Vaporization Zone Under Positive Pressure Or Vacuum Patents (Class 203/91)
  • Publication number: 20020033325
    Abstract: The present invention provides a process for recovering ditrimethylolpropane from a still residue obtained by extracting and then distilling off trimethylolpropane from a reaction solution obtained by reacting n-butyraldelhyde with formaldehyde in the presence of a basic catalyst, wherein the still residue is distilled to remove high-boiling components therefrom, and the resultant distillate is subjected to crystallization. When the above process is combined with the acid decomposition, it becomes possible to decompose a linear formal compound obtained from 2 molecules of TMP contained in the still residue as crude TMP and one molecule of formaldehyde, so that di-TMP having a higher purity is obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2001
    Publication date: March 21, 2002
    Inventors: Teruyuki Ninomiya, Toshio Watanabe, Atsushi Iwamoto, Soemu Miyashita, Masafumi Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6348134
    Abstract: The invention pertains to the field of oil refining and the petrochemical industry. The proposed plant for the distillation of a liquid has a vacuum rectification column with pipes for feed of a stock product and for bleeding of a gas-vapor phase and at least one liquid fraction; and a vacuum-producing device composed of a liquid-gas jet apparatus, a separator, a pump and a condenser. The gas intake of the liquid-gas jet apparatus is connected to the pipeline for bleeding of a gas-vapor phase, the liquid intake of the jet apparatus is connected to the discharge side of the pump and the outlet of the jet apparatus is connected to the condenser's intake. The intake of the separator is connected to the condenser's outlet, the liquid outlet of the separator is connected to the suction side of the pump and the gas outlet of the separator is connected to consumers of compressed gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2002
    Inventor: Serguei A. Popov
  • Patent number: 6346173
    Abstract: The invention essentially relates to a method for vacuum distillation of liquids that includes feeding a polar liquid into a vacuum-producing liquid-gas jet apparatus as a motive liquid if evacuation of a nonpolar gas-vapor medium is to be effected. Further, the method includes condensing the nonpolar gas-vapor medium, forming a gas-liquid mixture, disengaging a gaseous phase from the mixture, forming a liquid emulsion containing the polar liquid and a nonpolar condensate, separating the emulsion into continuous layers, withdrawing the nonpolar condensate and recycling the polar liquid by pumping it back into the liquid-gas jet apparatus. A nonpolar liquid is to be used as the motive liquid of the liquid-gas jet apparatus if evacuation of a polar gas-vapor medium is required. There is another variant of the method applicable when an evacuated gas-vapor medium contains both polar and nonpolar components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Inventors: Serguei A. Popov, Evgueni D. Petroukhine
  • Patent number: 6346172
    Abstract: A process for refining difluoromethane by removing water which is contained in difluoromethane and has been believed to be difficult to be removed includes distilling difluoromethane which contains water so as to obtain difluoromethane as a distillate and a mixture as a bottom product of difluoromethane and chlorofluoromethane and/or dichloromethane which mixture contains water. The bottom product is recycled to a reaction step to be reused together with a feedstock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takehide Tsuda, Takashi Shibanuma
  • Patent number: 6342127
    Abstract: A distillation device including an enclosed tube of elliptical or circular cross section and having a top of an inverted shape so that the inverted portion points downward. The upper section of the outer tube should be of a material that permits the heating of the tube by solar radiation and allows solar radiation to enter the tube and heat the liquid inside. The lower portion could include materials that reflect radiation upward toward the liquid and may include absorptive materials. The apparatus includes a device for forming a vacuum and an element for focusing sunlight that enters the top of the tube upon the liquid inside the tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2002
    Inventor: William Possidento
  • Publication number: 20020005344
