Method of recovering phenol from a BPA production plant and the plant for recovering the same

• US 10,407,370 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2016
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SABIC Global Technologies BV (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Original Assignee: SABIC Global Technologies BV (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Inventors: Nelson, Mark Erik, Youssef, Ahmed Abouelfetouh, Baro, Karl Aaron, Eijsbouts, Paulus Johannes Maria
• Primary Examiner(s): Cutliff, Yate' K
• Application Number:
  US15/751,190
• Publication Number:
  US 20180230075A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/00 Separation of gases or vapours; Recovering vapours of volatile solvents from gases; Chemical or biological purification of waste gases, e.g. engine exhaust gases, smoke, fumes, flue gases, aerosols, recovery of volatile solvents by condensation B01D5/00; sublimation B01D7/00; cold traps, cold baffles B01D8/00; working-up undefined gaseous mixtures obtained by cracking hydrocarbon oils C10G70/00; cleaning coal gas C10K; working-up of natural gas, or synthetic natural gas, C10L3/10; separation of difficult-to-condense gases or air by liquefaction F25J; for investigating materials G01N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 8/005 Separating solid material from the gas/liquid stream separation processes per se B01D
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 37/20 using aldehydes or ketones
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 37/685 Processes comprising at least two steps in series
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 37/72 by liquid-liquid treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 37/74 by distillation
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 37/82 by solid-liquid treatment; by chemisorption
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 39/06 Alkylated phenols
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 39/16 Bis-(hydroxyphenyl) alkanes; Tris-(hydroxyphenyl)alkanes

Abstract

In an embodiment, a method of recovering phenol from a bisphenol A production facility comprises reacting phenol and acetone to produce a bisphenol A stream; separating the bisphenol A stream into a product bisphenol A stream and a purge stream; separating the purge stream into a primary top outlet stream and a primary bottom outlet stream; adding an acid catalyst to the primary bottom outlet stream to form a cracker inlet stream; separating the cracker inlet stream into a cracker top outlet stream and a cracker bottom outlet stream; separating the cracker top outlet stream and the cracker bottom outlet stream into a secondary top outlet stream and a secondary bottom outlet stream; forming a bisphenol A plant phenol recovery stream; combining the bisphenol A plant phenol recovery stream with a stream of a phenol purification plant.

Claims

1. A method of recovering phenol from a bisphenol A production facility comprising:

reacting phenol and acetone in the presence of a catalyst to produce a bisphenol A stream comprising bisphenol A;

separating the bisphenol A stream into a product bisphenol A stream and a purge stream comprising an unreacted phenol;

separating the purge stream into a primary top outlet stream and a primary bottom outlet stream in a primary distillation column;

adding an acid catalyst via acid stream to the primary bottom outlet stream to form a cracker inlet stream;

separating the cracker inlet stream into a cracker top outlet stream and a cracker bottom outlet stream in an acid-cracker;

separating the cracker top outlet stream and the cracker bottom outlet stream into a secondary top outlet stream and a secondary bottom outlet stream in a secondary recovery column;

forming a bisphenol A plant phenol recovery stream comprising at least a portion of the primary top outlet stream, at least a portion of the cracker top outlet stream, at least a portion of the secondary top outlet stream, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing;

combining the bisphenol A plant phenol recovery stream with a stream of a phenol purification plant;

wherein the a phenol purification plant comprises a preheater, a splitter column, a crude phenol column, and a hydro-extractor column;

wherein the bisphenol A plant phenol recovery stream is combined with a preheater inlet stream in fluid communication with the preheater, a splitter inlet stream in fluid communication with the splitter column, a splitter bottom outlet stream in fluid communication with the crude phenol column, a crude top outlet stream in fluid communication with the hydro-extractor column, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein combining comprises combining the bisphenol-A plant phenol recovery stream with the splitter bottom outlet stream.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein combining comprises combining the bisphenol-A plant phenol recovery stream with crude top outlet stream.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a cracker recycle stream from the acid-cracker to the primary distillation column.