Toluene separation
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Our factory produces adsorption resins, and toluene, which is used as a pore-forming agent, needs to be separated out after the polymerization reaction is complete. Toluene is removed in two stages. In the first stage, all reaction materials are transferred to a distillation tank filled with distilled water; after being washed twice with pure water, the tank is heated while still containing water, at a temperature of 96.5 degrees, for 1.5 hours, thereby removing most of the toluene. In the second stage, the product is rinsed with methanol at 55 degrees to further remove any remaining toluene in the resin. Since a large amount of methanol is used at present, we hope to find scientific ways to reduce its usage. I would appreciate guidance from those with more experience. I have two ideas of my own, but since I haven’t tried them out yet, I’m not sure if they will work: First, in the second stage, utilize the solubility of toluene in methanol to remove the remaining toluene from the resin. Given that the production temperature is set at 55 degrees, it’s necessary to determine whether this temperature corresponds to the maximum solubility level, and this requires theoretical support； Second, in the first unit, heating and distillation are used to separate toluene, with a temperature setting of 96.5 degrees. Is there still room for improving the recovery rate of toluene in this process? The current recovery rate of toluene is around 90% ；
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First, in the first processing stage, the azeotropy between water and toluene is utilized to remove toluene using water. What’s unclear is what \"maintain heat for 1.5 hours\" means. In my opinion, the best approach for this stage would be to install a packed tower on top of the water distillation vessel; after the water and toluene separate at the top of the tower, the toluene can be collected while the water is recycled. As for the temperature at the bottom of the tower, in order to remove as much toluene as possible, it should ideally reach the normal boiling point of water, which is 100 degrees Celsius, or until the temperature no longer changes significantly. At that point, the water washing process can be stopped and methanol can be used instead for washing. Second, in the second processing stage, you use hot methanol to wash toluene; methanol boils at 65 degrees, and now it’s at 55 degrees – that’s what it means ； If the resin can tolerate it, why not use azeotropic distillation with methanol and toluene to remove toluene, just like in Section 1? ? ?
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