The invention is directed to compositions and processes concerning efficient downstream processing of products derived from organic acids pretreatment of plant materials.

The present disclosure provides high-grade ethanol production systems and methods that increase energy efficiency as compared to typical systems and methods by minimizing undesired acetal formation. The provided ethanol production method may include a low boilers removal distillation column and/or a stripper column constructed to simultaneously remove at least a portion of the acetaldehyde and at least a portion of the acetal from a feed stream in the presence of water. In some aspects, a low boilers removal process may be followed by a water removal process, which may be followed by a high boilers removal process. Acidity (e.g., carbon dioxide) may also be removed from a feed stream prior to or during the low boilers removal process. By minimizing acetal production, the provided method minimizes the amount of energy that is required to remove acetal when producing high-grade ethanol.

Distillative process for obtaining ditrimethylolpropane from solutions includes separating ditrimethylolpropane from the solution in a first distillation unit into a first tops fraction comprising low-boiling compounds having a lower boiling point than ditrimethylolpropane and a first bottoms fraction; introducing the first bottoms fraction into a second distillation unit having at least 5 theoretical plates, said unit being configured as a thin-film evaporator with a column attachment and drawing off a second tops fraction comprising intermediate-boiling compounds having a lower boiling point than ditrimethylolpropane as well as withdrawing a second bottoms fraction from the second distillation unit and introducing the second bottoms fraction into a third distillation unit having at least 4 theoretical plates, said unit being configured as a thin-film evaporator with a column attachment, such that ditrimethylolpropane is obtained as a third tops fraction and high boilers are removed as a third bottoms fraction.

The present disclosure relates to isolating one or more cannabinoids from an input mixture. There is disclosed an apparatus that comprises a first reaction vessel, a volatizing unit, and a distillation unit. The first reaction vessel provides a derivatized input mixture that comprises one or more derivatized cannabinoids. The volatizing unit volatilizes the derivatized input mixture into a derivatized cannabinoid-containing vapor-stream and a residue. The distillation unit receives the derivatized cannabinoid-containing vapor stream and separates a first derivatized cannabinoid within the derivatized cannabinoid-containing vapor stream from at least a second cannabinoid. There is also a method that comprises the steps of derivatizing one or more cannabinoids in an input mixture; volatilizing the derivatized input mixture to provided a derivatized cannabinoid-containing vapor stream; conducting the derivatized cannabinoid-containing vapor stream to distillation unit; and collecting a product that comprises the first derivatized cannabinoid.

The invention relates to method for deacidification of fats and oils comprising: feeding stream (1) to a stripping section; condensing the volatile phase in a high temperature condensing zone, sending the condensed phase to distillation A; distillating the condensed phase, obtaining a volatile stream; passing the volatile stream along with the vapor phase from the condensation zone to a cold condensation zone obtaining a condensate and a stream (4); allowing stream (4) to continue to vacuum system and subjecting the cold condensate to distillation B; and producing a stream of fatty acids (5) and a stream of micronutrients (6).

A method and a system for recycling spent ethylene or propylene glycol recovered from aircraft deicing solutions is described. The recovered spent ethylene or propylene glycol contains water and other undesirable substances which require to be removed to produce a solution free of these substances which can be further processed to remove substantially all of the water content and to blend-in additives required to certify the final glycol solution for aircraft deicing. The method and system employs a computer controller for continuous automatic batch processing of the spent glycol, including, in combination, filtering, distillation, blending and testing in specific sequences and achieves an improved quality recycled glycol of a purity of at least 99.5% and preferably between 99.6% to 99.9% glycol concentration.

The invention relates to a method and a device for cleaning contaminated used oil, in which starting material is heated to the gas phase and the resultant vapor is rectified, with purified oil being removed as condensate from a drain in a rectification column. This enables efficient operation even in the smallest of systems, such that a compact system configuration and thus in particular mobile use by a container structure is made possible. The invention also reduces the cost required for servicing. The used oil is subjected to an evaporation process by at least indirectly placing the starting material in contact with a melting bath, the melting temperature of which is above the evaporation temperature but below the ignition temperature of the used oil, and by rectifying the vapor in the rectification column.

The present invention relates to a process for purifying caprolactam from solutions of crude caprolactam by a direct treatment with one or more alkaline compounds of polyvalent metals, preferably bivalent and trivalent, without resorting to organic solvent extraction as used in the usual purification process. A further subject of the present invention is a facility devoid of a unit for organic solvent extraction and designed to carry out the caprolactam purification process described herein.

A method for producing hemp oil, comprising decarboxylation of CBDA in hemp oil; short-path evaporation of CBD from the decarboxylated hemp oil to produce CBD oil; selective THC to CBN conversion performed on the decarboxylated hemp oil.

A process for producing THC-O-acetate using a succession of distillation, salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extractions (SALLEs), and solvent recovery techniques. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis oil reacts with acetic anhydride under reflux to produce THC-O-acetate and acetic acid. The resulting crude product is distilled and subjected to a SALLE with hexane followed by a SALLE with petroleum ether, before being distilled again in order to obtain a refined, THC-O-acetate product.