What process is used for the product condensation in the methanol distillation section? Is there cryogenic cooling?

Which part of the condensation are you referring to? For the synthesis section, water cooling is sufficient

Returning to the 2nd floor: it’s the condensation of the products from the distillation section!

Water cooling is enough. The boiling point of methanol is 64.7 degrees. Water cooling can generally reach 40 degrees. Water cooling is usually sufficient!

Water cooling in the distillation section is sufficient! During distillation, the maximum temperature of methanol is around 125 degrees, so it can be liquefied to room temperature using circulating water!

Thank you to everyone above; what is the yield for water-cooled methanol? Can it reach over 99%? How large is the amount of non-condensable gas emissions? 〕 Calculated at 99%, 400,000 tons per year of methanol would result in 4,000 tons of non-condensable gas being released each year – an absolutely terrifying figure!

Hello, Floor 1. I’m not sure where the figure of 4,000 tons of non-condensable gas emitted per year from a 400,000 t/a methanol plant comes from Distillation is equipped with a recovery unit, and it can be modified if the recovery efficiency is poor.

Methanol distillation condensers generally use two-stage cooling: primary cooling with circulating water and secondary deep cooling. Especially in summer, without this two-stage cooling system, significant amounts of methanol are lost.

If you are referring to the condensation of finished products, air cooling can be used; water cooling is also an option. The amount of non-condensable gas released from atmospheric pressure towers is very small, and there is also a water seal in place. If it is the non-condensable gas from the pre-tower, it should be vented or burned in a heater. However, it seems there isn’t such a situation where \"400,000 tons of methanol per year result in 4,000 tons of non-condensable gas being released\"; based on what can be observed on site and the yield of crude alcohol, the amount of gas released isn’t that large

The high-efficiency evaporation condenser is used as the condensation equipment in the methanol distillation section. Working principle and structure: The evaporative air cooler uses water and air as cooling media, taking advantage of the latent heat of vaporization of the circulating cooling water and the air containing water vapor to remove heat from the gas or fluid being cooled (condensed). During operation, the circulating cooling water is pumped by a water pump into the spray pipes located at the upper part of the cooling coil assembly, and is evenly sprayed onto the outer surface of the cooling coil through nozzles, forming a very thin layer of water film. High-temperature, high-pressure gas or liquid enters through the upper manifolds of the coil components and fin components, and is distributed to each cooling tube. The heat inside the cooling tubes is transferred to the water film on the outer surface of the tubes via the tube walls, causing the water film to evaporate and thereby enabling heat exchange. When the water film evaporates to become water vapor, it mixes with air to form humid air. This air is then drawn by an axial flow fan through the cooling fin components, thereby cooling the high-temperature, high-pressure gas or liquid inside the cooling fin tubes, thus achieving another heat exchange process. The wet air that has undergone heat exchange is drawn out of the equipment and into the atmosphere. The circulating cooling water that has not been evaporated absorbs heat; through the action of a water separator, the water is separated and collected in the lower tank, where it mixes with fresh water supplied automatically by a float valve to replace the water that has evaporated, for use in the water pump circulation system. 　　The equipment consists of five parts, namely: the air handling system components, the pre-cooling finned tube assembly, the dehydrator, the condensing coil assembly, and the water circulation system.

Currently, cryogenic cooling is not used; of course, if a cryogenic source is available and affordable, it could be considered, but care must be taken to prevent leaks from such a source from entering the methanol and affecting product quality. Water cooling is more common, and our company uses variable-frequency air cooling – although this requires higher investment, it saves water and is economical in the long run. If water resources are limited in your area, it is recommended to opt for air cooling. Otherwise, water cooling is a good choice.

For the cooling of the distillate product, water cooling is sufficient.

If there is still a lot of non-condensable gas in the water cooling system, then adding cryogenic cooling will suffice; this way, the annual losses won’t be as excessive as 4000T

In fact, venting during the distillation process is necessary; it’s just important to control the venting temperature properly

Currently, dry air cooling is generally used for methanol condensation to save water; haha, I’ve implemented this in several systems, and domestic air coolers are more than capable of handling it

Water cooling is enough. The boiling point of methanol is 64.7 degrees. Water cooling can generally reach 40 degrees. Water cooling is usually sufficient

We use circulating water for cooling; in the north, air-cooled equipment is often seen, and it’s also very effective!

There is no need to use cryogenic cooling; water cooling is sufficient. It’s not true that the lower the condensation temperature, the better (firstly, it is determined by the physical properties of the medium, and secondly by economic operating criteria)

The main task of the methanol distillation section is to convert crude methanol (containing about 93% methanol) into refined methanol with a purity of 99% or even 99.99%, through heating using steam at the bottom of the tower. Currently, a three-tower process is commonly used; in the past, two-tower processes were more typical for methanol production units. Nowadays, four-tower processes are also employed for facilities with a capacity of over 300,000 tons of methanol per year. In terms of condensation processes, the three-tower process involves a pre-tower I condenser, a pre-tower II condenser, a top condenser of the main tower, a product cooler for the main tower, a residue cooler, and an impurity oil cooler. Among them, the product coolers include Gata product coolers, conventional tower product coolers, and fusel oil coolers. Since the products are usually sold at room temperature, it is generally sufficient to cool the refined alcohol to room temperature before pumping it to the tank area. So water cooling is sufficient to complete the task.

Water-cooled. Methanol has a boiling point of 64.5 degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure, so water cooling is sufficient.