in a plate tower or a packed tower, the liquid in the first-stage atomization rectifying section is in countercurrent contact with the gas flow with relatively high temperature through the droplet form, and the heat transfer and mass transfer between the gas phase and the liquid phase have higher efficiency. Therefore, although the atomization rectification section of the first-stage concentration tower is a hollow cylinder, the tower section still has higher rectification efficiency. In addition, because the atomization rectifying section is a section of empty cylinder which is not internally constructed, compared with a plate tower or a packed tower, the resistance of gas during rising in the tower section is small, the hydraulic pressure drop of the atomization rectifying section is small to be almost negligible, and the packed section at the lower part of the first-stage concentration tower can maintain higher vacuum degree. At the same temperature of the tower bottom, the higher the vacuum degree in the tower, the easier the moisture contained in the tower bottom material is gasified. Therefore, the pressure drop of the first-stage concentration tower is reduced, and the dehydration efficiency of the first-stage concentration tower is improved.
Wherein the pressure of the first stage atomization and rectification section can be changed in a wide range as long as the pressure can cause the lactic acid mist entering the first stage atomization and rectification section to flash, preferably, the pressure of the first stage atomization and rectification section is between 20 and 50KPa for obtaining the expected dehydration effect, for example, the pressure can be 20kPa, 25kPa, 30kPa, 25kPa, 40kPa, 45kPa, 50kPa, more preferably, the pressure of the first stage atomization and rectification section is between 20 and 30 KPa.
According to the invention, after the lactic acid entering the primary concentration tower is rectified, the liquid material flows into the tower bottom, and the flash steam is discharged from the tower top. In order to prevent serious entrainment when the gas is discharged from the top of the tower, the method preferably further comprises conducting a defoaming treatment on the flash steam before the flash steam is discharged from the top of the tower, for example, by arranging a wire mesh defoamer at the top of the tower near the gas outlet pipe.
According to the invention, the lactic acid gas stream coming from the lower part of the primary concentration column can be obtained in any way, for example, a heating device can be arranged in the liquid collection section of the lower part of the primary concentration column to volatilize part of the lactic acid to form a lactic acid gas stream, or an exogenous lactic acid gas stream can be introduced, for example, the gas phase containing lactic acid coming from the precondensation stage in step (1).
According to the invention, preferably, the material of the primary atomization rectifying section is enamel or hastelloy. In this preferred mode, on the one hand, the yield and optical purity of lactide can be effectively improved, and on the other hand, due to the selection of materials, corrosion of equipment in a lactic acid high-acidity environment is avoided, thereby providing long-cycle operation.
According to the present invention, although the main component of the flash vapor is water vapor in the primary concentration tower, it also contains a certain amount of lactic acid vapor, and in order to recover this portion of lactic acid, it is preferable that the method further comprises: (iii) performing secondary concentration of the lactic acid on the flash steam in the secondary concentration tower, wherein the secondary concentration tower comprises a secondary atomization rectification section, and the secondary atomization rectification section is an empty barrel body (an empty barrel body without a filler or a tower plate), and the secondary concentration method comprises the following steps:
(a) adjusting the temperature of the flash steam to 90-120 ℃, preferably 105-120 ℃;
(b) introducing the condensate after temperature adjustment into a secondary atomization rectification section in a fogdrop mode for flash evaporation to obtain second dehydrated lactic acid fogdrops and flash evaporation steam;
(c) making the second dehydrated lactic acid fog drops reversely contact with a lactic acid gas flow from the lower part of a secondary concentration tower in the falling process, wherein the temperature of the lactic acid gas flow is higher than that of the second dehydrated lactic acid fog drops but lower than the boiling point of lactic acid, and obtaining third dehydrated lactic acid;
wherein, if the water content of the third dehydrated lactic acid is more than 10 wt%, the third dehydrated lactic acid is circularly concentrated in the secondary concentration tower until the water content is less than 10 wt%;
if the water content of the third dehydrated lactic acid is less than 10% by weight, it is introduced into the first-stage concentration tower to perform first-stage concentration.
