Continuous Dehydration Reactor for Anhydrosugar Alcohol Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for producing anhydrosugar alcohol, such as batch-type and semi-batch-type dehydration reactions, face challenges including high costs, low conversion rates, and increased working times, making them inefficient for large-scale production.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the continuous dehydration reaction of hydrogenated sugar in a facility with serially connected reactors, where hydrogenated sugar is continuously fed in and anhydrosugar alcohol is continuously discharged, without circulation of the reaction mixture, with a temperature gradient between reactors to optimize reaction conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If batch-type or semi-batch-type dehydration reaction is used, then product quality can be maintained, but production efficiency is low and working time is excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous dehydration reaction where hydrogenated sugar is continuously fed into the reactor and anhydrosugar alcohol is continuously discharged, eliminating the intermittent batch processing cycles. This continuous operation maintains constant reaction conditions and eliminates idle times between batches, thereby significantly improving production efficiency and reducing total working time while maintaining product quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the dehydration reaction into multiple stages using two or more reactors connected in series, with each reactor operating at different temperature zones. This segmentation allows optimization of reaction conditions in each stage while maintaining continuous flow, resolving the contradiction between maintaining quality (through controlled temperature zones) and improving productivity (through continuous operation)
2Productivity
If batch-type reaction method is used, then reaction conditions can be controlled, but reactor size must be excessively enlarged for industrial capacity production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses multiple smaller reactors connected in series instead of one large batch reactor. Each reactor handles a portion of the total production capacity and operates continuously, allowing the system to achieve industrial-scale productivity without requiring any single reactor to be excessively large. This segmentation enables better heat control and easier operation while meeting high production demands
3Productivity
If semi-batch-type method with plural batch-type reactors is used, then continuous operation is achieved, but facilities become more complicated and temperature setting for each step becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs multiple reactors with different temperature zones arranged in series, where each reactor is optimized for a specific stage of the dehydration reaction. This segmentation allows continuous operation while maintaining relatively simple individual reactor designs and clear temperature control requirements for each stage, avoiding the complexity of trying to control multiple parameters in a single batch reactor
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly improves production efficiency, maintains product quality, and reduces processing time, making it suitable for large-scale anhydrosugar alcohol production.
Implementation Method 1
converting hydrogenated sugar to anhydrosugar alcohol by dehydration reaction
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for producing an anhydrosugar alcohol and, more specifically, to a method for producing an anhydrosugar alcohol which, when the step of subjecting a hydrogenated sugar to a dehydration reaction in a reactor so as to convert same to an anhydrosugar alcohol is performed, allows the hydrogenated sugar to be continuously introduced into the reactor and the produced anhydrosugar alcohol to be continuously discharged out of the reactor while the dehydration reaction is carried out, also prevents a reaction mixture from circulating inside and outside the reactor while the dehydration reaction is carried out, and thereby can significantly improve production efficiency compared with a conventional process adopting a batch or semi-batch-type dehydration reaction and thus can be appropriately applied particularly to a large-scale anhydrosugar alcohol production process.