Fractionating liquids
AssigneeMerix Corporation
InventorsThomas W. Mix, Jay S. Dweck
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In fractionating tower apparatus including a plurality of modules including multi-stage segments, the improvement comprising the combination of a plurality of vaporizers for heating feed liquid to different temperatures to vaporize fractions of correspondingly different volatilities, means for feeding the vaporized fractions to different multi-stage segments of the tower, means for withdrawing liquid sidestreams from a plurality of the segments, temperature control means for limiting the level of heavy components in at least one selected liquid sidestream withdrawn from a segment below a module in which vapor is flashed, and means for separately feeding reflux liquid from at least one segment to a segment below it.
Claims8
A method of fractionating feed liquid containing fractions having different volatilities, said method being carried out in fractionating tower apparatus including a plurality of multi-stage segments, heaters, and vaporizers, said method comprising
- heating said feed liquid, by means of said heaters and vaporizers, to different temperatures to flash vapor fractions of different volatilities,
- feeding said flashed vapor fractions to different multi-stage segments of said fractionating tower apparatus, fractions of higher volatilities being fed to higher segments,
- withdrawing liquid sidestreams from a plurality of said segments,
- separately feeding reflex liquid from at least one segment to a segment below it, and
- controlling the level of heavy components in at least one selected liquid sidestream withdrawn from a segment below a segment where vapor is flashed by limiting the temperature at which said vapor is flashed to below the temperature of the vapor in the tower whose composition most closely matches the composition of the flashed vapor.
A method of fractionating feed liquid containing fractions having different volatilities, said method being carried out in fractionating tower apparatus including a plurality of multi-stage segments, heaters, and vaporizers, said method comprising
- heating said feed liquid, by means of said heaters and vaporizers, to different temperatures to flash vapor fractions of different volatilities,
- feeding said flashed vapor fractions to different multi-stage segments of said fractionating tower apparatus, fractions of higher volatilities being fed to higher segments,
- withdrawing liquid sidestreams from a plurality of said segments,
- separately feeding reflex liquid from at least one segment to a segment below it, and
- controlling the level of heavy components in at least one selected liquid sidestream withdrawn from a segment below a segment where vapor is flashed by limiting the temperature at which said vapor is flashed to below the temperature of the vapor in the lowest stage of the segment to which said flashed vapor is fed.
A method of fractionating feed liquid containing fractions having different volatilities, said method being carried out in fractionating tower apparatus including a plurality of multi-stage segments, heaters, and vaporizers, said method comprising
- heating said feed liquid, by means of said heaters and vaporizers, to different temperatures to flash vapor fractions of different volatilities,
- feeding said flashed vapor fractions to different multi-stage segments of said fractionating tower apparatus, fractions of higher volatilities being fed to higher segments,
- withdrawing liquid sidestreams from a plurality of said segments,
- separately feeding reflex liquid from at least one segment to a segment below it, and
- controlling the level of heavy components in at least one selected liquid sidestream withdrawn from a segment below a segment where vapor is flashed by limiting the temperature at which said vapor is flashed to below the temperature required to produce vapor whose heaviest two volume percent has a boiling point equal to the boiling point of the heaviest two volume percent of the next lower liquid sidestream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.