According to the invention, the temperature of the flash steam discharged from the primary concentration tower can be adjusted to 90-120 ℃ directly by heating or cooling, or the flash steam can be cooled to form condensate and then heated to 90-120 ℃, and the latter is preferred in the invention in order to improve the effect of the secondary concentration. In the process of condensing the flash steam into the condensate, the uncondensed gas which cannot be condensed can be directly discharged, for example, discharged through a vacuum-pumping system.
According to the invention, in the secondary concentration, the condensate after temperature adjustment is atomized and enters the secondary concentration tower in the form of fog drops to carry out rectification and concentration on the lactic acid contained in the condensate. The working principle of the second-stage concentration tower is the same as that of the first-stage concentration tower, and repeated description is omitted here.
According to the invention, the lactic acid gas flow coming from the lower part of the secondary concentration tower can be obtained in any way, for example, a heating device can be arranged in the liquid collection section at the lower part of the secondary concentration tower, so that part of the collected liquid is gasified.
The flash steam formed by the secondary concentration tower is discharged from the top of the tower, the discharged flash steam can be condensed firstly, the obtained condensate can be used as a wastewater discharge system, and the non-condensed steam can be pumped out through a vacuum pumping system.
According to the present invention, as described above, if the concentration of lactic acid in the third dehydrated lactic acid is still more than 10% by weight after the secondary concentration, it is circularly concentrated in the secondary concentration tower until the water content is less than 10% by weight. When the cyclic concentration is carried out, the third dehydrated lactic acid is preferably introduced into the secondary atomizing and rectifying section in the form of droplets through the lower part (space adjacent to the packing section) of the secondary atomizing and rectifying section. In the preferred mode, the third dehydrated lactic acid is circularly concentrated, and a part of materials originally positioned at the tower bottom of the second-stage concentration tower is pumped to the lower part of the second-stage atomization rectifying section for atomization, the material can overcome the pressure generated by the liquid level height of the tower bottom and the pressure drop of a filling section (positioned below a second-stage atomization rectifying section in a second-stage concentration tower) on the material, so that more liquid in the tower bottom liquid is gasified through flash evaporation under relatively low pressure, the water vapor and the gaseous lactic acid generated in the gasification process can provide more heat for the secondary atomization rectification section, so that more water in the descending fog drops in the secondary atomization rectification section is gasified into steam to be enriched to the top of the tower, most of the gaseous lactic acid volatilized in the gasification process can still be absorbed by the descending liquid drops in the secondary atomization rectification section and returns to the tower kettle again through the packing section.
Wherein the pressure of the secondary atomization and rectification section can be changed in a wide range as long as the pressure can cause the lactic acid mist drops entering the secondary atomization and rectification section to flash, preferably, the pressure of the secondary atomization and rectification section is between 20 and 50KPa for obtaining the expected dehydration effect, for example, the pressure can be 20kPa, 25kPa, 30kPa, 25kPa, 40kPa, 45kPa, 50kPa, more preferably, the pressure of the primary atomization and rectification section is between 20 and 30 KPa.
According to the invention, the material of the secondary atomization rectifying section can be common tower bottom material, such as carbon steel or stainless steel.
Step (2)
According to the invention, the polymerization degree of the lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of less than 10 can be 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, and the average molecular weight can reach 400-1000.
According to the present invention, the second polymerization condition may be such that lactic acid is prepolycondensation-polymerized to obtain a lactic acid oligomer having a polymerization degree of 10 or less, but in order to further improve the purity and yield of lactide, it is preferable that the second polymerization condition temperature is higher than the first polymerization temperature and the pressure is lower than the first polymerization pressure, and more preferably, the second polymerization condition includes: the temperature is 160-; the pressure is 3 to 10KPa, for example, 3KPa, 4 KPa, 5KPa, 6 KPa, 7 KPa, 8 KPa, 9 KPa, 10KPa, preferably 3 to 5 KPa.
