Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC

Butamax (tm) Advanced Biofuels LLC

E.i. Dupont De Nemours and Company

Bruce M Vrana

Joseph J Zaher

Michael Charles Grady

William David Parten

Yihui Tom Xu

Stephen Thomas Breske

David A Culver

Robert G Sylvester

A process for recovering butanol from a mixture comprising a water-immiscible organic extractant, water, butanol, and optionally a non-condensable gas, is provided. The butanol is selected from 1-butanol, 2-butanol, isobutanol, and mixtures thereof. An overhead stream from a first distillation column is condensed to recover a mixed condensate. An entrainer is added to at least one appropriate process stream or vessel such that the mixed condensate comprises sufficient entrainer to provide phase separation of the organic and the aqueous phases to provide for recovery of the butanol.

Recovery of butanol from a mixture of butanol, water, and an organic extractant

A process for recovering butanol from a mixture comprising a water-immiscible organic extractant, water, butanol, and optionally a non-condensable gas, is provided. The butanol is selected from 1-butanol, 2-butanol, isobutanol, and mixtures thereof. The extractant comprises at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of Cto Cfatty alcohols, Cto Cfatty acids, esters of Cto Cfatty acids, Cto Cfatty aldehydes, and mixtures thereof.

The invention is a process for the purification of ethanol. In one embodiment the process includes boiling a degassed beer feed () in a pre-boiler () to provide a vapor by-pass fraction () that by-passes the conventional beer column and is fed into the rectifier column (). The process allows free capacity in the rectifier column of new or established plants to be filled by ethanol-water vapor and/or condensate streams that do not originate from the beer column.

Process for providing ethanol

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Hockessin, DE, United States of America

Bruce M Vrana