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Three phase separation process

  • US 5,167,838 A
  • Filed: 12/30/1991
  • Issued: 12/01/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A process for separating a solute from a solvent which together constitute a solute/solvent solution starting material having an initial solute concentration and an initial temperature T1, said process comprising:

  • (1) combining the solute/solvent solution with a constant recycle quantity of a liquid product of increased solute concentration obtained from a Joule-Thompson free expansion step of this process and used as a circulating inventory of said concentrated liquid product which is recycled in an amount adjusted to control a solute concentration of a combined solution comprised of a portion of the solute/solvent solution and a portion of the liquid product of increased solute concentration;

    (2) dissolving into said combined solution, under a system high pressure state, a controlled amount of a fluid material X which will constitute a vapor phase at a system low temperature and pressure state which exists after the Joule-Thompson free expansion step, in order to produce a fluid material X/solute/solvent solution which constitutes a single phase, composite solution of a given overall composition;

    (3) removing any heat of solution and/or heat of condensation of the single phase composite solution and removing sensible heat of said composite solution in a stage-wise manner so as to transit successive temperatures T2 and T3 to reach a lower, jumping off temperature T4 while still essentially at the nominal high pressure;

    (4) releasing said nominal high pressure in a Joule-Thompson free expansion to a system low pressure in order to reach a system low temperature T5 and thereby achieving a solid-liquid-gas equilibrium state (triple point) of the single phase composite solution;

    while simultaneously;

    (a) evolving substantially all dissolved fluid material X into an evaporated gaseous phase which will have absorbed its heat of vaporization from any remaining solvent and any remaining solute;

    (b) distributing any remaining solvent and solute into a solid phase product of pure solvent and a liquid phase product;

    (5) separating the solid phase as a product, and(6) separating the liquid phase into a constant recycle quantity and a remaining "blowdown" quantity composed of total solute of the starting material and unsolidified remaining solvent of the starting material in proportions up to and approaching eutectic (solubility) proportions of the starting material solute and solvent.

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