Institut Francais Du Pe'trole

Elf Aquitaine

Total

Gilles Ferschneider

Jean-Christophe Viguie

Olivier Callebert

Roland Huin

Jean-Paul Dessapt

Dominique Humeau

Bertrand Jean Szymkowiak

Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Hoffmann

Pascal Duchene

Gérard Hotier

Daniel Ferre

Christian Pauchon

Device and process for separating at least one compound from a mixture in a simulated moving bed, comprising:

System for injecting a by-pass fluid in a separation method in a simulated moving bed

Distributor-mixer-extractor of fluids and associated process

A fluid distributing-collecting process using a device for bringing fluids and solids into contact comprises several distributor plates and several panels for mixing, distributing or extracting fluids. The system for practicing the method includes at least one level one chamber in connection with the outside of said device with at least one hose and, at least one level two chamber that is linked with the level one chamber and that comprises one or more connecting hoses of a selected length that are arranged in at least one zone. The zone is identified relative to an angle &agr; relative to a radius of a plate and corresponds to a given angle sector, whereby hose lengths, angle &agr; and the angle sector are selected in accordance with the process so that injected fluid arrives approximately at the same time on all of the panels of the same plate. This process is used for separation of paraxylene in a simulated moving bed.

Fluid distributing-collecting system process

The device comprises at least one column,that is filled with a number of beds A,, whereby each bed A,is separated from the next bed A,by a fluid distributor plate P,. Each plate is divided into a number of sectors P,, and P,, and each sector comprises at least two fluid distribution chambers CH,and CH,. Each chamber of the plate is connected to a transfer line LT,and LT,to the outside. Transfer line LT,, which is associated with chambers CH,of a distributor plate, is connected to transfer line LT,, which is associated with chambers CH,of the same plate, via a bypass line L,. The latter comprises means,and,for controlling and adjusting the flow rate of fluid that circulates there, such that each distribution chamber CH,is flushed by a fluid that is obtained from chamber CH,and that has approximately the same composition as that of the fluid that circulates through distributor plate P,at each of the chambers.

Device for improving the purity of a product in a simulated moving bed that comprises forced fluid recirculation

A fluid distributing-collecting system for a device for bringing fluids and solids into contact comprising several distributor plates and several panels for mixing, distributing or extracting fluids. The system comprises at least one level 1 chamber in connection with the outside of said device with at least one hose and, at least one level 2 chamber that is linked with the level 1 chamber and that comprises one or more connecting hoses of a selected length that are arranged in at least one zone. The zone is identified relative to an angle .alpha. relative to a radius of a plate and corresponds to a given angle sector, whereby said hose lengths, angle .alpha. and the angle sector are selected so that the injected fluid arrives approximately at the same time on all of the panels of the same plate. This system is used for separation of paraxylene in a simulated moving bed.

Fluid distributing-collecting system and its process

The device comprises at least one column 1 that is filled with a number of beds A.sub.n, whereby each bed A.sub.i is separated from the next bed A.sub.i+1 by a fluid distributor plate P.sub.i. Each plate is divided into a number of sectors P.sub.10, and P.sub.11, and each sector comprises at least two fluid distribution chambers CH.sub.i and CH.sub.j. Each chamber of the plate is connected to a transfer line LT.sub.i and LT.sub.j to the outside. Transfer line LT.sub.i, which is associated with chambers CH.sub.i of a distributor plate, is connected to transfer line LT.sub.j, which is associated with chambers CH.sub.j of the same plate, via a bypass line L.sub.i,j. The latter comprises means 14, 15, 16, and 17 for controlling and adjusting the flow rate of fluid that circulates there, such that each distribution chamber CH.sub.i is flushed by a fluid that is obtained from chamber CH.sub.j and that has approximately the same composition as that of the fluid that circulates through distributor plate P.sub.i at each of the chambers.

Process and device for improving the purity of a product in a simulated

A unified hydraulic model has been developed by the method according to the invention which is applicable to any slope and diameter of pipeline and can handle most of the steady state as well as transient multiphase flow regimes encountered in practice. The new modelling method differentiates two types of flow patterns: separated flow patterns (stratified or annular) and dispersed flow patterns. Intermittent flow patterns (slug, churn flow) are a combination of these two patterns. The same concept has been successfully applied for transition criteria between different flow regimes, insuring continuity of the solutions across the transitions. This requirement is very important for simulating transient phenomena. The transient resolution is achieved by an explicit time advancing scheme. The advantages of the method are; its ability to follow wave front propagation, an easy implementation for the resolution of complex pipeline networks. The performance of the resulting unified hydraulic model is demonstrated using a large number of experimental data.

Growing community of inventors

Saint Symphorien D'Ozon, France

Gilles Ferschneider