METHOD OF PRODUCING RECTIFIED ALCOHOL Russian patent published in 1997 - IPC

FIELD: alcohol industry. SUBSTANCE: alcohol is digested from brew in brew-epuration column, in the course of which ethyl alcohol together with accompanying impurities is transferred into brew distillate with vapor effluent from this column and liquid fractions from carbon dioxide separator condenser and alcohol trap. Brew distillate is purified from head and intermediate impurities including fusel oil in epuration column involving hydroselection operation. Epurate is rectified in alcohol column to yield fusel oil, fusel alcohol, and non-pasteurized ethyl alcohol fractions. Fusel oil and fusel alcohol fractions are rectified in fusel column, fusel oil being withdrawn from accumulator drum. Ethyl alcohol is additionally purified by way of removing fusel-ester- aldehyde-methanol fractions from carbon dioxide separator condenser and methanol-ester-aldehyde fraction from condenser and alcohol trap of closed column which is fed and heated with vapor from brew column. Epuration of brew distillate is carried out in epuration column, digestion part of which is separated by hollow insertion into two zones. Upper zone serves to digest methanol, esters, aldehydes, and other head impurities from ethyl alcohol, which are concentrated in concentration part of epuration column and its dephlegmator and are further removed from condenser. In lower zone, fusel oil components and other impurities are digested from ethyl alcohol and are taken from hollow insertion with steam which is used to feed and heat concentration column, onto upper tray of which hot water is fed. Fusel oil components and other impurities are concentrated in this column and withdrawn from condenser with fraction which, together with fraction from carbon dioxide separator condenser, is fed into zone located over feed tray of brew column. From liquid phase taken from 28-36th trays of this column, propyl alcohols' fraction is isolated and methanol-ester-aldehyde fraction is withdrawn from condenser of this column. These fractions together with those from closed epuration and alcohol column condensers are used as feed for distillation column. Digestion part of the latter is separated by hollow insertion into two zones. In upper zone, methanol and head impurities are digested and further concentrated in concentration part of distillation column and its dephlegmator, whereas head fraction concentrate is withdrawn from condenser. Upper zone, in turn, serves to digest propyl alcohols and other intermediate and head impurities which are removed from hollow insertion with steam used to feed and heat additional concentration part of distillation column, upper tray of which is supplied with hot water and from condenser of which concentrate of propyl alcohols is withdrawn. Liquid from lower tray is returned onto upper tray of lower zone of digestion part of distillation column, from the still of which purified water-alcohol liquid is withdrawn and directed into brew. EFFECT: improved process flowsheet. 1 tbl, 1 dwg