Phenol Purification via BPA Facility Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recovering phenol in BPA production facilities are inefficient, resulting in suboptimal phenol purity and increased operational and capital costs due to limited throughput in phenol purification sections.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize the phenol purification section of a phenol production facility to purify unreacted phenol from a BPA production facility, achieving a phenol concentration of greater than or equal to 99.5 wt% by integrating a preheater, splitter column, crude phenol column, hydro-extractor column, and finishing column to process a purge stream with 60 to 90 wt% phenol, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If phenol is recovered using conventional methods in BPA production facilities, then phenol can be separated from the product stream, but the purification efficiency is low and phenol purity is suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the BPA production facility with a phenol production facility, integrating the phenol purification section into the BPA facility. This allows the purified phenol to be directly fed back into the BPA reactor, creating a closed-loop system that simultaneously achieves high phenol purity (≥99.5 wt%) and high purification efficiency through combined operations
Solution Approach 2:
The phenol purification section serves dual functions: it purifies phenol for the BPA production process and simultaneously acts as a phenol production unit. The system processes purge stream from BPA production while generating high-purity phenol product, making the facility multi-functional and resolving the contradiction between purity and efficiency
2Manufacturing precision
If phenol purification is performed in a dedicated phenol production facility, then higher phenol purity can be achieved, but capital costs and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines phenol purification capabilities within the existing BPA production facility infrastructure. By merging the phenol purification section with the BPA facility and enabling direct feed of purified phenol back to the reactor, the system achieves high phenol purity (≥99.5 wt%) while eliminating the need for separate dedicated phenol production facilities, thereby reducing capital costs
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated facility performs multiple functions: BPA production, phenol purification, and phenol recycling. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve high phenol purity without requiring separate dedicated phenol production facilities, thus reducing capital investment while maintaining manufacturing precision
3Productivity
If phenol purification section throughput is increased, then purification efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the phenol purification section with the existing BPA production facility infrastructure. By integrating purification equipment and processes into the current facility framework and establishing direct process connections, the system increases throughput and purification efficiency while minimizing the addition of separate complex systems
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 increases phenol purification efficiency, achieving higher phenol purity and reducing operational and capital costs without compromising product quality, by leveraging the higher throughput of phenol production facility purification sections.
Implementation Method 1
a preheater comprising a preheater inlet and a preheater outlet
Implementation Method 2
a splitter column comprising a splitter inlet in fluid communication with the preheater outlet
Implementation Method 3
a crude phenol column comprising a crude inlet in fluid communication with the splitter bottom outlet
Implementation Method 4
a hydro-extractor column comprising an extractor inlet in fluid communication with the crude top outlet
Implementation Method 5
a finishing column comprising a finisher inlet in fluid communication with the extractor primary outlet
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
In an embodiment, a method of recovering an unreacted phenol from a bisphenol A production facility comprises reacting an initial phenol and an initial acetone in the presence of a catalyst to produce a bisphenol A stream comprising the unreacted phenol of the initial phenol and a bisphenol A, separating a purge stream comprising the unreacted phenol, and wherein the unreacted phenol is present in the purge stream in an amount of 60 to 90 wt%, based on the total weight of the purge stream; adding the purge stream to a phenol purification section of a phenol production facility; and forming a purified phenol outlet stream in the phenol purification section, wherein the purified phenol outlet stream comprises a total phenol concentration of greater than or equal to 99.5 wt% based on the total weight of the purified phenol outlet stream.