    Abstract: For the fractionation of viscous silicones, oily or polymeric diorganosilicones with a chain length of between 2 and 10 000 are separated into a top and a bottom product, preferably continuously in an extracting column, using compressed hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane and n- or i-butane, or mixtures thereof, at temperatures of between 25 and 250° C., pressures of between 20 and 500 bar and a gas density >160 kg/m3. To avoid viscosity problems, either an organic solvent in the form of a C5-8 alkane or up to 85 wt. % of the compressed gas (mixture) can be added to the starting materials prior to fractionation. With this process, high-quality viscous silicone fractions are obtained, which have a chain length of 200 to 10 000 and/or a viscosity of 100 to 500 000 mPas, and whose total oligomer content D4 to D20 is less than 0.05 wt. %.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 1999
    Publication date: January 17, 2002
    Inventors: JURGEN HEIDLAS, JOACHIM VON SEYERL
  • Patent number: 6334935
    Abstract: A (meth)acryloxy-bearing alkoxysilane is isolated and purified to a high purity by distilling a reaction solution containing the (meth)acryloxy-bearing alkoxysilane in a thin-layer distillation device at a temperature of 90-160° C. and a vacuum of 1-15 mmHg. The resulting alkoxysilane product does not give rise to the quality problem that the product will gradually whiten during storage owing to contact with air. The occurrence of self-polymerization of the alkoxysilane is restrained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2002
    Assignee: Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Katsuhiro Uehara, Mikio Endo, Tohru Kubota, Satoshi Uchida, Kanji Murofushi
  • Publication number: 20010050217
    Abstract: A (meth)acryloxy-bearing alkoxysilane is isolated and purified to a high purity by distilling a reaction solution containing the (meth)acryloxy-bearing alkoxysilane in a thin-layer distillation device at a temperature of 90-160° C. and a vacuum of 1-15 mmHg. The resulting alkoxysilane product does not give rise to the quality problem that the product will gradually whiten during storage owing to contact with air. The occurrence of self-polymerization of the alkoxysilane is restrained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 1999
    Publication date: December 13, 2001
    Inventors: KATSUHIRO UEHARA, MIKIO ENDO, TOHRU KUBOTA, SATOSHI UCHIDA, KANJI MUROFUSHI
  • Patent number: 6303006
    Abstract: A vacuum type distilling system includes a sealed container including a vaporization chamber for containing a liquid and a condensation chamber, a pressure-reducing device, a condensing device, a heating device, and a vapor-collecting device including a floating piston for separating liquid and vapor and a guide tube for guiding vapor generated in the vaporization chamber into the condensation chamber. Liquid to be distilled is filled into the vaporization chamber and the pressure of the sealed container is reduced such that the boiling point of the liquid in the vaporization chamber is lowered. The heating device heats and thus vaporizes the liquid in the vaporization chamber into vapor which is immediately conveyed into the condensation chamber where vapor is condensed into distilled liquid by a condensing tube of the condensing device that is mounted in the condensation chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Inventors: Chia-Wei Chang, Charlie S. F. Chang, Shen Tsung-Lin
  • Patent number: 6294056
    Abstract: In a method for distilling (meth)acrylic acid and/or (meth)acrylic ester, the method has the step of uniformly distributing a supply liquid in a distillation tower over an entirety of a horizontal cross sectional area in the distillation tower. A distillation apparatus for distilling (meth)acrylic acid and/or (meth)acrylic ester in a distillation tower has a supply element for supplying the supply liquid into the distillation tower. The supply element is formed with at least two supply ports through which the liquid is supplied into the distillation tower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2001
    Assignee: Nippon Shokubai Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukihiro Matsumoto, Kazukiyo Arakawa, Osamu Dodo, Hiroo Iwato, Mamoru Takamura
  • Publication number: 20010020579
    Abstract: High-purity benzyl benzoate is recovered by distilling the residue remaining after removal of unreacted toluene and benzoic acid from a reaction mixture produced by the oxidation of toluene by molecular oxygen in the presence of a metal catalyst thereby separating a fraction of benzyl benzoate containing 80 wt % or more benzyl benzoate, 10 wt % or less benzoic acid and 10 wt % or less fluorenone, and purifying the fraction of benzyl benzoate by crystallization such as recrystallization. According to this process, it is possible to recover high-purity benzyl benzoate by a simple operation at low cost from the by-product formed in the manufacture of benzoic acid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2001
    Publication date: September 13, 2001
    Inventors: Noboru Daitou, Shingo Ueda, Ryouji Akamine, Kazuyoshi Horibe, Katsuhiko Sakura
  • Patent number: 6280578
