Shell Oil Comapny

Shell Usa, Inc.

Technip Energies France Sas

Carmelo Perez Golf

Pieter Huizenga

Kai Jürgen Fischer

Evert Van Der Heide

Waldo Eugene De Villiers

Kai Jurgen Fischer

Karin Bus

David Pinilla Garcia

A process for the production of a high purity first diol from a product stream comprising two or more C2 to C7 diols, said process comprising the steps of: (i) providing the product stream to a first distillation column; (ii) providing an extractant selected from the group of C3 to C6 sugar alcohols and mixtures thereof to the first distillation column; (iii) operating the first distillation column to obtain a first bottoms stream comprising at least a first diol and the extractant; (iv) providing the first bottoms stream to a second distillation column operating to obtain a second top stream comprising the first diol and diols with atmospheric boiling points at least 10° C. higher than the first diol, and (v) providing the second top stream to a third distillation column to obtain a third top stream comprising the first diol; wherein the product stream comprises 0.1 to 10 wt % of diols with atmospheric boiling points at least 10° C. higher than the first diol, calculated upon the total weight of C2 to C7 diols in the product stream.

Process for the separation of glycols

The invention provides a process for the separation of a first C3 to C7 diol from a first mixture of C3 to C7 diols. The first mixture is provided to a first distillation column. An extractant is fed to the first distillation column above the first mixture. A stream comprising the first diol and the extractant is removed as a bottoms stream from the first distillation column and subjected to distillation in a second distillation column. A high purity first diol stream is removed from the top section of the second distillation column, while a used extractant stream is removed from the bottom section. The extractant is a C3 to C6 sugar alcohol or mixture thereof. The first diol is a close-boiler to and/or forms an azeotrope with one or more of the other C3 to C7 diols present in the first mixture.

Process for the separation of diols

A process for the production of high purity mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) from a product stream of a saccharide hydrogenolysis process. The process having the steps of: (i) removing solvent from the product stream to provide a solvent-lean product stream; (ii) subjecting the solvent-lean product stream to distillation to provide a bottoms stream comprising high boiling by-products and a top stream comprising a mixture comprising MEG and 1,2-butanediol (1,2-BDO); (iii) providing said mixture having MEG and 1,2-BDO as a feed to a distillation column; (iv) providing a feed comprising an extractant of C3 to C6 alcohols and mixtures thereof to the distillation column above the mixture comprising MEG and 1,2-BDO; (v) removing a stream comprising MEG and the extractant as a bottoms stream from the distillation column; and (vi) subjecting the stream comprising MEG and the extractant to distillation to provide a top stream comprising high purity MEG.

The invention provides a process for the separation of MEG and 1,2-BDO from a first mixture comprising MEG and 1,2-BDO in a weight ratio of at least 10:1 (MEG:1,2-BDO), said process comprising the steps of; (i) providing the first mixture as a feed to a distillation column at a point in the range of from 20 to 80% of the column height; (ii) operating the distillation at a temperature in the range of from 120 to 190&#xb0; C. and at a pressure in the range of from 5 kPa to atmospheric pressure; (iii) removing an MEG stream from the distillation column at a point below the point at which the first mixture is fed; (iv) removing an overheads stream comprising an azeotrope of MEG and 1,2-BDO.

The invention provides a process for the separation of MEG from a glycol stream comprising MEG and 1,2-BDO, said process comprising the steps of: (a) providing the glycol stream and an azeotrope-forming agent to a distillation column, (b) subjecting the glycol stream and the azeotrope-forming agent to distillation at a distillation temperature and a distillation pressure; (c) obtaining a first overhead stream comprising an azeotrope of MEG and the azeotrope-forming agent and a first bottoms stream comprising 1,2-BDO; and (d) subjecting the first overhead stream to phase separation in the presence of water to obtain an MEG-rich aqueous stream and an azeotrope-forming agent rich stream, wherein the azeotrope-forming agent is an organic solvent that forms a homogeneous azeotrope with MEG and does not form an azeotrope with 1,2-BDO at the distillation temperature and pressure.

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Carmelo Perez Golf