Hello
We have a distillation column which is used to distill diesel from a mixture containing biomass and oil. The solids build up in the column is pretty bad. We flush the column every week with solvent and diesel mixture but the way is done is not effective (very low flow rates) and the duration is very short as well. It is sieve tray column and we have 15% solids in our feed. I was wondering if anyone knows any references for procedures on cleaning distillation columns. I am thinking about a more effective method which can be done less frequently like those are done in oil refineries. Would appreciate if someone with similar experience could help me out as we have a small demonstration plant.
Thank you