Excess methanol in C4 after ether washing in the methanol water scrubber
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What causes the excessive methanol level in C4 fractions after ether washing in the methanol water washing tower? I seek advice from experts
1. The excess of methanol exceeds the design value of the extraction tower. 2. The top boundary level of the extraction tower is too high. 3. Insufficient amount of water for extraction. 4. The extracted water contains excessive methanol.
The material-to-water ratio is too low; there are large fluctuations in the feed to the water washing tower; the extraction water contains an excessive amount of methanol
Some effects of process conditions are controllable (such as limiting the methanol content in the raw material used for washing, and the water-to-oil ratio), and for new equipment, the components inside the tower are also crucial; in other words, the equipment must meet the design requirements
An excessive feed of carbon tetrahydrocarbon after etherification, too little extraction water, a high methanol content in the carbon tetrahydrocarbon after etherification, a high methanol content in the purified water produced by the methanol recovery tower, and an excessively high interfacial layer can all lead to excessive methanol levels in the carbon tetrahydrocarbon after etherification.
Is it possible that it’s caused by blockages in the trays of the methanol recovery tower?
It is possible that plate clogging could cause methanol to end up in the bottom of the recovery tower; as a result, the water being extracted will also contain methanol, leading to poor extraction efficiency and an excessive level of methanol in the C4 fraction.
Has the tower pressure difference changed? If the operation seems fine, try replacing the water in the water wash tower again and see.