Abstract: Improved process and apparatus is disclosed for the recovery of acetylene from gas containing acetylene and ethylene comprising: contacting said gas with acetylene solvent to form a loaded solvent solution; heating said loaded solvent solution by passing through a first stream conduit of a heat exchange zone having a plurality of non-interconnecting stream conduits in heat exchange thermal contact; separating the resulting liquid/vapor into liquid and vapor phases; passing said liquid phase to a second stream conduit of said heat exchange zone passage to a downstream further acetylene separation purification step; and cooling warm denuded acetylene solvent by passage through a third stream conduit of said heat exchange zone and then further cooling before passage to said acetylene solvent contacting zone.

Abstract: Substantially anhydrous (absolute) ethanol is economically distilled at high thermal efficiency from any dilute feedstock such as, for example, a fermentate ("beer") or the ethanol obtained from the hydration of ethylene in apparatus including a rectifying column for concentrating the ethanol, an anhydrous column for azeotropically distilling the ethanol and a decanter for separating the azeotrope-forming agent from the aqueous ethanol. Thermal values which would otherwise be lost in overhead vapors and/or stillage effluent are utilized for preheating the ethanol feed thereby leading to a significant improvement in overall thermal efficiency. Low boiling impurities, e.g., ethyl acetate, which may be present in the feed and which could interfere with proper operation of the decanter are removed from the feed to the extent necessary in a heads stripping column operated with heat supplied from the rectifying column.

Abstract: A process for distilling multicomponent hydrocarbon mixtures in which the relative volatility between the dominant component in the lightest product and the dominant component in the heaviest component is between 1.10 and 7. The hydrocarbon mixture is fed to groups of distillation columns each of which is provided with an overhead condenser and a bottom reboiler, the columns being arranged in succession to receive the product from the prior adjacent column. The operating pressure in the columns increases from the first column to the final column within prescribed limits and the products of the mixture are separately recovered at one time in the final column without being withdrawn from intermediate distillation columns. Heat is recovered from heat source streams of the process by heat exchange with heat sink streams by bringing the streams successively in contact with a plurality of groups of heat exchangers, each group being at a different temperature level.

Abstract: A method is provided for the transfer of heat from a source of thermal energy to at least one thermal user or heat consuming apparatus wherein waste water, such as from an industrial process, is used as the heat transfer medium and wherein a portion of the waste water flow is evaporated in an indirect heat exchanger under pressure to yield a mixture of steam and heated liquid waste water. The steam is supplied to an indirect heat exchanger for supplying heat to the heat consuming apparatus and the heated waste water is subsequently vaporized in a plurality of stages by reducing the pressure on the waste water in each stage and by using the steam formed by the vaporization in each stage to supply part of the heat of vaporization for the waste water in the subsequent stage. When the heat requirement of the heat consuming apparatus is reduced, the heat exchanger supplying heat to the heat consuming apparatus may be valved out of the system or the steam flow thereto may be reduced.

Abstract: In an alkylation process, the separation of the hydrocarbon effluent is accomplished by modifying the depropanizer tower to provide a lower bottom temperature. The depropanizer bottoms is flash separated to release an isobutane rich recycle stream with higher boiling alkylate being passed to an isostripper for separation with alkylation hydrocarbon effluent not passing through the above sequence. The use of low pressure steam for heat duty in the above sequence reduces energy requirements of the processing combination.

Abstract: Preheated saline water, typically sea or brackish water, is further heated by quanta of steam, passed to it at differential temperatures and pressures and condensed in the saline water. Scale compounds are precipitated and scale-forming bicarbonates decomposed, with the evolution of carbon dioxide, which is gathered and expelled by steam accessory to the quanta of steam. Post-thermal saline water, which is formed, is multistage flash vaporized while self-cooling. The flashed vapors are compressed to form said quanta of steam. After being further cooled while preheating saline water, post-thermal saline water is evaporated in a multistage vapor compression evaporator, producing brine at a high concentration factor. Relative to equilibrium in scale-compound precipitation between 302.degree. F and 347.degree. F, the recovery of fresh water is 70% to 80% for sea water, and 80% to 90% for brackish waters over a wide range of salinity.

Abstract: Crude ethylene oxide present in the dilute aqueous solution resulting from the extraction with an aqueous solvent of ethylene oxide from the gaseous stream obtained by catalytic oxidation of ethylene is purified by desorption, liquefaction, distillation in a fractionating column and final desorption treatment to remove absorbed non-condensable gases. The fractionating column is heated by condensation of the water vapor evolved during desorption and a liquid stream of ethylene oxide rich in acetaldehyde is discharged from the bottom, treated to convert a fraction of said acetaldehyde into high-boiling products, distilled to remove the latter as bottoms and returned to the fractionating column.

Abstract: Saline water, typically sea water or brackish water, after deaeration and deoxygenation is preheated, then further heated by steam condensing with the preheated saline water. By the further heating, bicarbonates are thermally decomposed, forming carbon dioxide, while scale compounds, comprising magnesium hydroxide, anhydrite and minor compounds containing silica, iron, alumina, phosphate, etc., are thermally precipitated. Some of the steam is uncondensed and issues from the further heated saline water with included, evolved carbon dioxide. It is condensed in preheating saline water; evolved carbon dioxide is separated from the condensate and recycled to the saline water to prevent alkaline scale in preheating, while condensate is combined with the further heated saline water, forming post-thermal saline water. This is flash vaporized while cooling and the steam is regenerated by compressing the flashed vapors.