SEPARATION PROCESSES USING DIVIDED COLUMNS

• US 20140231238A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sulzer Management AG (Sulzer AG)
• Original Assignee: GTC Technology US, LLC (Sulzer AG)
• Inventors: Bhargava, Manish, Nelson, Cole
• Granted Patent: US 9,724,619 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 202/161
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 3/141 where at least one distillation column contains at least one dividing wall
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 3/322 Reboiler specifications

Abstract

The claimed invention provides a technique wherein the two column system is combined into a single column. The light components are concentrated on the prefractionation side (feed side) of the column, where they are removed as an overhead top product. The middle boiling components are removed as an overhead product on the opposite side of dividing wall. For the same product specifications, top divided column requires substantially lower capital and operating cost than a conventional two-column system.

Claims

1. A distillation column comprising a wall in a top section of the column having two condensers and a side reboiler

2. The distillation column of claim 1, wherein the two condensers are a partial condenser and a total condenser.

3. The distillation column of claim 1, wherein the column has been used as a depropanizer that recovers C₃ components from fuel gas.

4. The distillation column of claim 1, wherein the column has a feed side or prefractionation side and a main side.

5. The distillation column of claim 4 wherein the feed side acts as a reboiled absorber, which separates non condensables from C₃.

6. The distillation column of claim 4 wherein the prefractionation side contains an absorption solvent.

7. The distillation column of claim 6 wherein a portion of the absorption solvent is sent back to the column as reflux and the remainder is withdrawn as C₃ product.

8. The distillation column of claim 7 wherein the reflux helps in reducing the C₃ loss to the fuel gas.

9. The distillation column of claim 1 wherein the side reboiler is used in the prefractionation side of distillation column.

10. The distillation column of claim 9 wherein the heating medium of the side reboiler is the column bottoms.