Separation of water – formic acid – acetic acid mixtures in the presence of sulfolane

In this paper, extractive distillation flowsheets for water–formic acid–acetic acid mixtures were designed. Flowsheets not involving preliminary dehydration were considered, and the relative volatilities of the components in the presence of sulfolane were analyzed. The result of extractive distillation depends on the amount of sulfolane. The structure of the flowsheet is determined by the results of the basic ternary mixture extractive distillation. In three-column flowsheets (schemes I, II), water is isolated in the distillate of the extractive distillation column. In the second column, distillation of the formic acid–acetic acid–sulfolane mixture is carried out, yielding formic acid (90 wt %) and acetic acid (80 wt %). The recycled flow is returned to the first column. Dilution of the formic acid–acetic acid–sulfolane mixture with sulfolane (second column of flowsheet II) allows for acids of higher quality (main substance content equal to or more than 98.5 wt %) to be obtained. Flowsheet III includes four columns and two recycling stages. First, the water–formic acid mixture is isolated in the distillate of the extractive distillation column. Then, water and formic acid are separated in a two-column complex by extractive distillation, also with sulfolane. We were carrying out calculations for column working pressure 101.32 and 13.33 kPa. To prevent thermal decomposition of sulfolane, working pressure for regeneration columns was always 13.33 kPa. The extractive distillation column of the basic three-component mixture is the main factor contributing to the total energy consumption for separation (in all schemes)