I'm trying to come up with a design on an ecopure column. What size mesh or screen is recommended?

Just a quick note: some people are using the same 80 mesh screen commonly used in ion exchange towers - which is about 180 microns. We recommend that you double up on this screen to create an effective mesh size of <half this or around 90 micron.

However small fines will initially pass through and this is to be expected but don't let this be a big problem since you should ALWAYS post filter the biodiesel after going through any dry media purification process.

We sell the 80 mesh screen at by far the cheapest price see the webpage listed in my signature below.

GCG

Read a bit on Ecopure and it seems a good route to take.I do have quite good access to material of all sizes and I was thinking of making my own tower.
It is as simple as a inlet at the top and a outlet at the bottom.A simple mesh with a size to prevent the ecopure from coming out at the base.I have been recommended .20mm so 200 microns.And recirculate the first 30litres that you put through.At the bottom a conical end to help drain.Looking at some towers they have a large side opening to help remove the Ecopure when it becomes saturated.Sounds easy do we always rely on gravity or could we pump ?.
And it looks like we only fill it up about a third of the total capacity.
Have I got it right ?
Ramjet41

quote:

We sell the 80 mesh screen at by far the cheapest price see the webpage listed in my signature below.

That's called wire cloth. It's used in sieves and filters, but it's not optimal for supporting a resin bed.

A screen, at least in ion exchange column design, is something different. I'm not sure if wire cloth is good to use in an ion exchange column, but I haven't tried it.

I recommend and use welded and rigid wedge screen for column applications. It's more expensive, but no clogging, no pressure drop and optimal flow. It also supports a heavy bed of resin and doesn't bend or break under weight or high pressure if high pressure occurs.
This is how a screen looks (enlarged).



and how it is applied in a column nozzle

Dimitri,

By far the preferred material for resin support grids is wedge wire or Veewire as some call it.

We install this type of grid support in our professional grade and larger ion exchange resin columns - exactly due to those compaction and plugging issues you mentioned.

However for smaller sized units we experimented with different ideas and a trick or two that make using a wire mesh screen an excellent low cost alternative to the wedge wire support grids.

It is note worthy though that even with the professional wedge wire screens we have seen super significant compaction, pressure build-up and pressure drop issues on larger resin columns due to the tremendous expansion properties of the gel-type resins in the presences of methanol.

These issues occurred even with the low flow rates used in ion exchange towers and all other appropriate operating parameters.

For a look at an actual company that sells these in the USA and an example of what these look like see: Industrial Screen Products


GCG

Hi there,
Does anybody have a exploded diagram of a small'ish tower.Something to hold about 5 kilos of ecopure would be ideal.Are resin towers the way to go for the small user,they do seem to be getting cheaper.
Thanks

Ramjet, I made a very simple and cheap Eco2pure filter that works great for under 50 USD. I used a tall Rubbermade office trash can. I made a screen with 80 mesh SS doubled or folded over mounted in the bottom of the trash can. I placed a plastic spigot purchased from Jim D's website at the bottom just like a picnic cooler. I hang a small 5 micron bag filter inside a 1 micron filter from the spigot. Inside the can is 7.5 Kg of Eco2pure. The whole thing sets on top of a 55 gal. drum with a simple wood frame. My soapy 30 gal. batch comes out crystal clear in about 1-2 hours mostly unattended. Make sure to demeth before the Eco2pure.I will post some pics as soon as I find a way to do so. Any help with that?

helpucguy,

Do you find that as the Ecopure drains it also drains some of the soap through it ?

Stumpy I have not noticed any soap in my BD after going through the Ecopure. I have not done a soap test other than the shake'em up test. I use water from a reverse osmosis filter and I shake extremely hard. Separation begins almost immediately and the water is perfectly clear and remains so for days with no clouding or layering or further separation.

Thanks guys lots of good info.To prevent the ecopure coming through does it have a standard particule size ? or does it vary ?.Obviously I want a mesh that retains all the ecopure.Mesh size of 80 is that the largest particule size it will hold.Is that 80 microns ?.
Gravity feed top to bottom is the way to go and easy access to clean the tower out,so a removable top and bottom flange.So i now have a design in my head so lets get some material now.
Thanks
Ramjet41