PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING ORGANIC LIQUID SOLUTES FROM THEIR SOLVENT MIXTURES

摘要

Abstract of The DisclosureProcess and apparatus for extracting an organic liquidfrom an organic liquid solute/solvent mixture. The mixtureis contacted with a fluid extractant which is at a temperatureand pressure to render the extractant a solvent for the solutebut not for the solvent. The resulting fluid extract of thesolute is then depressurized to give a still feed which isdistilled to form still overhead vapors and liquid still bottoms.The enthalpy required to effect this distillation is providedby compressing the still overhead vapors to heat them and indirectly to heat the still feed. The process is particularlysuitable for separating mixtures which form azeotropes, e.g.,oxygenated hydrocarbon/water mixtures. The energy requiredin this process is much less than that required to separatesuch mixtures by conventional distillation techniques.