Kinetic Regularities Research of the Convective Concentration Process of a Hexane-Paraffinic Composition for the Food Paraffin Production

Abstract

Film structures, used for the production of biodegradable packaging materials, are hydrophilic in nature. Their paraffinization reduced the influence of external factors, primarily moisture, for them, i.e. applying a thin layer of molten food paraffin to the film surface for subsequent protection of packaged food products from moisture and sunlight. While producing the moisture-repellent compositions, a man pays much attention to the quality of the final food paraffin. One of its important safety indicators is the absence of carcinogenic aromatic hydrocarbons in it. The kinetic regularities study of the convective concentration processes of a technical paraffin solution in n-hexane is necessary to analyze their mechanism and speed, depending on the operating parameters, making possible to determine the rational duration of these procedures and the specific yield of the resulting product. To rationalize the convective concentration of a hexane solution, it is necessary to select such operating parameters enabling not only to remove hexane with toxic components dissolved in it from the study object in a relatively simple apparatus, but also to significantly reduce the time for this process. The study aim was to determine the rational modes of hexane-paraffin mixture concentration, as an object for the food paraffin production with convective energy supply. The concentration curve nature, although it is typical for the interacting materials, in particular n-hexane and paraffin, has a certain specificity, determined by the physicochemical parameters of the research object, which is a true solution included various toxic substances. The specific features of the study object are to be reflected not only on the solution concentration mechanism, but also on the temperature fields evolution in it and, as a result, determine the original approaches to modeling the process of removing the solvent together with toxic substances, particularly, benz-α-pyrene.