Alcohol distillation process

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PURIFYING A FERMENTATION ALCOHOL STOCK TO PREPARE IMPROVED HIGH-PURITY SPIRIT ETHANOL WHICH COMPRISES FRACTIONALLY DISTILLING SAID STOCK IN THE PRESENCE OF A SUBSTANTIAL CONCENTRATION OF AN AQUEOUS DILUTION AGENT IN A DISTILLATION COLUMN, REGULATING CONDITIONS AS HEREINAFTER DESCRIBED IN THE SECTIONS OF THE COLUMN ABOVE AND BELOW THE FEED SUCH THAT THE COLUMN CONSTITUTES A DILUTION-EXTRACTION SECTION AND A STRIPPING SECTION RESPECTIVELY, REMOVING THE IMPURITIES AS OVERHEAD FROM THE COLUMN AND REMOVING A DILUTE AQUEOUS ETHANOL FRACTION CONTAINING AT LEAST 1 MOL PER CENT ETHANOL AS BOTTOMS FROM THE COLUMN, MAINTAINING CONDITIONS IN THE BASE AND LOWER SECTION OF SAID DISTILLATION COLUMN SUCH THAT THE HEAT INPUT IN B. T. U. PER POUND OF THE BOTTOMS PRODUCT WITHDRAWN IS WITHIN THE AREA DEFINED BY THE CURVE A''''BB'''' AND THE ZERO ETHANOL BOTTOMS CONCENTRATION AXIS ON THE DIAGRAM REPRESENTED BY FIGURE 1 AND MAINTAINING IN THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID DISTILLATION COLUMN A DILUTION RATIO AND A REFLUX RATIO ON THE TOP PLATE THEREOF WITHIN THE AREA DEFINED BY THE OUTER ENVELOPE CURVE C''T''D'' AND THE ZERO DILUTION RATIO AXIS ON THE DIAGRAM REPRESENTED BY FIG. 3, RECTIFYING IN A SECOND COLUMN SAID DILUTE BOTTOMS PRODUCT WITHDRAWN FROM SAID DISTILLATION COLUMN AND WITHDRAWING AS OVERHEAD OF THE RECTIFICATION SAID HIGH-PURITY ETHANOL.