Abstract: An improved distillation method and apparatus are provided for recovering anhydrous ethanol from fermentation or synthetic feedstocks. The system includes at least one stripper-rectifier tower, a dehydrating tower, and an azeotropic agent stripping tower. Substantial energy savings are realized by operating the dehydrating tower, and preferably also the azeotropic agent stripping tower, at a higher pressure than the stripper-rectifier tower and by condensing the overhead vapors from the dehydrating tower (or dehydrating tower and azeotropic agent stripping tower) to provide the heat required in the stripper-rectifier tower. In a preferred embodiment, two stripper-rectifier towers are used, one operating at a higher pressure than the other, in which case the higher pressure tower is heated as just described and the overhead vapors from the higher pressure tower are condensed to supply the heat required in the lower pressure tower.

Abstract: A process of extractive distillation for separating components easily soluble in a polar solvent from at least two hydrocarbon mixtures having different contents of the easily soluble components by extractive distillation using said polar solvent, which comprises feeding a hydrocarbon mixture containing a larger amount of the easily soluble components, as a gas, into the middle or lower portion of an extractive distillation column, feeding a hydrocarbon mixture containing a smaller amount of the easily soluble components, as a liquid, to the upper portion of the extractive distillation column, and subjecting them to extractive distillation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of producing granulated products from a suspension, which comprises in general the steps of spraying the suspension in a suspension spraying zone, introducing a heat-carrier in the form of a spiral flow to a zone disposed beneath the sprying zone, drying the suspension by the heat-carrier concurrently and countercurrently therewith and separating simultaneously fine fractions of the dried material by means of the same flow of the heat-carrier, with drawing a spent portion of the same, treating thermally the granules produced by drying countercurrently with the aforesaid heat-carrier upon their moving downward in a spiral to a temperature sufficient to ensure the desired product properties, withdrawing processed granules from the thermal treatment zone.

Abstract: A mechanical energy conversion method and system for the restoration of dissipated heat energy, contained in natural or artificial water bodies at or near ambient temperatures, to industrial process heat, mainly in the form of steam up to 200.degree.-400.degree. C. The sensible heat contained in a water body is concentrated as latent heat in low pressure water vapor which is thermo-compressed by steam ejection to an intermediate pressure level, wherefrom mechanical compression takes over, generating highly superheated output steam. The ejecting steam is not generated in a boiler, but is continuously regenerated by the compressor and routed back for repeated ejection. The compressor is driven by a heat engine whose reject heat is collected and upgraded as well. The output of heat energy is essentially equal to the sun of the heating value of the fuel consumed and the intake of latent heat and amounts thus to substantially more than the heating value of the fuel alone.

Abstract: Water degasification and distillation apparatus having a container for water to be degasified and distilled, a relatively small boiler adjoining said container and having a first conduit extending into the container so that a selected water level in the container will fill said boiler to a selected height, a condenser within the container and immersed in the water contained therein, a second conduit extending from the space above the water in said boiler to the inlet of the condenser, an outlet on the condenser extending through a container wall for discharging degasified and distilled water and heating means in said boiler for heating the water therein at a rate greater than the capacity of the second conduit to handle the steam generated in the boiler.

Abstract: An improved process for recovering high purity resorcinol produced by the rearrangement of m-diisopropylbenzene dihydroperoxide in which the rearranged product mixture is neutralized, the neutralized mixture being filtered, the filtrate being admixed with toluene, the acetone being removed by distillation and the acetone-free rearranged product/toluene mixture being steam distilled to provide an aqueous resorcinol containing phase from which the resorcinol is recovered.

Abstract: Excess water and color-forming materials present in crude 1,4-butanediol are reduced by subjecting the crude 1,4-butanediol to distillation under conditions wherein substantially all the water present in the crude 1,4-butanediol is first removed and then the 1,4-butanediol with reduced water content is further refined by flash evaporation under vacuum.

Abstract: An apparatus for the distilling and evaporating of sea water so to produce pure fresh water on a large production basis; the apparatus including an evaporator having a baffle system of novel design therein so as to separate evaporated steam from non-evaporated water drops, a duct for conveying the evaporated steam to a condenser and a pure water supply tank; the evaporator being supplied by sea water.

Abstract: A process for the separation of a dissolved solid from an aqueous solution containing it, comprising the steps of (a) adding thereto an organic liquid which is a poor solvent for the dissolved solid and which forms an azeotrope with water, (b) subjecting the mixture to azeotropic distillation to separate at least a major portion of the water, (c) cooling the mixture thereby causing substantially complete separation of the dissolved solids, and (d) separating same from the mother liquor.

Abstract: An extractive distillation process is provided for the separation of phenol and/or cresol from mixtures with high boiling oxygenated compounds such as alkanols, alkanones, cycloalkanones, cycloalkanols, aryl alcohols, aryl ketones or mixtures thereof that have a boiling point of at least about 175.degree. C. The process involves distilling the phenol and/or cresol-high boiling oxygenated compound mixture in the presence of at least one extractive solvent comprising a substituted phenol and/or substituted cresol that has a boiling point between about 195.degree. C. and about 400.degree. C.

Abstract: A new process for the production of very pure 4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane is disclosed, in which diisocyanatodiphenylmethane isomers which are obtained by distillation from the phosgenation products of aniline/formaldehyde condensates are initially freed from 2,2'- and 2,4'-isomers under certain distillation conditions and are then further worked-up by distillation, in that in a first final stage, from 50 to 90%, by weight of the diisocyanate freed from 2,2'- and 2,4'-isomers is isolated as the head product in the form of pure 4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane and in a second final stage, another quantity of pure 4,4'-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane is separated as the head product from the distillation of the sump of the first final stage.

