Process for c8 aromatic feed fractionation

Abstract

Abstract D R A W I N G MULTIPLE SEPARATION IN A SINGLE FRACTIONATION ZONE OF C8 AROMATICS INTO COMPONENT ETHYLBENZENE, O-XYLENE AND M-AND/OR P-XYLENE UTILIZING THE SAME HEAT FLOW. THE FEEDS TO THE FRACTIONATION ZONE COMPRISE A FIRST FEED RELATIVELY RICH IN ETHYLBENZENE AT A FIRST INTERMEDIATE ZONE LEVEL AND A SECOND FEED RELATIVELY RICH IN O-XYLENE BELOW THE FIRST FEED LEVEL. BOTH FEEDS MAY BE OBTAINED FROM AVAILABLE PROCESS STREAMS OR BE FORMED FROM A SINGLE FEED BY PRELIMINARILY FRACTIONATING THE FEED IN ADVANCE OF THE COMPLEX FRACTIONATION. IN EITHER CASE THE FEED MAY BE DEPLETED OF MXYLENE PRIOR TO FRACTIONATION BY CHEMICALLY COMPLEXING THE M-XYLENE INTO A SEPARABLE FORM E.G. WITH HF-BF3. THE OVERHEAD STREAM, A PREDOMINANTLY O-XYLENE BOTTOMS STREAM AND A SIDESTREAM PREDOMINANTLY OF M-XYLENE AND/OR P-XYLENE. THE SIDESTREAM MAY BE PROCESSED TO SEPARATE P-XYLENE AS A PRODUCT OF THE PROCESS, AND/OR TO CONVERT UNWANTED ISOMERS TO DESIRED ISOMERS, WITH SUCH CONVERTER EFFLUENT BEING RETURNED DIRECTLY TO THE FRACTIONATION ZONE, OR TO THE FEED, FOR FRACTIONATION IN COMMON WITH THE FRESH FEEDS.

Inventors

• 👤 Steven B Jackson
• 👤 Roger A Murray

Bibliographic Details