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US 11,628,378 B2Granted
Distillation vacuum technology
AssigneeICM, Inc.
InventorsCharles C Gallop, Keith Tjaden
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This disclosure describes energy efficient process to distill a process stream in a production facility. A process uses multiple effect evaporators, ranging from one evaporator to eight evaporators in each effect. The process arrangement shows an example of four effect evaporators, with a zero-effect evaporator having a single evaporator, a first-effect evaporator having a set of three evaporators, a second-effect evaporator having a set of three evaporators, and a third-effect evaporator having a set of evaporators to create condensed distillers solubles.
Claims19
A process comprising:
- evaporating a first steam condensate from a molecular sieve vaporizer in a zero number evaporator to produce a first steam;
- evaporating water from a stillage in a first-effect evaporator to produce a first concentrated stillage and a first evaporate vapor, wherein the first steam from the zero number evaporator provides heat energy to evaporate water from the stillage in the first-effect evaporator;
- evaporating water from the first concentrated stillage in a second-effect evaporator to produce a second concentrated stillage and a second evaporate vapor, wherein the first evaporate vapor from the first-effect evaporator provides heat energy to evaporate water from the first concentrated stillage in the second-effect evaporator;
- evaporating water from the second concentrated stillage in a third-effect evaporator to produce a concentrated syrup and a third evaporate vapor, wherein the second evaporate vapor from the second-effect evaporator provides heat energy to evaporate water from the second concentrated stillage in the third-effect evaporator;
- and
- supplying the third evaporate vapor to a distillation column and separating ethanol from an ethanol-laden beer in the distillation column,
- wherein the third evaporate vapor provides heat energy for separation of the ethanol from the ethanol-laden beer in the distillation column.
4 more elements
A process comprising:
- distilling an ethanol-laden beer in a beer column maintained at a pressure below atmospheric pressure by a condenser to produce:
- (i) a beer-column vapor primarily including ethanol, and (ii) byproducts including a stillage including primarily water;
- condensing the beer-column vapor into a liquid primarily including ethanol in a condenser;
- evaporating a first steam condensate from a molecular sieve vaporizer in a zero number evaporator to produce a first steam;
- evaporating water from the stillage in a first-effect evaporator with heat from the first steam to produce mid stillage and first effect steam;
- evaporating water from the mid stillage in a second-effect evaporator with heat from the first effect steam to produce a second effect steam and byproducts including a syrup.
3 more elements
A process comprising:
- sending a boiler steam and an ethanol liquid to a molecular sieve vaporizer, wherein the molecular sieve vaporizer produces an ethanol vapor and a first steam condensate;
- sending the first steam condensate to a zero number evaporator;
- sending a first-effect steam condensate from a first-effect evaporator to the zero number evaporator;
- evaporating the first steam condensate and the first-effect steam condensate to produce a first steam and a first steam condensate;
- and
- sending the first steam condensate from the zero number evaporator to a deaerator.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.