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. Brew distillate is purified from head and intermediate impurities including fusel oil components 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 Fusel oil and fusel alcohol fractions are rectified in fusel column, fusel oil being withdrawn from accumulator drum.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. Epuration of brew distillate is carried out in epuration column with feeding hot water onto upper tray of the column and withdrawing brew-ester-aldehyde-methanol fraction from its condenser. This fraction, along with fraction from carbon dioxide separator condenser, is fed into zone located over feed tray of brew column. From condenser of brew column, methanol-ester-aldehyde fraction is taken, whereas, from 28-36th tray zone, propyl alcohols' fraction is withdrawn. These fractions together with those from condensers of closed, methanol, and alcohol columns are directed onto feed tray of distillation column. Digestion part of the latter is separated by hollow insertion into two zones. In upper zone, methanol, esters, aldehydes, and other head impurities are digested 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concentrated in concentration part of distillation column and its dephlegmator, whereas head fraction concentrate is withdrawn from condenser.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 impurities which are removed from hollow insertion with steam used to feed and heat additional concentration column, upper tray of which is supplied with hot water and from condenser of which concentrate of propyl alcohols is withdrawn. From still of distillation column, purified water-alcohol liquid is withdrawn and returned into brew. Final purification of rectified alcohol from methanol, esters, aldehydes, and other head impurities is carried out in methanol column which is heated through external boiler with epurated water-alcohol vapor from brew-epuration column, from which condensate is fed into middle zone of digestion part of epuration column. EFFECT: improved process flowsheet. 1 tbl, 1 dwg