    Abstract: Essence of the invention is a: a liquid, whose saturated vapour pressure is not less than the pressure at the top of a rectification column, is delivered into the nozzle of a liquid-gas jet apparatus as a motive liquid; the pressure maintained in a separator represents from 1.1 to 160 times the pressure of a vapor phase at the inlet of the liquid-gas jet apparatus; condensation of easy-condensable components of the vapor phase in the motive liquid and forming of a liquid-vapor mixture take place after mixing of the vapor phase with the motive liquid; the liquid-vapor mixture is separated in the separator into a compressed gaseous component and a liquid medium. The introduced method results in an increase in efficiency of a pumping-ejector system for the distillation of a liquid product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Inventor: Serguei A. Popov
  • Patent number: 6277247
    Abstract: The invention pertains to the field of the petrochemical industry. The invention essentially relates to a system and method that includes feeding of a liquid having molecular weight more than 100 (in atomic mass units) into a nozzle of an ejector as a motive liquid, and delivery of a mixed medium from the ejector into a shaped reservoir, where flow velocity is reduced and static pressure is boosted. The outlet of the ejector is connected to the inlet of the shaped reservoir, the inlet of a separator is connected to the outlet of the shaped reservoir. The introduced method and the system for its embodiment ensure a more efficient operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Inventor: Serguei A. Popov
  • Publication number: 20010014763
    Abstract: A process for preparing a glycerol from a crude glycerol comprising a glycerol, a diol and water, comprising feeding the crude glycerol to a preparation apparatus comprising two or more, serially connected flash towers and a distillation tower connected to a final flash tower, wherein a bottom fraction of each flash tower is fed to a subsequent flash tower; and adjusting an internal pressure of each flash tower to from 0.13 to 40 kPa, an internal temperature of each flash tower to 140° C. or less, a water content of the bottom fraction of the final flash tower to 0.1% by weight or less, and a pressure at bottom of the distillation tower to from 0.13 to 0.90 kPa.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2001
    Publication date: August 16, 2001
    Inventors: Hideaki Ueoka, Takanobu Katayama
  • Publication number: 20010011632
    Abstract: The invention essentially relates to a method for vacuum distillation of liquids that includes feeding a polar liquid into a vacuum-producing liquid-gas jet apparatus as a motive liquid if evacuation of a nonpolar gas-vapor medium is to be effected. Further, the method includes condensing the nonpolar gas-vapor medium, forming a gas-liquid mixture, disengaging a gaseous phase from the mixture, forming a liquid emulsion containing the polar liquid and a nonpolar condensate, separating the emulsion into continuous layers, withdrawing the nonpolar condensate and recycling the polar liquid by pumping it back into the liquid-gas jet apparatus. A nonpolar liquid is to be used as the motive liquid of the liquid-gas jet apparatus if evacuation of a polar gas-vapor medium is required. There is another variant of the method applicable when an evacuated gas-vapor medium contains both polar and nonpolar components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2001
    Publication date: August 9, 2001
    Inventors: Serguei A. Popov, Evgueni D. Petroukhine
  • Patent number: 6267848
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to the field of chemical and oil refining technology. In particular, the invention relates to the vacuum distillation of liquid mixtures and relates directly to the separation of liquid mixtures. The main field of application of the invention is rectification of oil stock in the petrochemical industry. The objective of this invention is to reduce power consumption required for generating a vacuum in mass-transfer columns while improving the quality of target products, reducing environmental pollution and increasing the efficiency of separation. According to the invention, a vacuum in a mass transfer column is generated due to condensation of outgoing vapors and evacuation of non-condensable gas-vapors by a vacuum-producing system, which is connected to a vacuum pump and composed of an absorber, a phase separator and a cooler, connected in series.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2001
    Inventor: Serguei A. Popov
  • Patent number: 6258215
