Mobile vacuum distillation unit for transport of articles containing releasable volatile organic compounds

A mobile vacuum distillation unit comprising;

• a tractor unit powered by an engine that produces an exhaust gas;
• a transportable support platform connected to the tractor unit, the transportable support platform comprising a plurality of wheels adapted for road engagement;
• a shell that defines an enclosed interior space, the shell being mounted to the transportable support platform;
• a vacuum distillation vessel housed within the enclosed interior space of the shell, the vacuum distillation vessel having a casing that defines a vacuum distillation chamber, the casing also defining an outlet of the vacuum distillation vessel, wherein polymer-containing articles that contain releasable volatile organic compounds are housed within the vacuum distillation chamber of the vacuum distillation vessel;
• a condensate storage tank housed within the enclosed interior space of the shell, the condensate storage tank having a tank wall that defines an internal cavity;
• a condenser housed within the enclosed interior space of the shell, the condenser being fluidly coupled to the outlet of the vacuum distillation vessel and to an inlet of the condensate storage tank and being configured to condense volatile organic compound (VOC) vapor emissions received from the vacuum distillation chamber into a liquid condensate and to deliver the liquid condensate into the internal cavity of the condensate storage tank;
• a vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the vacuum distillation chamber of the vacuum distillation vessel, the vacuum pump system being operable to create a partial vacuum within the vacuum distillation chamber and to draw the VOC vapor emissions from the vacuum distillation chamber into the condenser;
• and
• an exhaust gas heat exchanger, the exhaust gas heat exchanger being fluidly coupled to the engine of the tractor unit by an engine exhaust conduit, the exhaust gas heat exchanger being configured to transfer heat from the exhaust gas produced by the engine to a heat transfer fluid and, further, to circulate the heat transfer fluid through an interior heat transfer passage defined in the casing of the vacuum distillation vessel.

A mobile vacuum distillation unit comprising:

• a transportable support platform;
• a shell that defines an enclosed interior space, the shell being mounted to the transportable support platform and comprising a base wall, which defines the enclosed interior space, and a supplemental wall that surrounds the base wall to define a gap between the base wall and the supplemental wall, the gap being filled with a temperature-regulating substance;
• a vacuum distillation vessel housed within the enclosed interior space of the shell, the vacuum distillation vessel having a casing that defines a vacuum distillation chamber that houses polymer-containing articles that contain releasable volatile organic compounds, the casing also defining an outlet of the vacuum distillation vessel;
• a condensate storage tank housed within the enclosed interior space of the shell, the condensate storage tank having a tank wall that defines an internal cavity;
• a condenser housed within the enclosed interior space of the shell, the condenser being fluidly coupled to the outlet of the vacuum distillation vessel and to an inlet of the condensate storage tank and being configured to condense volatile organic compound (VOC) vapor emissions received from the vacuum distillation chamber into a liquid condensate and to deliver the liquid condensate into the internal cavity of the condensate storage tank;
• and
• a vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the vacuum distillation chamber of the vacuum distillation vessel, the vacuum pump system being operable to create a partial vacuum within the vacuum distillation chamber and to draw the VOC vapor emissions from the vacuum distillation chamber into the condenser.