As described above, the inventors of the present invention have found in their studies that the temperature of the reaction system can be reduced and the requirement for a vacuum environment can be reduced when the second polymerization reaction is performed using the falling film reactor, thereby improving the optical purity and yield of lactide. The inventors speculate that the reason may be that the evaporation stage of the falling film reactor is longer, the second polymerization temperature is further increased and the pressure is further decreased compared with the first polymerization, water generated in the first polymerization process of the lactic acid (including water generated in the first polymerization and the second polymerization) is evaporated into steam to be removed when falling together with the lactic acid prepolymer due to the lower boiling point, and the lactic acid prepolymer with the higher boiling point is not evaporated or is less evaporated, so that the lactic acid prepolymer is fully dehydrated. That is, at a relatively low temperature, higher evaporation efficiency can be obtained, thereby improving the yield and optical purity of lactide.
According to the present invention, as described above, the falling film reactor includes an evaporation stage, and preferably, the evaporation stage is made of titanium or graphite, and in this preferred mode, on the one hand, the yield and optical purity of lactide can be effectively improved, and on the other hand, due to the selection of the material, corrosion of equipment in a high acidity environment of lactic acid is avoided, thereby providing long-term operation.
According to the present invention, as described above, the falling film reactor comprises a liquid collection section, preferably made of enamel or hastelloy, in which preferred manner, on the one hand, the yield and optical purity of lactide are effectively improved, and, on the other hand, corrosion of equipment in a lactic acid high acid environment is avoided due to the selection of the material, thereby providing long-term operation.
According to the present invention, during the second polymerization reaction, a portion of the formed lactic acid oligomers is present in the form of first liquid phase lactic acid oligomers at the bottom of the reaction vessel, and another portion is present in the form of droplets in the gas phase due to the vigorous splash of the high temperature reaction system with water, and therefore, the lactic acid oligomers include the first liquid phase lactic acid oligomers and the gas phase containing the droplets of the lactic acid oligomers, and in order to further improve the yield of lactide, the method further comprises: and carrying out cyclone separation on the gas phase to obtain a second liquid-phase lactic acid oligomer, and then combining the second liquid-phase lactic acid oligomer liquid and the first liquid-phase lactic acid oligomer liquid and introducing the mixture into a depolymerization reaction step.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, lactic acid is firstly prepolycondensation polymerized to obtain a lactic acid prepolymer with the polymerization degree of less than 5, then the lactic acid prepolymer is subjected to polycondensation reaction in a falling film reactor to obtain a lactic acid oligomer with the polymerization degree of less than 10, and the lactic acid oligomer liquid drops carried in a gas phase due to violent splash are recovered through rotational flow, so that the yield and the optical purity of lactide are greatly improved.
Step (3)
According to the present invention, in the depolymerization reaction, the catalyst may be any of the existing catalysts, for example, a salt of zinc or tin, or an oxide of zinc or tin. However, the present inventors have been able to improve the yield and purity of lactide using a paste-like catalyst more than a powder-like catalyst. Therefore, it is preferable that the catalyst is a salt of zinc or tin, or an oxide of zinc or tin, and the catalyst is a paste catalyst.
Preferably, the tin salt or tin oxide as described above is a stannous salt or an oxide of stannous.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the oxidizing agent is stannous octoate or stannous phosphite.
According to the present invention, the conditions for the depolymerization are not particularly limited as long as the lactic acid oligomer can be depolymerized into lactide. Preferably, in order to improve the yield and purity of lactide, the depolymerization conditions include: the temperature is 180 ℃ minus 210 ℃, for example, 180 ℃, 185 ℃, 190 ℃, 195 ℃, 200 ℃, 205 ℃, 210 ℃, preferably 185 ℃ minus 195 ℃; the pressure is lower than the pressure of the second polymerization, preferably 1 to 5KPa or less, and may be, for example, 1 KPa, 1.5 KPa, 2 KPa, 2.5 KPa, 3KPa, 3.5 KPa, 4 KPa, 4.5 KPa, 5KPa, more preferably 1 to 3 KPa.
According to the present invention, the depolymerization can be carried out in an existing reaction vessel, but the present inventors have found in their studies that the purity and yield of lactide can be greatly improved when the depolymerization reaction is carried out using a falling film reactor. The inventors speculate that the reason may be that the viscosity of the system formed by the lactic acid oligomer and the generated lactide is high during the depolymerization reaction, the saturated vapor pressure of the lactide is low, and the lactide is difficult to evaporate, and the falling film evaporator can uniformly distribute the melt on the surface of the falling film evaporator, and the melt is recycled to the top of the falling film evaporator from the liquid collecting section, so that the lactide is evaporated in time.
