Membrane Technology and Research, Inc

Nitto-Denko Corporation

Coskata, Inc.

Algenol Biofuels, Inc.

United States Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Yu Huang

Richard W Baker

Tiem Aldajani

Jennifer Ly

Nicholas Patrick Wynn

Leland Morris Vane

Donald A Fulton

Franklin R Alvarez

Rathin Datta

Benjamin A McCool

Ramin Daniels

Masakatsu Urairi

Rahul Basu

Rong Dong

Hans E Grethlein

Jennifer H Ly

Disclosed herein are processes for removing water from organic solvents, such as ethanol. The processes include distillation in two columns operated at sequentially higher pressure, followed by treatment of the overhead vapor by one or two membrane separation steps.

Membrane-augmented distillation with compression and condensation to separate solvents from water

Processes for removing water from organic compounds, especially polar compounds such as alcohols. The processes include a membrane-based dehydration step, using a membrane that has a dioxole-based polymer selective layer or the like and a hydrophilic selective layer, and can operate even when the stream to be treated has a high water content, such as 10 wt % or more. The processes are particularly useful for dehydrating ethanol.

Dehydration processes using membranes with hydrophobic coating

Processes for removing water from organic solvents, such as ethanol. The processes include distillation to form a rectified overhead vapor, compression of the rectified vapor, and treatment of the compressed vapor by two sequential membrane separation steps.

Membrane augmented distillation to separate solvents from water

Ethanol and other liquid products produced by contacting carbon monoxide (CO) and/or a mixture of CO(carbon dioxide) and H(hydrogen) with a microorganism in a bioreactor are separated using a combination of distillation and vapor permeation membranes. The bioreactor passes an effluent with an ethanol concentration of 1 to 6 wt % to a distillation column that produces an overhead vapor stream enriched in ethanol. A series of vapor permeation membranes retain ethanol as retentate and produce a 99 wt % or higher ethanol product. Ethanol depleted permeate streams flow back to the column and the bioreactor. Coupling a bioreactor with distillation and pervaporation efficiently and economically separates ethanol when present at low concentration in an aqueous fermentation broth. The separation arrangement may also include a flash zone ahead of the distillation column to raise the concentration of the ethanol in the input stream to the distillation column.

Process for producing ethanol

Processes for removing water from organic solvents, such as ethanol. The processes include distillation in two columns operated at sequentially higher pressure, followed by treatment of the overhead vapor by one or two membrane separation steps.

Membrane-augmented distillation with pressure change to separate solvents from water

The invention is a pervaporation process and pervaporation equipment, using a series of membrane modules, and including inter-module reheating of the feed solution under treatment. The inter-module heating is achieved within the tube or vessel in which the modules are housed, thereby avoiding the need to repeatedly extract the feed solution from the membrane module train.

Pervaporation assembly

Membrane-augmented distillation with compression to separate solvents from water

Processes for dehydrating an organic/water solution by pervaporation or vapor separation using fluorinated membranes. The processes are particularly useful for treating mixtures containing light organic components, such as ethanol, isopropanol or acetic acid.

Liquid-phase and vapor-phase dehydration of organic/water solutions

Pervaporation process and assembly

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Yu Huang