TETRAHYDROFURAN PURGE TREATMENT PROCESS

摘要

The present invention provides a tetrahydrofuran purge stream treatment process, and a process for manufacturing polyether glycol comprising same. The process for treating a tetrahydrofuran stream purged from a polyether glycol manufacturing process comprises steps of neutralizing acidic substances in a tetrahydrofuran stream purged from the polyether glycol manufacturing process with an aqueous base solution, feeding the neutralized effluent to an azeotropic distillation column, and distilling tetrahydrofuran and water overhead from the azeotropic distillation column. The process can further comprise a step of disposing of the neutralized salts and excess base in the aqueous bottoms stream from the azeotropic distillation column. The process can further comprise steps of recovering THF from the overhead of the azeotropic distillation column, and recycling the recovered THF to a polyether glycol manufacturing process.