When the falling film reactor is used as a depolymerization reaction kettle, the material of the evaporation section is preferably titanium or graphite; the material of the liquid collecting section is preferably enamel.
Because the inventor of the invention finds that the falling film evaporator has obvious effect on a high-viscosity devolatilization system, if the traditional jacketed oil-heated stirring reaction kettle is adopted, the viscosity of the system is gradually increased along with the reaction, reactants cannot be smoothly distilled out, and the yield of crude lactide is not more than 40%. In addition, because the reaction system is still high-temperature and highly corrosive, if a common carbon steel or stainless steel material is selected, the equipment can be seriously corroded after being continuously operated for several days, and the yield and the purity of the lactide are seriously influenced.
According to the present invention, preferably, the method further comprises subjecting the depolymerized waste liquid to hydrolysis reaction under the condition of adding water and optional lactic acid to obtain hydrolysate, and obtaining lactic acid by evaporating the hydrolysate. Wherein, the waste liquid (also called still residue, the main components are oligolactic acid with higher molecular weight and catalyst) is hydrolyzed under certain conditions to generate lactic acid, and after reaching a certain depolymerization degree, the lactic acid is evaporated by evaporation. The distilled lactic acid can be returned to the first-stage concentration tower for reuse. If the optical purity of lactide is strictly required, the distilled lactic acid is not returned to the previous process, but is directly treated as a by-product, and in the case of not recycling, the lactic acid can be hydrolyzed without adding, or other acid with lower cost, such as hydrochloric acid.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a system for producing lactic acid to produce lactide using a biological fermentation technique, the system comprising:
the lactic acid fermentation unit is used for inoculating lactic acid fermentation bacteria into a fermentation culture medium for lactic acid fermentation to obtain a lactic acid fermentation liquid, and separating the lactic acid fermentation liquid to obtain L-lactic acid raw material with the optical purity higher than 99%;
a lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit and a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit which are connected in series in sequence;
in the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit, a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11 and a polycondensation reaction kettle 12 which are sequentially connected in series are arranged according to the flow direction of materials and are respectively used for pre-polycondensation and polycondensation of lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
a depolymerization reaction 21 is arranged in the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit and is used for depolymerization of the lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
wherein the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11, the polycondensation reaction kettle 12 and the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 are respectively and independently provided with heating equipment and vacuum equipment;
wherein, the polycondensation reaction kettle 12 is a falling film reactor.
In a fourth aspect, as shown in fig. 1, the present invention provides a system for producing lactide, comprising a lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit and a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit connected in series in this order;
in the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit, a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11 and a polycondensation reaction kettle 12 which are sequentially connected in series are arranged according to the flow direction of materials and are respectively used for pre-polycondensation and polycondensation of lactic acid to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
a depolymerization reaction 21 is arranged in the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit and is used for depolymerization of the lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
wherein the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11, the polycondensation reaction kettle 12 and the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 are respectively and independently provided with heating equipment and vacuum equipment;
wherein, the polycondensation reaction kettle 12 is a falling film reactor.
The following detailed description is directed to the systems of the third and fourth aspects.
According to the present invention, the pre-polycondensation reaction vessel 11 may be a conventional reaction vessel in which a stirring device may be provided and the outer periphery of which may also be provided with a heating device, for example, a heating jacket.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 is a falling film reactor.
According to the present invention, preferably, the falling film reactor comprises an evaporation section, and the material of the evaporation section is titanium or graphite.
According to the invention, the falling film reactor comprises a liquid collecting section, and when the falling film reactor is used in a polycondensation reaction, the material of the liquid collecting section is preferably enamel or hastelloy, and when the falling film reactor is used in a depolymerization reaction, the material of the liquid collecting section is preferably enamel.
According to the present invention, preferably, the lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit further comprises a cyclone separation system 13 disposed downstream of the polycondensation reaction vessel 12, an inlet of the cyclone separation system 13 is connected to an upper outlet of the liquid collection section of the polycondensation reaction vessel 12, and is configured to receive upper gas from the liquid collection section, the gas carries droplets of the lactic acid oligomer mixed in the gas due to violent explosion of the lactic acid oligomer, and the cyclone separation system 13 can further collect the droplets by cyclone separation.