    Abstract: The system for the recovery of water from urine aboard spacecraft includes a urine intake and pretreatment unit, a unit for water reclamation from urine and a condensate purification unit. The unit for water reclamation from urine is made on the basis of a rotary multistage vacuum distiller, each stage of which is formed by at least one heat-transfer plate and comprises an evaporation zone and a condensation zone. The stages of the distiller are separated from each other by separation plates, a chamber for collecting condensate and noncondensable gases being disposed downstream of the last stage and communicated with all the condensation zones of all the stages through water seals of condensate overflow and openings for the removal of noncondensable gases in disks mounted in the condensation zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Otkrytoe aktsionernoe obschestvo “Nauchno-Issledovatelsky I Konstruktosky Institut Kkhimicheskogo Mashinostroenia (A. O. Neikhimmash”)
    Inventors: Nikolai Mikhailovich Samsonov, Leonid Sergeevich Bobe, Vladimir Gustavovich Rifert, Petr Alexeevich Barabash, Vladimir Viktorovich Komolov, Vadim Iliich Margulis, Vladimir Mikhailovich Novikov, Boris Yakovlevich Pinsky, Nikolai Nikolaevich Protasov, Valentin Vasilievich Rakov, Nikolai Sergeevich Farafonov
  • Patent number: 6251229
    Abstract: A process for separating 2-aminomethylcyclopentylamine from a mixture consisting of hexamethylenediamine and 2-aminomethylcyclopentylamine by distilling the mixture at a pressure from 1 to 300 mbar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: BASF Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Hermann Luyken, Alwin Rehfinger, Peter Bassler, Guido Voit, Rolf Fischer, Martin Merger, Harald Rust
  • Patent number: 6197163
    Abstract: The impurity content, e.g. propionitrile, in a fraction containing C5 or C6 tertiary olefins obtained by cracking hydrocarbons is reduced by distilling with an alkanol and removing the impurity as a higher boiling point fraction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Assignee: Catalytic Distillation Technologies
    Inventor: Claus-Peter Thomas Hälsig
  • Patent number: 6197162
    Abstract: A method of remediating water contaminated by dissolved gases and liquids and suspended particles wherein the contaminated water is collected into a closed container without filling the container and heated to a temperature below the boiling point of water. Negative pressure is then drawn on the closed container without causing the water in the container to boil, whereby the dissolved gases and liquids in the contaminated water, having a boiling point lower than water, will evaporate out of the water into the head space above the water in the container. Finally, atmospheric air and/or oxygen are allowed into the container to push the vapors out of the head space of the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Inventor: Jose M. Quiros
  • Patent number: 6169211
    Abstract: Disclosed is a process for producing 5-cyclohexadecen-1-one continuously from 1,2-divinylcyclododecanol in a short time in an efficient manner without side reactions. In the process, 1,2-divinylcyclododecanol as a starting material is supplied from a raw material container 1 by a dosage pump 2 to a flash unit 3 which is set under a vacuum of 5 mm Hg or less by a vacuum pump 8 and is heated. 1,2-Divinylcyclododecanol which is flashed in the flash unit is supplied to a reactor 4 which is heated to 400 to 650° C. and is set under a vacuum of 5 mm Hg or less whereby 1,2-divinylcyclododecanol is converted into 5-cyclohexadecen-1-one. The reaction product is discharged from the top of the reactor and is cooled to recover the objective 5-cyclohexadecen-1-one in the recovery container 6. The reduction in the pressure of the apparatus is preferably performed by a vacuum pump 8 via a hydrochloric acid trap 7 comprising, for example, sodium methylate/methanol cooled to −78 to −100° C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2001
    Assignee: Takasago International Corporation
    Inventors: Misao Yagi, Keisuke Itakura, Kenichi Yamamoto, Akira Amano
  • Patent number: 6159345
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for recycling and recovering potentially explosive solvents includes providing a contaminated solvent to a distillation tank, vaporizing the solvent in the distillation tank, thereby producing solvent vapor, condensing the solvent vapor, and adding a free radical scavenger substance to the distillation tank during the heating step. The vapor is then condensed and collected in a clean solvent tank where additional free radical scavenger substance is added to the clean solvent tank. Preferably, contaminated solvent is introduced into the solvent recovery system by providing contaminated solvent into contaminated solvent tank which is connected to the distillation tank, and an oxygen displacer substance is provided to the contaminated solvent tank and the clean solvent tank so as to minimize the amount of free oxygen in the tanks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2000
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical America, Inc.
