Economic unit to separate solvent
15 Jan 2000
Sulzer Chemtech has introduced membrane technology which separates water from aqueous organic mixtures or solvents from solvent mixtures. It claims to be the first unit which can dehydrate small quantities of solvents economically.
This technology has only been used in custom plants with capacities above one tonne/day, but with this unit, 200 litres/day of aqueous organic mixtures can be economically processed.
Made from stainless steel, the unit is said to be ideal for low solvent requirements such as laboratory and pilot plant operations and is powered through a single 6kW connection.
The system uses a pervaporation process, where a specific component in a feed mixture is removed by permeation through a membrane, followed by evaporation from the membrane surface.
The unit is suitable for dehydrating solvents such as acetone/water, separating azeotropes such as IPA/water and separating methanol from organic mixtures.