According to the present invention, preferably, the outlet of the substrate liquid collecting section of the cyclone separation system 13 is connected with a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit for conveying the separated lactic acid oligomer to the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit for depolymerization; the top gas outlet of the cyclone separation system 13 may be communicated with the polycondensation condenser 14, and is configured to condense the gas phase from which the droplets are separated, the formed condensate may be used as at least a portion of the lactic acid raw material through a return line, and the uncondensed non-condensable gas may be directly discharged, for example, pumped out by a vacuum system for discharge. Due to the high water content of this part of the condensate, when used as at least part of the lactic acid raw material, it is preferred to first perform a dehydration treatment, for example, in the lactic acid concentration unit mentioned below, in which case the condensate formed may be communicated with the lactic acid concentration unit mentioned below via a return line.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the system further comprises a lactic acid concentrating unit including a primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31; the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 comprises the following components in the flow direction of the lactic acid material flow: a first atomizing rectification section 311, a first packing section 312 and a first liquid collection section 313.
Preferably, the primary atomizing and rectifying section 311 is an empty barrel body, and the upper part of the primary atomizing and rectifying section is provided with a lactic acid nozzle through which the lactic acid material is sprayed into the primary atomizing and rectifying section 311 in the form of droplets.
Preferably, the material of the first-stage atomization rectifying section 311 is enamel or hastelloy.
Preferably, the nozzle provides pressure through which the lactic acid material is sprayed as a mist into the first atomized rectifying section 311 by feeding an inert gas, such as nitrogen, thereto. Therefore, the nozzle also communicates with the nitrogen gas supply unit.
As described above, in the process of concentrating lactic acid in the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31, flash steam is formed and discharged through the gas outlet at the top of the primary lactic acid concentrating tower, and in order to prevent serious entrainment of gas when discharged from the top of the tower, it is preferable to provide a mist replenishment net, for example, a wire mesh mist replenishment device, at the top of the tower near the gas outlet pipe.
According to the present invention, the upper part of the primary liquid collecting section 313 of the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 is connected to the upper part of the prepolycondensation reactor 11 for supplying the gas stream containing lactic acid formed in the prepolycondensation reactor 11 to the primary liquid collecting section 313 and further to the primary atomizing and rectifying section 311.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the bottom of the primary liquid collecting section 313 is communicated with the pre-polymerization reaction tank 11 (supplying lactic acid for pre-concentration) and the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 (for cyclic concentration) through pipes, respectively.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the lactic acid concentrating unit further comprises a primary concentrating preheater 32 disposed upstream of the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 for preheating the lactic acid again before spraying it into the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31, for example, to 90-120 ℃.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 is provided with a vacuum pumping system for providing a vacuum environment for the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31.
As mentioned above, during the primary concentration of lactic acid, flash steam is formed, which also contains a certain amount of lactic acid steam, and for the recovery of this part of lactic acid steam, it is preferable that a secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41 is further provided downstream of the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31, and it includes, according to the flow direction of the lactic acid stream: a secondary atomization rectification section 411, a secondary packing section 412 and a secondary liquid collection section 413.
According to the present invention, preferably, a concentration primary condenser 33 is further disposed between the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 and the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41, for condensing the flash steam discharged from the top of the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 to form a condensate, which can be temporarily stored in a primary condensate temporary storage tank 34 before entering the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41.
According to the present invention, preferably, the second-stage atomization and rectification section 411 is an empty barrel body, and a lactic acid nozzle is arranged at the upper part of the second-stage atomization and rectification section, and the lactic acid material is sprayed into the second-stage atomization and rectification section 411 in the form of droplets through the lactic acid nozzle.
Preferably, the material of the secondary atomization rectification section 411 is carbon steel or stainless steel.
Preferably, the nozzle is pressurized by an inert gas, such as nitrogen, supplied thereto to spray the lactic acid material through the nozzle into the secondary atomizing rectification section 411 in the form of droplets. Therefore, the nozzle also communicates with the nitrogen gas supply unit.