    Inventors: John C. Donnelly, Guerry L. Grune, Gregory A. Frick, Kenneth L. Marsh
  • Patent number: 6137023
    Abstract: The invention relates to a process for producing high purity isobutene from a hydrocarbon cut essentially comprising olefinic hydrocarbons containing 4 carbon atoms per molecule including isobutene, also butene-1 and butene-2 compounds in a ratio which substantially corresponds to the thermodynamic equilibrium. The process comprises passing the cut into a distillation zone (3) associated with a hydroisomerisation reaction zone, the bottom product of the distillation zone comprising butene-2 compounds being passed into a skeletal isomerisation zone (2) where the linear butenes are at least partially isomerised to isobutene, at least part of the principal effluent from the skeletal isomerisation zone being recycled upstream of the reactive distillation zone (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Michel Dorbon, Jean-Alain Chodorge, Jean Cosyns, Jean-Charles Viltard, Blaise Didillon
  • Patent number: 6123812
    Abstract: A process for distilling ethylene oxide out of a mixture including ethylene oxide in a column at an absolute pressure of from 2 to 10 bar and a temperature of 20 to 180.degree. C. by withdrawing pure ethylene oxide in the liquid or gaseous state overhead or via a sidestream in the rectifying section of the column includes effecting the distillation in a column having on its inside a plurality of successive zones of structured sheet-metal packing or dumped beds of packing elements, these zones being assigned one or more extinguishing systems on the outside of the column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2000
    Assignee: BASF Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Bernd Bessling, Sebastian Zeck, Jurgen Pluckhan, Thomas Mayer, Ulrich Loffler, Gunter Spiegel, Rubens Ballenweg, Gerhard Brudi, Klaus Gieselberg, Lutz Hilprecht, Winfried Terjung, Heinz Auer, Axel Werner Polt, Stephan Scholl
  • Patent number: 6093286
    Abstract: A process for purifying at least 90% pure n-butyl chloride which is present in a mixture with other C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkyl chlorides, C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alcohols, esters, ketones, nitrites, and organic sulfur compounds. In this process the mixture is first distilled, with high-boilers being separated off, and then washed in a plurality of stages with water and with dilute alkali metal hydroxide solution, and, optionally, an aqueous solution of H.sub.2 O.sub.2. In this manner, even a typical impurities may be separated off and a >99% pure product may be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2000
    Assignee: Huels Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Clemens Osterholt, Josef Metz, Udo Jegelka
  • Patent number: 6086721
    Abstract: A vacuum-creating apparatus of the unit is provided with a pump and a separator, wherein the pump is connected at its inlet to the separator, a jet device is made as a liquid-gas device and is connected at its outlet, by means of a pressure main, to the separator and at its liquid input to an output of the pump, wherein the longitudinal axis of the jet device is positioned vertically, the permissible deviation from the vertical axis being .+-.15.degree., an outlet cross section of a liquid supply nozzle of the jet device is positioned at a height of from 5 m to 35 m above an inlet to the separator and an outlet section of the pressure main is positioned below the level of the liquid in the separator to form a hydraulic seal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2000
    Inventor: Valery Grigorievich Tsegelsky
  • Patent number: 6080273
    Abstract: A process and a device for treating a liquid by separating out constituents contained in the liquid. Pollutants are removed or the liquid is sterilized by partial evaporization. The liquid is introduced into a vacuum tank in which a portion thereof is evaporated. The remaining liquid phase is discharged from the vacuum tank. The liquid in the vacuum tank flows under the effect of gravity on a fixed inclined or horizontal surface on which it forms a liquid film. The vapor phase emerges from the liquid film as a function of the vapor pressure defined relative to the prevailing temperature. The flow surface slopes downwardly away from the inflow of the liquid, it rises slightly or it extends horizontally.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2000
    Inventor: Martin Schrems
  • Patent number: 6051111
    Abstract: A method of distillation having the steps of drawing a volume of untreated water containing impurities into a container, applying a vacuum to the container, applying an oscillating electric charge to the untreated water thereby producing water vapor from the untreated water, capturing the water vapor in a vapor pipe, and condensing the water vapor back into a liquid form in a collecting chamber. An oscillating frequency of 2.6 gigahertz, either by sonic or electric charge, displaces the hydrogen bonding between water molecules. This displacement permits distillation at a low temperature without the infusion of large amounts of energy common in previously known methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2000
    Inventor: D. Joshua Prestidge
  • Patent number: 6042618
