METHOD FOR PARTIALLY EXTRACTING BUTANOL FROM AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION COMPRISING ETHANOL AND BUTANOL

• Main Authors: FISCHER, Beatrice, DASTILLUNG, Rejane
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 29.07.2021
• Subjects: ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

The invention relates to a process for treating an hydroalcoholic feedstock comprising ethanol and butanol in order to produce an ethanol-rich effluent, a water-rich effluent and a butanol-rich effluent, comprising a) a water-ethanol separation step comprising a distillation column fed with said hydroalcoholic feedstock and comprising at least 14 theoretical plates, a molar reflux ratio of less than or equal to 1.2, a side withdrawal in the butanol accumulation zone and two injections of recycled streams resulting from steps b) and c); b) a demixing step comprising a section for mixing the stream withdrawn in step a) and the fraction withdrawn in step c), and a decanting section, the heavy phase being recycled to the distillation column of step a); c) a butanol separation step comprising a distillation column fed with the light phase resulting from step b), comprising a side withdrawal of a water/butanol/ethanol fraction recycled to the mixing section of step b) and producing a butanol-rich effluent and an ethanol-water distillate which is recycled to the distillation column of step a). This process appears to be particularly advantageous for the treatment of the hydroalcoholic effluent from the Lebedev process.