As described above, flash steam is formed during the lactic acid concentration in the secondary atomizing rectification section 411 and is discharged through the gas outlet at the top of the secondary lactic acid concentration tower, and in order to prevent serious entrainment of the gas discharged from the top of the tower, it is preferable to provide a foam supplement net, for example, a wire mesh foam supplement, at the top of the tower near the gas outlet pipe.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that a heater is disposed in the secondary liquid collecting section 413 for heating the liquid therein to form a gas flow containing lactic acid, and the gas flow is provided to the secondary atomizing rectification section 411.
According to the present invention, preferably, the bottom of the secondary liquid collecting section 413 is communicated with the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 (for lactic acid re-concentration) and the lower part of the secondary atomized rectifying section 411 (for circulating concentration) through pipelines respectively.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the lactic acid concentrating unit further comprises a secondary concentration preheater 42 disposed upstream of the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41 for preheating the primary lactic acid condensate before spraying it into the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41, for example, to 90-120 ℃.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41 is provided with a vacuum pumping system for providing a vacuum environment for the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41.
According to the invention, preferably, the top gas outlet of the secondary lactic acid concentration tower 41 is also connected with a concentration secondary condenser 43 through a pipeline, and is used for condensing flash steam discharged from the top of the secondary lactic acid concentration tower 41 to form condensate, the condensate can be directly discharged, and noncondensable gas can be discharged through a vacuum system.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit further includes a catalyst supply system for supplying a catalyst for depolymerization reaction to the depolymerization reaction vessel 21.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the upper opening of the liquid collection section of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 is communicated with the depolymerization first-stage condenser 22 for discharging the formed lactide and condensing the lactide in the depolymerization first-stage condenser 22 to form crude lactide.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that a depolymerization secondary condenser 23 is further disposed downstream of the depolymerization primary condenser 22, and is configured to further concentrate the noncondensable gas in the depolymerization primary condenser 22, and the noncondensable gas formed in the depolymerization secondary condenser 23 can be discharged outside through a vacuum system.
Wherein the bottom liquid in the liquid collecting section of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 mainly contains lactic acid oligomer, catalyst and a small amount of generated lactide, preferably, in order to improve the yield of the lactide, the bottom liquid is communicated with the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 through a circulation loop to circularly depolymerize the lactic acid oligomer in the bottom liquid.
According to the present invention, it is preferable that the system further includes a waste liquid treatment unit disposed downstream of the depolymerization reaction vessel 21, including: the kettle residue hydrolysis kettle 51 is used for receiving the kettle residue of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 and hydrolyzing the kettle residue, and the kettle residue hydrolysis kettle 51 is provided with a water inlet and a lactic acid inlet;
a hydrolysate evaporator 52 for evaporating hydrolysate obtained from the still residue hydrolysis kettle to obtain lactic acid;
optionally, the hydrolysate evaporator 52 may also be communicated with the depolymerization secondary condenser 23, and is used for condensing the obtained lactic acid vapor to obtain a lactic acid liquid. The lactic acid solution can be communicated with a lactic acid concentration unit through a pipeline and is used for recycling the lactic acid or directly treated as a byproduct.
In addition, the liquid phase formed in the hydrolyzate evaporator 52 may be recycled to the top of the hydrolyzate evaporator 52 through a pipe to perform the cyclic evaporation, thereby recovering lactic acid with maximum efficiency, and the residual liquid obtained after the recovery of lactic acid may be discharged through a discharge pipe.
The present invention will be described in detail below by way of examples.
(1) Preparation example
Selecting single colony of Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain CGMCC number 19057, inoculating to MRS liquid culture medium, culturing at 37 deg.C and 150rpm overnight to obtain OD60012 in a seed liquid. Then, in an acid-producing fermentation medium at 10% (v/v)Inoculating the seed solution in proportion, culturing at 37 ℃ and 150rpm for 6 hours to allow the strain to grow, then heating to 48 ℃, continuing to perform shaking culture at 150rpm for 42 hours to obtain fermentation liquor (the total fermentation time is 48 hours), removing cells in the fermentation liquor, then separating lactic acid, and concentrating to obtain the lactic acid with the water content of less than 10 weight percent, wherein the optical purity of L-lactic acid is more than 95 percent.
