SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (9): 39-45.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2020.12.003

• Separation Science and Engineering • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Ethylene glycol purification by melt crystallization: Removal of 2-methoxyethanol impurity

Tiefeng Wang1, Jinxiang Dong1,2   

  1. 1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China;
    2. School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
  • Received:2020-08-08 Revised:2020-11-24 Online:2021-11-02 Published:2021-09-28
  • Contact: Jinxiang Dong
  • Supported by:
    This work was financially supported by the Program for Sanjin Scholars of Shanxi Province of China, and Ten Thousand Talents Program:Millions of Leading Engineering Talents.

Ethylene glycol purification by melt crystallization: Removal of 2-methoxyethanol impurity

Tiefeng Wang1, Jinxiang Dong1,2   

  1. 1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China;
    2. School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
  • 通讯作者: Jinxiang Dong
  • 基金资助:
    This work was financially supported by the Program for Sanjin Scholars of Shanxi Province of China, and Ten Thousand Talents Program:Millions of Leading Engineering Talents.

Abstract: The coal (syngas)-to-ethylene glycol (CTEG), is contaminated with the naughty impurity 2-Methoxyethanol (ME) generated during the hydrogenation stage, which affect the quality of EG for fiber-grade polyester production. Distillation, is the employed separation process in industrial, which makes production complicated because of the heat sensitivity of the impurities system. Melt crystallization has been regarded as an effective technology to obtain high-purity organic compounds based on the melting points difference, which could avoid the problems by heating. In this work, we have explored the feasibility of the static melt crystallization on the separation of EG/ME in a jacketed crystallization tube. The experimental parameters were investigated, which covers crystallization and sweating stage in each step. The results showed that the purity of EG could reach ≥ 99.8% from the binary system studied via the quaternary separation process.

Key words: Separation, Crystallization, Purification, Ethylene glycol, 2-Methoxyethanol

摘要: The coal (syngas)-to-ethylene glycol (CTEG), is contaminated with the naughty impurity 2-Methoxyethanol (ME) generated during the hydrogenation stage, which affect the quality of EG for fiber-grade polyester production. Distillation, is the employed separation process in industrial, which makes production complicated because of the heat sensitivity of the impurities system. Melt crystallization has been regarded as an effective technology to obtain high-purity organic compounds based on the melting points difference, which could avoid the problems by heating. In this work, we have explored the feasibility of the static melt crystallization on the separation of EG/ME in a jacketed crystallization tube. The experimental parameters were investigated, which covers crystallization and sweating stage in each step. The results showed that the purity of EG could reach ≥ 99.8% from the binary system studied via the quaternary separation process.

关键词: Separation, Crystallization, Purification, Ethylene glycol, 2-Methoxyethanol