Process and apparatus for removing dissolved and undissolved solids from liquids

A continuous process to extract at least one dissolved and/or undissolved solid and/or at least one high boiling point liquid contaminant from a mixture of miscible liquids, in which at least one liquid component boils at a temperature substantially greater than the remaining liquid, in which the undissolved solids and any precipitated dissolved solids are more dense than the liquid components of the miscible liquid mixture, and in which the liquids remain free-flowing at a selected operating temperature and pressure throughout the process, the process comprising the steps of:

• introducing a feed stream of the miscible liquid mixture into a separation vessel;
• rapidly boiling or flashing said feed stream by co-mingling said feed stream with a heated recycle liquor so as to produce a vapor in proximity or within the separation vessel;
• separating the vapor from the unvaporized components of said co-mingled feed stream and heated recycle liquor;
• collecting said unvaporized components in a substantially liquid pool in a lower portion of the separation vessel;
• removing, at a rate substantially equal to at least ten times a flow rate of the feed stream, a portion of liquid from a substantially upper portion of said liquid pool so as to obtain a recycle liquor in which a concentration of solids is lower than a concentration of solids in the liquid that remains in the liquid pool;
• pumping said recycle liquor through a single flow path recycle heat exchanger, which rate of pumping maintains a flow rate of at least 3 m/s of the recycle liquor through said recycle liquor heat exchanger;
• supplying a sufficient heat flux to the recycle liquor in the recycle liquor heat exchanger such that the amount of heat added to the recycle liquor is sufficient to vaporise the feed stream when the heated recycle liquor and feed stream are co-mingled;
• and
• extracting solids from the lower portion of the separation vessel.