    Abstract: The present invention comprises a dry cleaning system and method, in which dry cleaning machinery is used in conjunction with a specific solvent which is derived from an organic/inorganic hybrid (organo silicone). In this class of organo silicones is a group known as cyclic siloxanes. The cyclic siloxanes present the basis for material composition of the solvent chemistry which allows this dry cleaning system to be highly effective. The cyclic-siloxane-based solvent allows the system to result in an environmentally friendly process which is, also, more effective in cleaning fabrics and the like than any known prior system. The siloxane composition is employed in a dry cleaning machine to carry out the method of the invention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2000
    Assignee: GreenEarth Cleaning LLC
    Inventors: Wolf-Dieter R. Berndt, John McLeod Griffiss, James E. Douglas
  • Patent number: 6033530
    Abstract: A process for the continuous distillation of thermolabile monomers under reduced pressure in a column includesfeeding the thermolabile monomers in vapor or liquid form to the column,introducing an inert distillation aid which forms a heteroazeotrope with the thermolabile monomers into the vaporizer at the bottom of the column, but separately from the monomer feed, and vaporizing into there or feeding an emulsion of thermolabile monomers and an inert distillation aid into the vaporizer or into the column,condensing the azeotrope at the top of the column and separating it in a phase separator, taking off the thermolabile monomers and returning the distillation aid to the column or, if desired, working it up by distillation andtaking off components having a higher boiling point than the thermolabile monomers from the bottom of the column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: BASF Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Manfred Winter, Jacques Dupuis
  • Patent number: 6025530
    Abstract: The present invention relates generally to a method for treating phenol tar, and, more particularly to a method for separating valuable products from phenol tar by treating the tar with steam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2000
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Arkady Samuilovich Dyckman, Andrey Zinenkov, Boris Issakovich Gorovits, John W. Fulmer
  • Patent number: 6010599
    Abstract: An apparatus for batch distilling a liquid at sub-atmospheric pressure, without the aid of a vacuum pump. The apparatus includes an evaporator section having a valved entry port through which a batch of liquid in a first atmospheric condition is added to the evaporator section. A condenser section receives distillate and is in communication with the evaporator section. A valved vent is provided for sealing said apparatus from the outside atmosphere to form a second atmospheric condition which is sealed from the atmosphere after a heating element vaporizes said liquid into an initial sufficient amount of a first vapor to purge the first atmospheric condition from the apparatus through the valved vent. A condenser is disposed for condensing a sufficient amount of the first vapor to form a third atmospheric condition at a pressure below the first atmospheric condition, and for condensing a second vapor to produce distillate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2000
    Assignee: American Technologies Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Chungsing Wang, Shui-Yiu Lo
  • Patent number: 5964987
    Abstract: Natural cresylic acid is processed to remove neutral oil impurities by countercurrent liquid/liquid extraction using a heavy phase solvent of a mixture of glycerol and another polyhydric alcohol, preferably triethylene glycol. The light phase solvent is a light paraffinic or cycloparaffinic hydrocarbon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 12, 1999
    Assignee: Dakota Gasification Company
    Inventors: David H. Duncan, Gene G. Baker, Dana J. Maas, Kevin M. Mohl, Alfred K. Kuhn
  • Patent number: 5951829
    Abstract: A method of separating heteropoly compounds from mixtures of polyethers, polyesters and/or polyether esters, a protic component and heteropoly compounds, wherein the protic component is removed from the mixture and subsequently separating off the heteropoly compound as a separate phase. The polymer phase which remains is preferably brought into further contact with a solid adsorbent that is capable of adsorbing heteropoly compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: BASF Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Hans-Jurgen Weyer, Rolf Fischer, Gerhard Jeschek, Herbert Muller
  • Patent number: 5951828
    Abstract: In a process for the continuous distillation of thermolabile monomers under reduced pressure in the presence of formamide in a column,the thermolabile monomers are continuously fed in liquid form, separately from formamide, into the lower part of the column up to the middle of the column,Formamide is vaporized with a vaporizer at the bottom of the column and, together with constituents having higher boiling points than the thermolabile monomers, is discharged from the bottom of the column and replaced by addition of fresh formamide,the thermolabile monomers are taken off at a side offtake in the upper third of the column, with the distillation being controlled such that the monomers contain less than 5% by weight of formamide, anda product stream containing constituents which have a lower boiling point than the thermolabile monomers is taken off at the top of the column.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 14, 1999
    Assignee: BASF Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Manfred Winter, Jacques Dupuis, Michael Kroner
  • Patent number: 5948948
