Three-column distillation technology enters large-scale methanol plants

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Three-column distillation technology enters large-scale methanol plants 2009-03-17 China Chemical Information Network. News came in yesterday from Shijiazhuang Zhengyuan Tower Equipment Co., Ltd.: The 300,000-ton/year methanol distillation plant built using this company’s vertical sieve-plate type three-column distillation technology has been successfully tested at Shandong Mingshui Dahuahua Group, and is set to go into operation at a future date. The 300,000 tons per year methanol distillation plant project of Yubei Chemical Co., Ltd., built using this technology, is also under intense implementation. Following its successful application in over a hundred small and medium-sized methanol plants, the vertical sieve-plate type three-column methanol distillation technology is now being introduced into large-scale methanol plants as well. According to Qi Yongli, an engineer at Zhengyuan Tower Equipment Company, the methanol three-column distillation process technology is a technique developed by Zhengyuan Tower Equipment Company using its own patented technology for vertical sieve plate columns, combined with process optimization; it is a three-column distillation process that makes use of new vertical sieve plates as the separation elements. The traditional methanol distillation process uses two columns, namely an ether removal column and a distillation column. Three-column distillation involves dividing the methanol distillation column into a pressurized distillation column and an atmospheric distillation column, making full use of the methanol condensation heat in the pressurized column to achieve \"double-effect\" distillation. The three-tower process reduces steam consumption for distillation by over 40% compared to the traditional two-tower process; more than 1 ton of steam can be saved per ton of methanol produced. The amount of cooling water required is reduced by 50%, while the processing capacity of the plant increases by 10% to 20%. Furthermore, compared with traditional floating valve towers, the internal structure of the new sieve plate tower reduces the height of the distillation tower by 1/4, **which lowers the cost of the equipment and installation expenses, while also extending its service life. In recent years, the mature methanol triple-column distillation technology developed by Shijiazhuang Zhengyuan Tower Equipment Co., Ltd. has been successfully applied in methanol capacity expansion or new construction projects across the country with capacities ranging from 50,000 tons per year to 180,000 tons per year, achieving results such as reduced investment costs, higher-quality products, and increased production while saving energy. In order to apply this technology to large-scale methanol plants as soon as possible, Zhengyuan Tower Equipment Company began researching energy-saving technologies for large methanol distillation plants in 2008, and that same year completed the design and manufacture of a methanol distillation plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons for Shandong Mingshui Dahuang Group. This device combines efficient separation with hierarchical energy utilization, achieving excellent results in reducing equipment costs and improving energy efficiency; after testing, it fully met all the expected requirements. The application of this technology in large-scale methanol plants not only helps to save energy and reduce consumption, but also lowers the overall cost of methanol production, enhancing the market competitiveness of methanol manufacturers during financial crises. It also makes it possible to localize the production of large-scale methanol plants in China.