Methods and apparatus for removing catalyst from oxidation reactor effluent
AssigneeGTC Technology Inc.
InventorsFu-Ming Lee, Randi Wright Wytcherley, Ronald G. Gualy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for removing a catalyst from a reaction mixture formed by reacting a hydrocarbon or an oxygenated hydrocarbon with an oxidant in the presence of the catalyst in a reactor, in which the reaction mixture contains one or more dibasic acids. The catalyst is removed by adding water and/or cooling the reaction mixture to cause phase separation, recycling the polar phase to the reactor, and transferring the less-polar phase to an ion exchange unit to remove catalyst contained therein.
Claims20
A method for removing a catalyst from a reactor effluent formed by reacting a substance that is a hydrocarbon or an oxygenated hydrocarbon with an oxidant in the presence of the catalyst in an oxidation reactor, the method comprising the following steps:
- cooling the reactor effluent and/or adding water to the reactor effluent;
- separating the reactor effluent into polar and less-polar phases;
- and
- transferring the less-polar phase to an ion exchange unit to remove the catalyst,
- wherein the transferring step is performed prior to recovery of the bulk of any oxidized substance from the reactor effluent.
An apparatus for removing a catalyst from a reactor effluent formed by reacting a substance that is a hydrocarbon or an oxygenated hydrocarbon with an oxidant in the presence of the catalyst in an oxidation reactor, the apparatus comprising:
- a unit for cooling the reactor effluent and/or a unit for adding water to the reactor effluent;
- a phase separator for separating the reactor effluent into polar and less-polar phases;
- and
- an ion exchange unit for removing the catalyst from the less-polar phase,
- wherein the less-polar phase is transferred to the ion-exchange unit prior to recovery of the bulk of any oxidized substance from the reactor effluent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.