    Abstract: The invention concerns a process for isomerising a feed containing essentially hydrocarbons, preferably paraffins preferably containing 5 and/or 6 carbon atoms per molecule, in which said feed is treated in a distillation zone comprising an exhausting zone and a rectification zone associated with an isomerisation reaction zone, in the presence of an isomerisation catalyst and a gas stream containing hydrogen, characterized in that the reaction zone is at least partially internal to the distillation zone, and wherein the hydrogen-containing gas is fed by a dedicated gas distributor to the bottom of at least one catalytic bed within the isomerization reaction zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1999
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Etienne Lebas, Sophie Jullian, Christine Travers, Pierre Capron, Jean-Fran.cedilla.ois Joly, Michel Thery
  • Patent number: 5888356
    Abstract: The polymerization of a vinylaromatic or vinylaliphatic compound at elevated temperature in the absence of air is inhibited by processing the vinylaromatic or vinylaliphatic compound in the presence of 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl or 4-acetylamino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxylalone or in admixture with p-nitrosophenol or 2-methyl-4-nitrosophenol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Assignee: Huels Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Thomas Keil, Manfred Kaufhold, Bernd Helpap
  • Patent number: 5882486
    Abstract: Contaminated glycol is refined by vacuum distillation. Specifically the evaporator is heated to a temperature below the degradation temperature of the glycol. The vacuum is used to bring the flashpoint down sufficiently so that glycol evaporates or flashes at that temperature. The glycol is condensed and filtered through activated granular carbon. The principal use of refining the glycol is to refine the triethylene glycol used in natural gas dehydration plants. For such purposes the equipment is mounted upon a trailer to be taken to the plant for cleaning glycol. In such instance, in addition to refining the glycol, a cleaning agent (which contains a degreaser) is added to the refined glycol. The glycol is refined while the natural gas dehydration plant is in normal operation and therefore it is not necessary to stop the natural gas dehydration plant for refining the glycol used therein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1999
    Inventor: John W. Moore, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5868908
    Abstract: A process for separating inorganic salts from a solution of dimethyl sulfoxide, water and salts including feeding the solution plus a hydrocarbon based oil to a vacuum thin film evaporator. The DMSO and water are vaporized and condensed outside the evaporator for reuse or further purification. The salt and oil exit the evaporator as a liquid phase slurry. Water is added to the slurry to dissolve the salt and produce an aqueous phase and an oil phase which are separated. The oil phase is recycled to the thin film evaporator portion of the process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: WRR Environmental Services Co., Inc.
    Inventor: James L. Hager
  • Patent number: 5865957
    Abstract: A method for producing butyraldehydes, by separating and purifying mixed butyraldehyde products formed by hydroformylation of propylene, into n-butyraldehyde and isobutyraldehyde by using a distillation column, wherein the distillation column is operated under such conditions that the pressure at the top of the distillation column is within a range of from 0.001 to 0.5 kg/cm.sup.2 G, and the pressure at the bottom of the column is within a range of from 0.05 to 1.0 kg/cm.sup.2 G.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Chemical Company
    Inventors: Akio Ueda, Kuninori Sadaie
  • Patent number: 5857269
    Abstract: A process for manufacturing improved granulated fatty alcohol sulfates. The process includes slowly drying and mechanically mixing the fatty alcohol sulfate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1999
    Assignee: Zohar Detergent Factory
    Inventors: Oded Vashitz, Amatzia Galler
  • Patent number: 5852218
    Abstract: A method for converting the diester of a polyether polyol (e.g., the diacetate ester of polytetramethylene ether, PTMEA) to a corresponding dihydroxy polyether polyol (e.g., polytetramethylene ether glycol, PTMEG) involving reactive distillation wherein a diester of polyether polyol is fed to the top portion of the column along with an effective amount of at least one alkali metal oxide or alkaline earth metal oxide, hydroxide or alkoxide catalyst (e.g., sodium methoxide) and with a C.sub.1 to C.sub.4 alkanol (e.g., methanol) while simultaneously adding to the bottom of the reactive distillation column hot alkanol vapor to sweep any alkanol ester formed by alkanolysis of the diester of polyether polyol upwardly. Such a process is useful for achieving high levels of conversion PTMEA to PTMEG on a commercial scale with the overhead from the column being amenable to azeotropic separation of the methyl acetate and recycle of the methanol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventor: Suriyanarayan Dorai
  • Patent number: 5852201