(2) The system for producing lactide of the present invention comprises:
A. a lactic acid concentration unit comprising:
l a first stage concentrate preheater 32.
l primary lactic acid concentration column 31:
downstream of the primary concentration preheater 32; the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 comprises the following components in the flow direction of the lactic acid material flow: a first atomization rectification section 311, a first packing section 312 and a first liquid collection section 313;
the primary atomization rectifying section 311 is an empty barrel body and is made of enamel materials, and the upper part of the primary atomization rectifying section is provided with a lactic acid nozzle communicated with the nitrogen supply unit and used for spraying lactic acid materials into the primary atomization rectifying section 311 in a droplet form through the lactic acid nozzle under the pressure of nitrogen;
a wire mesh foam supplementing device is arranged at the top of the primary lactic acid concentration tower 31 close to the gas outlet pipe;
the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 is further provided with a vacuum pumping system for providing a vacuum environment for the primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31.
The bottom of the primary liquid collecting section 313 is communicated with a pre-condensation reaction kettle 11 (for providing lactic acid for pre-condensation) and a primary condensation preheater 32 (for circulating condensation) through pipelines respectively.
l concentration first condenser 33
The top gas outlet of the primary lactic acid concentration tower 31 is communicated with the flash steam discharged from the top of the primary lactic acid concentration tower 31 to form condensate, and the concentration primary condenser 33 is also connected with a vacuum pumping system to pump out non-condensable gas in the condensate.
l primary condensate holding tank 34
For temporarily storing condensate generated by condensation of the primary condenser 33.
l two stage concentration preheater 42
Condensate for the primary condensate holding tank 34 is preheated before being sprayed into the secondary lactic acid concentrating tower 41.
l second lactic acid concentrating column 41
Downstream of the primary condensate hold tank 34, in the direction of flow of the lactic acid stream, it comprises: a secondary atomization rectification section 411, a secondary packing section 412 and a secondary liquid collection section 413;
the second-stage atomization rectification section 411 is an empty barrel body made of stainless steel, and the upper part of the second-stage atomization rectification section is provided with a lactic acid nozzle communicated with the nitrogen supply unit and used for spraying condensate into the second-stage atomization rectification section 411 in a droplet mode through the lactic acid nozzle under the pressure of nitrogen;
a foam supplement net, for example, a wire mesh foam supplement device is arranged at the top of the secondary lactic acid concentration tower 41 near the gas outlet pipe;
the secondary lactic acid concentration tower 41 is provided with a vacuum pumping system for providing a vacuum environment for the secondary lactic acid concentration tower 41;
a heater is arranged in the secondary liquid collecting section 413 and is used for heating the liquid in the secondary liquid collecting section to form a gas flow containing lactic acid and supplying the gas flow into the secondary atomization rectifying section 411;
the bottom of the secondary liquid collecting section 413 is respectively communicated with the primary concentration preheater 32 (for lactic acid re-concentration) and the lower part of the secondary atomization rectifying section 411 (for circulating concentration) through pipelines.
l concentration two-stage condenser 43
The secondary concentration condenser 43 is connected with a vacuum pumping system and is used for pumping out non-condensable gas in the condensed condensate, and the condensed condensate is formed by condensing flash steam discharged from the top of the secondary concentration tower 41.
B. Lactic acid polycondensation reaction unit
l Pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11
Wherein, a stirring device is arranged, the periphery of the stirring device is wrapped by a heating jacket, the top of the stirring device is provided with a lactic acid inlet which is communicated with the bottom of a primary liquid collecting section 313 of a primary lactic acid concentrating tower 31 and used for receiving concentrated and dehydrated lactic acid, the top of the stirring device is also provided with a gas outlet which is communicated with the upper part of the primary liquid collecting section 313 and used for providing gas flow containing lactic acid formed in a pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11 into the primary liquid collecting section 313 so as to be further provided into a primary atomization rectifying section 311.
The prepolycondensation reactor 11 is provided with a heating apparatus and a vacuum apparatus for providing the temperature and vacuum conditions required for the prepolycondensation.
l polycondensation reaction kettle 12
The device is arranged at the downstream of the pre-polycondensation reaction kettle 11, and is used for carrying out polycondensation on the lactic acid pre-polycondensation product to obtain a lactic acid oligomer;
the polycondensation reaction kettle 12 is a falling film reactor and comprises an evaporation section, and the evaporation section is made of titanium; and the liquid collecting section is made of enamel.
