Excess methanol in the overhead stream of the MTBE unit’s azeotropic distillation column
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Our company’s MTBE plant does not have a methanol extraction system, resulting in excessive methanol levels at the top of the azeotropic distillation tower. I am considering installing a methanol recovery system; does any colleague have any relevant technical recommendations? Thank you! (It’s better to have fewer devices installed and to require less space.)
Let’s take a look; the extraction system isn’t complicated. We have it, but I don’t deal with that equipment.
It just requires two towers: an extraction tower and a sieve tray tower will suffice. For the methanol recovery tower, a conventional distillation tower is adequate. However, attention must be paid to the corrosion issue in the methanol extraction and recovery system; acid removal measures are necessary.
Adding a methanol recovery system will suffice: an extraction tower, a recovery tower, a carbon 4 tank for buffering dehydration, another methanol recovery tower, a set of extraction water pumps, and a set of recovery tower reflux pumps. The cost of this system isn’t high. However, the profitability of refinery-grade MTBE products is becoming increasingly poor; it’s questionable whether it’s worth installing such equipment. Our MTBE plant’s performance is very poor, and it’s already at the end of its useful life. The company plans to carry out renovations soon
There’s no new technology in methanol extraction; it simply involves extraction followed by recovery
Methanol recovery doesn’t require much technical expertise – all that’s needed is an extraction tower and a recovery tower, along with appropriate heating and heat exchange equipment. To prevent corrosion, a purifier can be used; however, if the methanol concentration isn’t high, simply washing it with water is sufficient, though this will increase the burden on wastewater treatment
What era is this? Are there still MTBE plants that use methanol for extraction and recovery? Those must be plants from the 2000s