Dehydrating aqueous ethanol

The use of digital computers to carry out complete calculations in the design of separation processes has been the goal of many. To do this effectively, suitable methods for phase equilibria and tray-to-tray distillation calculations are required. Results calculated by the application of such methods to dehydrate aqueous ethanol mixtures using ethylene glycol as the extractive distillation solvent is discussed below. A brief review of the methods used for phase equilibria and enthalpies is followed by a discussion of the results from distillation calculations. These are compared for extractive distillation with corresponding results obtained by azeotropic distillation with n-pentane. 

Although the azeotropic distillation scheme, using n-pentane, operates at a higher pressure, comparative calculations indicate this to be better than the extractive distillation scheme using diethylene glycol to dehydrate aqueous ethanol. 

The methods used here to give the phase equilibria are reviewed, and the Azeotropic Distillation Program ADP/ADPLLE is described. Application of the program to calculate an azeotropic distillation problem is shown and discussed, and a sample computer output is given and is briefly discussed. Finally, calculated azeotropic distillation results are compared for dehydrating aqueous ethanol for the three entrainers, n-pentane, benzene, and diethyl ether. 

Figure 7. Comparing the entrainers, n-pentane, benzene, and diethyl ether, for reboiler and condenser loads in dehydrating aqueous ethanol...

Volkov (1994) has given a state-of-the-art review on pervaporation. A number of industrial plants exist for dehydration of ethanol-water and (.vwpropanol-water azeotropes, dehydration of ethyl acetate, etc. There is considerable potential in removing dissolved water from benzene by pervaporation. The recovery of dis.solved organics like CH2CI2, CHCI3, CCI4, etc. from aqueous waste streams also lends itself for pervaporation and pilot plants already exist. 

Classical Aldol. Aldol reaction is an important reaction for creating carbon-carbon bonds. The condensation reactions of active methylene compounds such as acetophenone or cyclohexanone with aryl aldehydes under basic or acidic conditions gave good yields of aldols along with the dehydration compounds in water.237 The presence of surfactants led mainly to the dehydration reactions. The most common solvents for aldol reactions are ethanol, aqueous ethanol, and water.238 The two-phase system, aqueous sodium hydroxide-ether, has been found to be excellent for the condensation reactions of reactive aliphatic aldehydes.239... 

Van Ruymbeke (2) A process for dehydrating 95 percent aqueous ethanol by counter-current extraction of the vapor with glycerol. 

Tissue processing tissue specimen (0.5 1.0 mm3) are fixed in 4% buffered formalin for 30 60 min, post-fixed in 1% osmium tetroxide in cacodylate or phosphate buffer, pH 7.2 7.4, stained en bloc for 30 min with 2% aqueous uranyl acetate, then dehydrated in ethanol and embedded in epoxy or acrylic resin. 

Figure 2. Scanning electron micrograph of a mesophyll cell of a dormant cotyledon of Buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima). Tissue was fixed in aqueous glutaraldehyde, dehydrated with ethanol and critically point dried. Note cell wall (W) and intracellular components including protein bodies (P) and emptied spherosomes that appear as a cytoplasmic reticulum.

Dissolve 0.5 g of the anhydride in 15 ml of toluene by heating on a water bath, and add a solution of 0.5 ml of aniline in 3 ml of toluene. If the anilic acid does not separate after a short time, cool the solution, wash it with a little dilute hydrochloric acid to remove the excess of aniline and evaporate the solvent the anilic acid will then usually crystallise. Recrystallise from aqueous ethanol. When heated above their melting points, anilic acids dehydrate to form cyclic imides, e.g. 

In any process, if one component is enriched at the membrane surface, then mass balance dictates that a second component is depleted at the surface. By convention, concentration polarization effects are described by considering the concentration gradient of the minor component. In Figure 4.3(a), concentration polarization in reverse osmosis is represented by the concentration gradient of salt, the minor component rejected by the membrane. In Figure 4.3(b), which illustrates dehydration of aqueous ethanol solutions by pervaporation, concentration polarization is represented by the concentration gradient of water, the minor component that preferentially permeates the membrane. 

In the case of reverse osmosis, the enrichment factors (E and Ea) are less than 1.0, typically about 0.01, because the membrane rejects salt and permeates water. For other processes, such as dehydration of aqueous ethanol by pervaporation, the enrichment factor for water will be greater than 1.0 because the membrane selectively permeates the water. 

The dehydration of the dioxindoles can be achieved by treatment with a mixture of HC1 and AcOH424,425. The 3-methyleneoxindoles can be selectively reduced at the carbon-carbon double bond using Na2S2C>4 in aqueous ethanol (Scheme 97). 

Dehydration of Aqueous Ethanol Mixtures by Extractive Distillation... 

Dehydration of Aqueous Ethanol Using n-Pentane as Entrainer... 

Figure 1. Temperature profile for 50 psia column dehydration of aqueous ethanol using n-pentane...

For the azeotropic dehydration of aqueous ethanol mixtures approaching the constant boiling mixture, a brief comparison is shown for the entrainers, n-pentane, benzene, and diethyl ether. Since water is most non-ideal in n-pentane, the driest ethanol is expected to be produced if n-pentane is used. 

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