Application of Innovative Oil Removal Technology in the Biomass-to-Diesel and Aviation Fuel Industry: Brator’s “Horizontal Oil-Water Separator” Supports the High-Quality Development of Green Energy

Against the backdrop of the ongoing global pursuit of "dual carbon" goals, biomass energy—serving as a renewable and low-carbon alternative fuel—is rapidly moving to the center stage of the energy landscape. As vital components of green transportation fuels, biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are primarily derived from waste oils, such as "gutter oil" and waste cooking oil. However, in the process of converting these waste resources into high-value clean energy, the oily acidic wastewater generated during production has emerged as a critical bottleneck, hindering both compliance with environmental standards and the efficient utilization of resources.

Taking as an example a project with an annual output of 500,000 tons of industrial-grade biodiesel and bio-aviation fuel, this facility utilizes waste cooking oil as its primary feedstock. Through processes such as transesterification, hydrodeoxygenation, and distillation, it produces biodiesel that meets national standards and bio-aviation fuel that satisfies aviation industry standards. During this process, operations such as esterification reactions, neutralization washing, and equipment rinsing generate substantial volumes of high-concentration, oil-laden wastewater. This wastewater is characterized by a low, acidic pH level and contains significant quantities of emulsified oils, suspended solids, and organic pollutants, with total oil content frequently exceeding 1,000 ppm. If left untreated with high efficiency, this effluent not only poses a severe threat to the stable operation of the downstream wastewater treatment system but also risks causing secondary pollution—thereby undermining the fundamental objectives of green energy initiatives.

Against this backdrop, the project developer adopted the "Horizontal Oil-Water Separator" (Model: WYS)—developed by Brator Company—as the core component for the pretreatment of this oil-laden wastewater, achieving groundbreaking results. This device integrates a suite of advanced oil-removal technologies—including cyclonic separation, coarse-grain coalescence, polymer-enhanced coalescence, and corrugated-plate coalescence—and incorporates Brator’s proprietary surface coatings and structural designs to achieve highly efficient capture of micron-scale oil droplets.

Traditional oil-removal equipment typically relies on gravity sedimentation or dissolved air flotation technologies; these methods primarily target larger oil droplets (exceeding 50 μm in diameter) but demonstrate low removal efficiency for finer emulsified oil droplets (below 20–30 μm), making it difficult to overcome the critical "last mile" bottleneck in oil removal. In contrast, the Brator Model WYS Horizontal Oil-Water Separator employs a multi-stage coalescence mechanism to progressively aggregate minute oil droplets into larger ones, subsequently utilizing a specialized corrugated-plate structure to achieve highly efficient separation. Its core advantages lie in the following aspects:

l High Degree of Integration: Consolidates multiple mature oil-removal processes into a single unit, thereby minimizing footprint and simplifying operational workflows.

l Backed by Patented Technology: Features a proprietary polymer coating and a corrugated plate structural design that enhance oil droplet adhesion and coalescence capabilities, significantly boosting separation efficiency.

l Robust Acid and Alkali Resistance: The equipment's materials and coatings are capable of withstanding acidic and alkaline environments ranging from pH 2 to 12, making the system well-suited to the complex water quality conditions encountered during biomass-to-oil conversion processes.

l Efficient Treatment of Micron-Sized Oil Droplets: Effectively removes oil droplets with diameters exceeding 10μm, ensuring that the total oil content in the effluent is consistently reduced to below 100 ppm—thereby meeting the requisite standards for subsequent biochemical treatment or water reuse.

Operational data indicates that since the commissioning of the WYS unit, the pretreatment efficiency for oil-bearing wastewater has improved by over 60%. Consequently, the load on the downstream wastewater treatment system has been significantly reduced, the biochemical treatment units operate with greater stability, and sludge generation has decreased by approximately 30%. Furthermore, the separated waste oil can be recovered for use as low-grade fuel or subjected to further refining, while the oil-bearing sludge is now subject to segregated collection and resource-oriented processing—thereby truly realizing the transformation of "waste into value."

The successful deployment of this equipment not only ensures that the project meets environmental discharge standards but also enhances overall resource utilization efficiency, providing robust technical support for the large-scale and eco-friendly production of biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel. In an era where the nation is vigorously promoting the development of "Waste-free Cities" and "Green Factories," the Brator Horizontal Oil-Water Separator—distinguished by its exceptional performance—stands as a pivotal tool enabling the biomass energy sector to achieve clean production and sustainable development.