Heat integrated process and system for organic solvent production using vapor recompression
AssigneeWhitefox Technologies Limited
InventorsJin Ming Zhou, Thiago Righi, Chenxu Shi, Stephan Blum, Virginia Andrade
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Abstract
A distillation and dehydration system is provided that produces an anhydrous organic solvent. The provided system includes vapor recompression (e.g., a mechanical or thermal vapor recompression unit) to recover heat from a rectification-distillation section (e.g., a rectifier/stripper column). The addition of vapor recompression enables further heat recovery within a stream by increasing the condensation temperature and pressure of that stream and later using its latent heat by condensing it.
Claims20
A distillation and dehydration method comprising:
- generating a distillation overhead stream in a distillation system;
- directing the distillation overhead stream to a compression system, yielding a compressed vapor;
- sending the compressed vapor to a condensation system, yielding a condensate stream from the compressed vapor and heating a nonorganic working fluid in the condensation system to yield a heated stream of a vapor at a first given pressure;
- directing the condensate stream from the condensation system to a separation system;
- compressing at least a portion of the heated stream from the first given pressure to a second given pressure, greater than the first given pressure;
- directing the heated stream at the second pressure to a heat exchanger in communication with the separation system to yield a cooled stream of a liquid by transferring thermal energy from the heated stream to a fluid contained by the separation system;
- and
- returning the cooled vapor stream to the condensation system.
A distillation and dehydration method, comprising:
- generating a distillation overhead stream in a distillation system;
- directing the distillation overhead stream to a compression system, yielding a compressed vapor;
- sending the compressed vapor to a heat exchanger included in a condensate vessel that generates steam at a first pressure;
- compressing the steam from the first pressure to a second pressure, greater than the first pressure;
- directing the steam at the second pressure to a first receiving system of a splitter;
- directing a first portion of the steam at the second pressure from the splitter to a second receiving system;
- compressing a remainder of the steam not directed to the second receiving system from the second pressure to a third pressure, greater than the second pressure;
- and
- directing the steam at the third pressure to a third receiving system.
A distillation and dehydration method, comprising:
- generating a distillation overhead stream in a distillation system;
- directing the distillation overhead stream to a compression system, yielding a compressed vapor of an organic fluid;
- sending the compressed vapor to a first heat exchanger in communication with a working fluid comprised of a nonorganic fluid held in a condensate vessel to generate a second vapor of the working fluid at a first pressure;
- compressing the second vapor from the first pressure to a second pressure, greater than the first pressure;
- directing a first portion of the second vapor at the second pressure to a second heat exchanger in communication with a first receiving system;
- compressing a second portion of the second vapor at the second pressure to a third pressure, greater than the second pressure;
- and
- directing the second portion of the second vapor at the third pressure to a third heat exchanger in communication with a second receiving system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.