An apparatus and process for distillation of methanol which may also be used in distillation of other products, such as ethanol. The apparatus and process have the purpose of reducing the consumption of energy and of cooling water and/or electricity in a distillation process of crude intermediate products, including a pre-treatment stage, known as stabilizing stage, for the removal of the volatile components, and a concentration stage, including one or more columns for distillation.

An improved process for the recovery of high-purity ethylene-oxide water feed streams to EO purification and MEG reaction units when both are operating in EO plants that incorporate EO Stripper bypass technology, by installing a second lights stripper to exclusively degasify the diluted EO feed to the MEG reactor, thus permitting the use of additional bypassed (gasified) EO absorbate as the diluent and resulting in a substantial increase in the total amount of EO absorbate that can bypass the EO Stripper.

Diabatic distillation column 1 includes first and second cooling devices 11, 12 configured to indirectly cool fluid in rectifying section 2 with a circulating working fluid, first and second heating devices 21, 22 configured to indirectly heat fluid in stripping section 3 with the circulating working fluid, first compressor 31 configured to compress the working fluid from first cooling device 11 on first circulation path P11-P14 between first cooling device 11 and first heating device 21, second compressor 32 configured to compress the working fluid from second cooling device 12 on second circulation path P21-P24 between second cooling device 12 and second heating device 22, first expansion device 41 configured to expand the working fluid from first heating device 21 on first circulation path P11-P14, and second expansion device 42 configured to expand the working fluid from second heating device 22 on second circulation path P21-P24.

A process produces sodium and/or potassium alkoxides in countercurrent by reactive rectification. Alcohol is reacted in countercurrent with the respective alkali metal hydroxide. The vapours containing alcohol and water are separated into at least two serially arranged rectification columns. The energy of the vapour obtained in the first rectification is utilized for operating the second rectification. This specific energy integration coupled with establishing a certain pressure difference in the two rectification stages makes it possible to cover a particularly large proportion of the energy required for the rectification through electricity and to save heating steam.

A process for supplying deaerated water to a chemical plant that includes a distillation column for separating a reaction effluent comprising water and a product. The process includes inventorying the distillation column with aerated water (water having an oxygen content of greater than 50 ppbw, such as greater than 1 ppmw). The aerated water in the distillation column may then be distilled to produce an oxygen-containing overheads and a bottoms fraction comprising deaerated water. The deaerated water in the bottoms fraction ma be transported to an upstream or a downstream unit operation, and utilizing the deaerated water in the upstream or downstream unit operation. The reaction effluent is fed to the distillation column, transitioning the distillation column from separating oxygen from water to operations for separating the product from the water.

An energy efficient distillation process is provided. Energy efficiency originates from a combination two processes: a) the vaporization occurring with high pressure and high temperature, which decreases enthalpy of vaporization, where the enthalpy of vaporization can be equal to zero if the vaporization occurs to critical state of vaporizing fluid; and b) thermal energy and hydraulic energy of vaporized fluid return to the feed liquid with the system of heat exchangers and pressure exchangers. The energy efficient distillation herein can be applied in multiple existing distillation processes.

This disclosure describes processes for using a single cellulosic feedstock or a combination of two or more different cellulosic feedstocks with a starch component to produce a fermented product. The process includes separating the components of the cellulosic feedstocks with fractionation, pretreating a component with wet fractionation with chemicals, hydrolysis and fermentation of the pretreated feedstock(s) to produce cellulosic biofuel. The process may include combining the cellulosic feedstock(s) with other components to a cook and/or a fermentation process, distilling and dehydrating the combined components to produce the bio fuel. The process may also include producing a whole stillage stream from the feedstock(s) and mechanically processing the whole stillage stream to produce a high-value protein animal feed.

A process for the purification of isobutene from a C4 stream with at least 1-butene, 2-butene, isobutane and isobutene includes isomerizing 1-butene from a stream of material which is concentrated in isobutane and isobutene obtained from the C4 stream into 2-butene, using a catalyst in an isomerization reactor; supplying a product stream from the isomerization reactor to a rectification column; and providing a stream of material which is concentrated in isobutene. A processing facility is utilized for the purification of isobutene from the C4 stream.

Method for revamping a refining section of a methanol distillation plant comprising a medium pressure (MP) column a low pressure (LP) column, wherein both said columns comprise at least one bottom boiler, a gaseous stream of distilled methanol withdrawn from the MP column is fed to at least one bottom boiler of the LP column and a liquid solution containing methanol withdrawn from the MP column is fed to the LP column, the method of revamping comprising the installation of a high pressure (HP) column; the installation of a line feeding a gaseous stream of distilled methanol from the HP column to at least one bottom boiler of the MP column and the installation of a bottom line for exporting from the HP column a liquid stream consisting essentially of water.

An aqueous stream cleaning system including a circulation pump to receive a waste fluid and/or a concentrated liquid bottoms stream, and expel a circulation stream. The aqueous stream cleaning system can also include a primary heat exchanger to receive the circulation stream from the circulation pump. The primary heat exchanger can have a plurality of heat exchange plates that define an internal surface area for heat transfer from a distillate stream to the circulation stream to produce a cooled distillate stream and a heated circulation stream. The plurality of heat exchange plates can be spaced to facilitate free flow of solids in the circulation stream between the plurality of heat exchange plates. A mass flow rate and pressure of the circulation stream can be configured to minimize build-up of solids in the primary heat exchanger. The aqueous stream cleaning system can further include an evaporation unit to receive the heated circulation stream from the primary heat exchanger. The distillate stream is formed when steam in the heated circulation stream evaporates in the evaporation unit, and the concentrated liquid bottoms stream is formed from a portion of the heated circulation stream that does not evaporate.