Reactive distillation for forming surfactants
AssigneeSironix Renewables, Inc.
InventorsChristoph Krumm, Connor Beach, Shawn Eady
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Abstract
Devices, systems, and methods for forming furan based surfactants by reactive distillation are disclosed herein. Various embodiments can provide a consolidated reaction process that uses reactive distillation to synthesize oleo-furan surfactant molecules and intermediates by combining reaction and separation steps into a single reaction unit or a number of connected reaction units. The single reaction unit or a number of connected reaction units can include a catalyst bed and act to separate reaction side products at opposing ends of the unit or units.
Claims20
A method of forming a surfactant, the method comprising:
- providing a fatty acid at a second fluid medium space within a distillation column device, the distillation column device including a first catalyst bed containing a first catalyst material within the distillation column, the second fluid medium space being above the first catalyst bed and a first fluid medium space being below the first catalyst bed within the distillation column device;
- and
- performing an acylation of the fatty acid with a furan-based structure at the first catalyst bed to form an alkylfuran ketone at the first fluid medium space within the distillation column device.
A distillation column device comprising:
- a first catalyst bed containing a first catalyst material within the distillation column device;
- a first fluid medium space below the first catalyst bed within the distillation column device;
- and
- a second fluid medium space above the first catalyst bed within the distillation column device,
- wherein the first catalyst bed is configured to acylate a fatty acid with a furan-based structure to form an alkylfuran ketone at the first fluid medium space within the distillation column device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.