Abstract: An improved evaporation process for accomplishing the separation of a solution into its volatile and non-volatile components. The improvement over conventional evaporation, according to which the solution is fed to a calandria where it is heated and partially vaporized and the resulting calandria vapor stream is subjected to vapor-liquid separation for the removal of entrainment, relates to the practice of an additional and intermediate step in which the calandria vapor is contacted with the feed solution.

Abstract: A method for separating close-boiling chlorosilanes by the procedures of extractive distillation using sulfolane as the extractive solvent is described. An example of close-boiling chlorosilanes which can be separated by this method include dimethyldichlorosilane and methyltrichlorosilane containing mixtures. The invention comprises heating a mixture of the close-boiling chlorosilanes with sulfolane to distill the lower-boiling chlorosilane from the mixture and thereafter separating the sulfolane and the high-boiling chlorosilane.

Abstract: This invention relates to an improved process for reducing solute in a vapor stream and, particularly, to the adaption of this process in concentrating solutions in an evaporator wherein the solution is heated to volatilize solvent. The improvement for reducing solute in the vapor stream resides in (a) the utilization of a wire mesh mist eliminator pad having a wire diameter of from 0.001-0.05 inches, an interfacial area from 50-200 ft.sup.2 /ft.sup.3, a void space of about 90-99 percent and a packing thickness of 4-16 inches and (b) spraying a liquid through the mist eliminator pad, the liquid being sprayed uniformly over the surface of the mist eliminator pad at a rate of 0.6-2.5 pounds liquid per pound of vapor to provide a wetting rate of 0.1-0.25 gallons per minute per square foot of mist eliminator surface area. The process has been particularly advantageous in the multistage concentration of corrosive products particularly in the concentration of a 60-70% sulfuric acid solution to about 93 percent.

Abstract: The energy requirements of a solution rubber process are significantly improved by employing solvent which has been removed in subsequent process steps.The invention concerns the separation treatment of the solvents and the polymer solutions produced by solution polymerization. In one embodiment a polymer solution is flashed to remove solvent vapor overhead and a concentrated polymer solution is removed as bottoms. The flashed solvent vapor is divided into at least two streams. A first stream is used as a stripping vapor medium in a zone for stripping a wet solvent to recover a wet solvent vapor overhead from the stripping zone and a dry solvent liquid as bottoms; the second flashed solvent vapor stream is used to preheat the wet solvent feed to the stripping zone by indirect contact heat exchange; a third portion of said solvent vapor can be combined with the second portion downstream of the heat exchange step, and the combined stream can be condensed.

Abstract: A process is provided for the recovery of acetic acid from dilute aqueous solutions. The acid in the form of its calcium salt is treated with a tertiary amine carbonate and the resulting trialkylammonium acetate is isolated and heated to give the acetic acid plus a tertiary amine.

Abstract: The invention provides a process for the recovery and purification of acrylonitrile from acetonitrile and relatively heavy impurities mixture by water extractive distillation and solvent stripping wherein the mixture is fed to approximately the middle of a recovery column, a primary solvent water stream is added to the top of this column and a secondary solvent water stream is added to a point intermediate the mixture feed point and the top of the recovery column; a recovery column bottoms stream comprising water, acetonitrile and acrolein is removed from the bottom of the column and is added to a stripper column; acetonitrile is removed from the upper portion of the stripper column, a primary solvent water stream is removed from the bottom of the stripper column and is sent to the top of the recovery column as the source of the added primary solvent water stream and a secondary solvent water stream is removed from an intermediate point of the solvent stripper and is sent to the recovery column as the source

Abstract: An apparatus and method for producing alcohol fuel in an efficient and continuous manner are provided. The apparatus and method utilize otherwise lost heat to reduce the amount of heat required to convert feed stock into alcohol fuel. The apparatus and method utilize the supply of feed stock from a hopper through an auger to a cooker vessel, and then in turn to enzyme and fermenting tanks or vessels, which in turn discharge fermented mash to a strainer for separation of the alcohol beer from the mash. The beer is then discharged to a level controlled beer tank which regulates a residue valve controlling the amount of residue liquid returned to the apparatus and maintained under process. From the beer tank, the flow of the beer is regulated by passage through a non-clogging control valve into a reflux column.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of separating close-boiling chlorosilanes from mixtures by employing the technique of liquid extraction with sulfolane and a hydrocarbon compound as co-solvents. The hydrocarbon compound employed is substantially immiscible in sulfolane and is present in sufficient amounts so that two liquid phases are formed, one being suloflane-rich and the other being hydrocarbon-rich. The mixture of chlorosilanes is intimately mixed with the two solvents and allowed to partition between the two phases. The preferred liquid extraction procedure is where the sulfolane and hydrocarbon solvent are in a countercurrent relationship within an extraction tower. Experimentally determined selectivity coefficients show that mixtures of (1) dimethyldichlorosilane and methyltrichlorosilane, (2) phenylmethyldichlorosilane and phenyltrichlorosilane, and (3) trimethylchlorosilane and tetrachlorosilane can be successfully separated by the techniques of this invention.

Abstract: An improved method for the separation of close-boiling chlorosilanes is described. The method consists of the extractive distillation of the close-boiling chlorosilanes using sulfolane as the extractive solvent and thereafter separating the higher-boiling chlorosilane and sulfolane by distilling the higher-boiling chlorosilane from the higher-boiling chlorosilane and sulfolane mixture to which is added a hydrocarbon solvent. Preferred hydrocarbon solvents include normal-heptane, normal-nonane, and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane. The sulfolane obtained from the higher-boiling chlorosilane and sulfolane mixture is suitable for recycling to the extractive distillation process as the sulfolane contains only limited amounts of dissolved chlorosilane.