A NEW

DISTILLATION METHOD

by

Frölunda Tech Holding AB

Minimum-boiling azeotropic mixtures

- Acetic acid/toluene

- Acetonitrile/ethanol

- Acetonitrile/water

- Acetone/methanol

- Benzene/cyclohexane

- Benzene/ethanol

- Benzene

  /isopropyl alcohol (IPA)

- Benzene/1-propanol

- Benzene/methanol

- Benzene/methyl-ethyl ketone (MEK)

- 1-Butanol/n-butyl acetate

- 1-Butanol/n-octane

- Diisopropyl ether (DIPE)

  /isopropyl alcohol (IPA)

- 1,4-Dioxane/water

- Ethanol/ethyl acetate

- Ethanol/heptane

- Ethanol/methyl-ethyl ketone (MEK)

- Ethanol/water

- Ethyl acetate/methanol

- Methanol/methyl acetate

- Methanol/methyl-ethyl ketone (MEK)

- Methyl-ethyl ketone (MEK)

  /isopropyl alcohol (IPA)

- 1-Propanol/cyclohexane

- Tetrahydrofuran/water 

(The list could have been very long. These are just a few examples)

Example:

[Ethanol-Water]

The ethanol-water azeotrope has been reported to disappear at 306K  (source: DDBST Gmbh) (i e 33 Celsius or 91 Farenheit) or 80 mmHg dew pressure (International Journal of BioChemiPhysics, Vol. 13, No.2, December 2004, page 46). Hence, sub-azeotropic ethanol-water,e.g. 94 mass%, distilled in a column with a sufficient number of actual plates, with a reboiler temperature of +10C (i e 50 Farenheit), a condenser temperature of +4C (39 Farenheit) and in the presence of inert gas (e.g. nitrogen) circulating through the column and thereafter from the condenser back into the reboiler and so forth can produce 100% pure ethanol as distillate.

Hence with a chemical laboratory having a distillation setup with a nitrogen circulation means inside a large refrigerator, a nitrogen gas tube and a means for heating the reboiler, 100% pure ethanol as distillate should be possible to obtain.

Maximum-boiling azeotropic mixtures

- Acetophenone/phenol

- Acetone/chloroform

- Ethylene diamine/water

- Formic acid/water

- Hydrochloric acid/water

- N,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAC)/water

(The list could have been very long. These are just a few examples)