Purification of monoethylene glycol by melt crystallization

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Volume Title

A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä

Date

2023-05-15

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Mcode

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Language

en

Pages

8

Series

Chemical Engineering Science, Volume 272

Abstract

Separation of glycols with close boiling points and relatively high viscosity at their melting point is a challenge in the production of high purity products downstream of biorefinery processes. In this work, the efficiency of the layer melt crystallization process with acetone as the assisting solvent was evaluated for a mixture of monoethylene glycol and 1,2-pentanediol. Solid-liquid equilibrium was measured and modelled with the NRTL and modified UNIFAC group-contribution models to evaluate the thermodynamic driving force of crystallization. Layer melt crystallization was conducted to determine the effect of solvent composition on purity, distribution coefficient of impurity, crystal growth rate, and yield at different operating conditions. Addition of the solvent altered the thermodynamics and kinetics of crystallization, thereby altering the purity level of the final product. An effective distribution coefficient of impurity between 0.1 and 0.6 in one-step crystallization was obtained, depending on the solvent composition and the applied operating conditions.

Description

| openaire: EC/H2020/869993/EU//IMPRESS Funding Information: This work made use of the Bioeconomy and RawMatters facilities at Aalto University, Espoo/Finland. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869993. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)

Keywords

Assisting solvent, Melt crystallization, Purification, Thermodynamics

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Citation

Ila, M & Louhi-Kultanen, M 2023, ' Purification of monoethylene glycol by melt crystallization ', Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 272, 118601 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2023.118601