Process for producing glycols from carbohydrates and burning waste
AssigneeAvantium Knowledge Centre B.V.
InventorsDavide Ansovini, Benjamin McKay, Jagdeep Singh
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Abstract
A process for producing glycols from a carbohydrate source using a catalyst system, and which process can be carried out continuously in a reactor, and in which process a catalyst material is recovered from the reactor effluent. The reactor effluent is subjected to separation to obtain some valuable glycols, and one or more of the bottom streams comprising heavy polyols and some catalyst material containing one or more tungsten compounds is subjected to burning, and the burner is part of a boiler that can generate steam. Such steam may be used in the separation of one or more of the desired compounds.
Claims20
A process for producing ethylene glycol and/or propylene glycol and/or glycerol in a continuous manner from a feed to a reactor, the feed comprising a carbohydrate source in an aqueous liquid, hydrogen, and a cocatalyst comprising a tungsten-containing compound, said reactor comprising a further co-catalyst comprising a metal selected from the groups 8, 9, or 10 of the Periodic Table of Elements, wherein the flow out of the reactor comprises water, the tungsten containing compound, one or more of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerol, and one or more polyols other than glycerol, wherein said flow out of the reactor is subjected to the following process steps:
- a. separating ethylene glycol and/or propylene glycol and/or glycerol from the flow out of the reactor to yield ethylene glycol and/or propylene glycol and/or glycerol and one or more bottom streams comprising polyols and one or more tungsten-containing compounds,
- b. subjecting said bottom streams of distillation stages to a burner in which the polyols are burned at a temperature of above 900° C.,
- c. recovering ash comprising a tungsten-containing compound from one or more of:
- the burner, ancillary parts of the burner, the exhaust gas,
- d. recovering recover at least part of the tungsten-containing compound from the recovered ash obtained by step c.,
- wherein said burner is part of a boiler system to generate steam from water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.