    Abstract: A process for preparing crude dimethyl terephthalate, comprises oxidizing a mixture comprising para-xylene and methyl para-toluate, esterifying the oxidized mixture with methanol, separating the resulting crude ester into fractions. By separating the crude ester with a distillation column containing structured packing and using a lower bottom temperature, product yield is increased, and the process is made more economical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignee: Huels Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Udo Lenz, Ulrich Neutzler, Anton Schoengen, Reinhard Sigg
  • Patent number: 5849160
    Abstract: Pentafluoroethane (HFC-125) is more effectively and more simply separated from a reaction mixture in a process of producing HFC-125.A gas mixture containing perchloroethylene (PCE), HFC-125, hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF) is passed through the first condensation stage to obtain the first vapor phase, which is passed through the second condensation stage to obtain the second vapor phase mainly containing HFC-125 and HCl and the second liquid phase, which is passed to a distillation stage to obtain a top fraction mainly containing HFC-125 and HCl and a bottom fraction containing the rest of the second liquid phase which bottom fraction is substantially free from HFC-125 and HCl, and HCl is separated out of the second vapor phase portion and the top fraction to obtain HFC-125, a concentration of PCE in the second liquid phase being such that it does not separate into immiscible liquid phases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1998
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yukio Homoto, Takashi Shibanuma, Masanobu Nishitsuji
  • Patent number: 5846388
    Abstract: There is provided an azeotropic mixture of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and 1,1-difluoroethane (HFC152a). In addition, there is provided a process for the production of HFC152a having a step of more effectively recovering HF which does not contain HFC152a or HFC152a which does not contain HF in which step an azeotropic mixture is distilled off from a column top by subjecting a mixture containing HFC152a and HF, so that HF which does not contain HFC152a or HFC152a which does not contain HF is recovered from a column bottom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 8, 1998
    Assignee: Daiken Industries Ltd.
    Inventors: Takehide Tsuda, Satoshi Komatsu
  • Patent number: 5810976
    Abstract: A device for processing water having high concentrations of scale forming compounds and high solids content in a high efficiency vapor compression distillation system wherein a plate-in-frame heat exchanger is submerged in a boiling solution contained in a boiler drum. An impeller in the drum continuously circulates the boiling solution through the heat exchanger at a velocity to prevent suspended solids from accumulating and to inhibit scale formation on the boiling surfaces of the heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Grand Environmental Corporation
    Inventor: Robert C. Keith
  • Patent number: 5785819
    Abstract: In a distillation column for separating a liquid mixture into a plurality of pure fractions, the distillation column being divided into 2 parts, a feed part and a take-off part, in its middle region by a separation effective in the longitudinal direction, the separation consists of two walls with a gas space in between, the distance between the two walls being from 1 to 50 mm, preferably from 3 to 10 mm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1998
    Assignee: BASF Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Gerd Kaibel, Manfred Stroezel, Joachim Pfeffinger
  • Patent number: 5772852
    Abstract: A process for separating HCl from pentafluoroethane, chloropentafluoroethane, chlorotrifluoroethane, trifluoromethane, and other fully saturated and unsaturated fluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons and chlorocarbons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1998
    Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Barry Asher Mahler, Vinci Martinez Felix, Ralph Newton Miller
  • Patent number: 5773664
    Abstract: A process for separating off poorly soluble by-products from reaction mixtures which are produced in the oxidation of p-cresol with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas in methanol as solvent in the presence of alkali metal hydroxide and in the presence of metal compounds as catalyst, is characterized in that, after the oxidation, excess alkali is neutralized to the extent that a salt precipitate forms and this salt precipitate is separated off together with the poorly soluble by-products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1998
    Assignee: Bayer Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Albert Schnatterer, Helmut Fiege, Frank Jelitto, Peter Skornia, Karl-Heinz Theisen
  • Patent number: 5710261
    Abstract: Aliphatic alcohols with up to 30 and especially with 6 to 18 carbon atoms are separated from a mixture of alkyl glycosides and alcohols which are unreacted during the production of these glycosides, by single or multi-stage distillation. The alcohols are distilled off by a drop film evaporator to impoverish the reaction mixture to residual alcohol contents of 5 wt % and under. The strip load of the drop film evaporator is set to at least 1.0 m.sup.3 /h m, especially at least 1.8 m.sup.3 /h m and preferably at least 3.0 m.sup.3 /h m. It is possible to reduce the alcohol content of the product to any value between 0.1 and 5 wt % at acceptable overall cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 1996
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1998
    Assignee: Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien
    Inventors: Wilhelm Johannisbauer, Michael Nitsche, Lutz Jeromin