Extractive Distillation Process for the Separation of THF and Methanol Mixtures

摘要

In order to separate the azeotropic mixture of tetrahydrofuran(THF) and methanol, an extractive distillation process, using ethylene glycol(EG) as an extracting agent, was proposed. Vapor liquid equilibrium calculations for the ternary system of THF, methanol, and EG were tried. The azeotropic point of THF and methanol disappeared when the liquid phase concentration of EG was greater than 5 mol%. The process simulation was tried for the proposed extractive distillation process. The calculated purity of THF, coming out from the top of the extractive distillation column, was 99.6, and that of methanol, coming out from the top of the extracting agent recovery column, was 99.9.