Recovery of volatile carboxylic acids by a stripper-extractor system
US8981146B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 18, 2010 |
| Grant date | Mar 17, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 21, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E50/10
- WIPO fieldOrganic fine chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A process for recovering a volatile carboxylic acid from an aqueous stream comprising same, the process comprising the steps of: (i) steam stripping the carboxylic acid from the aqueous stream, which aqueous stream is produced by a conversion process using a lignocellulosic feedstock as a substrate, the steam stripping comprising contacting the aqueous stream with steam by flowing the aqueous stream and the steam countercurrent to one another, thereby producing a vapor stream comprising vaporized carboxylic acid and steam and a stripped aqueous stream; (ii) extracting the vaporized carboxylic acid with an organic solvent by contacting the vapor stream with the organic solvent to produce (a) a stream comprising the organic solvent and the carboxylic acid and (b) the steam at least substantially depleted of the carboxylic acid, wherein the organic solvent has an atmospheric boiling point of at least about 150° C. and is insoluble in water; (iii) returning the steam from step (ii) to the steam stripping step (step i) to further strip the carboxylic acid from the aqueous stream; and (iv) separating the carboxylic acid from the organic solvent.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.