Consult on the application of high-efficiency separators in the ammonia and methanol industries"
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May I ask about the application of high-efficiency separators in the ammonia and methanol production processes? This post was last edited by fushan on 2007-12-6 20:35]
The use of high-efficiency separators in the ammonia and methanol industries is already well-established, and it will become a trend.
High-efficiency separators are widely used in methanol plants. In the past, ultrafiltration technology was employed; although it provided good separation results, it was expensive, the filter elements had to be imported, and the separation resistance increased after prolonged operation. A combined separation + washing technology has also been developed; it is said that the methanol content in the gas phase after separation can reach 50%.
Could the manufacturer of the second type of alcohol let me know? It seems that an additional gas-water separator is needed after using this type of alcohol; would the investment required be higher than that for the first type of separator?
The second type of separator requires additional equipment such as circulation pumps and circulation tanks; moreover, its height is also greater, resulting in higher equipment costs compared to the first type of separator. I heard that Xi’an Haixiang, Xi’an Ultrafiltration, and Henan Hainaboda Technology all possess similar technologies.
By using mechanical separation combined with water washing, it is possible to keep the alcohol content at the inlet of the synthesis tower below 0.1%. This reduces the circulation volume in the synthesis tower as well as side reactions, thereby maximizing the net yield of synthetic alcohol and reducing the compression work required for the recycled gas. Although the investment in equipment increases, the overall efficiency improves and operating costs are reduced.
The mechanical separation in methanol separators includes gravity-based, rotary, screen-type, and others. Currently, in factories, modular separation is commonly used: a single separator is divided into two sections, a coarse separation section and a fine separation section, with different filter elements employed for separation in order to achieve the best separation results. The separation efficiency is highly dependent on pressure, temperature, and gas flow rate; the higher the pressure and the lower the temperature, the better the separation efficiency.