The polycondensation reaction vessel 12 is provided with a heating apparatus and a vacuum apparatus for providing the required temperature and vacuum conditions for polycondensation.
Cyclonic separation system 13
And the inlet of the cyclone separation system 13 is connected with the upper outlet of the liquid collection section of the polycondensation reaction kettle 12, and is used for receiving the upper gas from the liquid collection section to perform cyclone separation on the gas, and collecting the lactic acid oligomer droplets doped in the gas.
The outlet of the substrate liquid collecting section of the cyclone separation system 13 is connected with a lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit for conveying the lactic acid oligomer separated by cyclone separation to the lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit for depolymerization.
Polycondensation condenser 14
And a top gas outlet of the cyclone separation system 13 is communicated with the polycondensation condenser 14 and is used for condensing the gas phase from which the fog drops are separated, the formed condensate is communicated with the primary concentration preheater 32 through a return pipeline and is used as at least part of lactic acid raw materials, and uncondensed noncondensable gas is pumped out through a vacuum system and is discharged.
C. Lactic acid oligomer depolymerization unit
l depolymerization reaction kettle 21
The method is used for depolymerization of lactic acid oligomer to obtain lactide;
the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 is provided with a heating device and a vacuum device for providing the required temperature and vacuum conditions for depolymerization.
The depolymerization reaction kettle 21 is a falling film reactor and comprises an evaporation section, and the evaporation section is made of titanium; and the liquid collecting section is made of enamel.
The bottom liquid in the liquid collection section of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 mainly contains lactic acid oligomer, catalyst and a small amount of lactide generated, and preferably, in order to improve the yield of the lactide, the bottom liquid is communicated with the top of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 through a circulation loop to cyclically depolymerize the lactic acid oligomer in the bottom liquid.
Depolymerization first stage condenser 22
The upper opening of the liquid collecting section of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 is communicated with the depolymerization first-stage condenser 22, and is used for discharging the formed lactide and condensing the lactide in the depolymerization first-stage condenser 22 to form crude lactide.
l depolymerization two-stage condenser 23
The downstream of the depolymerization first-stage condenser 22 is also provided with a depolymerization second-stage condenser 23 for further concentrating the non-condensable gas in the depolymerization first-stage condenser 22, and the non-condensable gas is conveyed to a lactic acid concentration unit through a pipeline to be communicated for recycling lactic acid, and the non-condensable gas formed in the depolymerization second-stage condenser 23 is discharged through a vacuum system.
Catalyst supply system
For supplying a catalyst for depolymerization reaction to the depolymerization reaction vessel 21.
D. Waste liquid treatment unit
l kettle residue hydrolysis kettle 51
Is used for receiving the residue of the depolymerization reaction kettle 21 and hydrolyzing the residue, and the residue hydrolysis kettle 51 is provided with a water inlet and a lactic acid inlet.
l hydrolysate evaporator 52
The method is used for evaporating hydrolysate obtained from the kettle residue hydrolysis kettle to obtain lactic acid which is directly used as a byproduct for treatment.
The liquid phase formed in the hydrolysate evaporator 52 is circulated again to the top of the hydrolysate evaporator 52 through a pipeline for cyclic evaporation to recover lactic acid with maximum efficiency, and the residual liquid obtained after recovery of lactic acid can be discharged through a discharge pipeline.
(3) Lactide yield
The reaction equation is
The molecular weight of lactic acid is 90, the molecular weight of lactide is 144, and 1 molecule of lactic acid reacts to generate 1/2 molecules of lactide, so that 144/2/90=0.8kg of lactide should be generated by completely reacting 1kg of lactic acid, and the theoretical yield ξ is 80%.
η is lactide yield;
m is lactide production amount and lactic acid consumption amount respectively;
ξ is the theoretical yield (fixed at 80% in this case).
For example, if 1.5kg of lactic acid is actually consumed and 1kg of lactide is actually produced, the lactide yield is 1/(1.5 × 0.8.8) =83.3%