The Feed Pump and Pre-filter are the first components on the system to contact the spent acid from the pickle tank. Suspended solids are removed in the Pre-filter.
The hot spent pickle liquor enters this Heat Interchanger where the temperature is reduced by using the previously cleaned chilled acid traveling counter-currently through the interchanger. In this way, the chilled recovered acid is pre-heated and the hot spent pickle liquor is chilled without using an external energy source. This greatly reduces operating costs.
After the acid is pre-chilled, it enters the Reactor where the spent pickle liquor is agitated and chilled until the iron forms an iron sulfate crystal (ferrous sulfate heptahydrate).
The special thermoplastic Heat Exchangers immersed in the solution pass a refrigerant through the inner tubes that absorbs heat from the solution and displaces it through an air-cooled chiller. An acid resistant alloy agitator keeps the crystals from forming a cake of solid crystal on the exchangers by efficiently moving the solution across the exchange tubes.
The resultant chilled acid/crystal slurry enters the conical-bottomed Crystal Settler Tank where the iron sulfate crystals quickly settle to the bottom.
The settled crystals are then pumped to a Centrifuge.
Close up photo of the ferrous sulfate heptahydrate crystal exiting the centrifuge. We recommend one-ton bulk bags for storage and transportation of the crystals.
This Pump Back Station returns recovered acid to the pickle tanks.
Beta's black control panel which operates all the components just described has the flexibility to be mounted on the wall of an indoor office rather than on the system.