摘要 |
Removal of water and aldehyde impurities from an ethylene oxide/water mixture comprises passing the mixture to a first fractionation zone to produce a liquid bottoms stream comprising water and aldehydes and an overhead gas stream comprising ethylene oxide, and passing the overhead gas stream to a second fractionation zone to produce a liquid bottoms stream. Removal of water and aldehyde impurities (formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) from an ethylene oxide/water mixture with a weight ratio of 0.1-4/1 comprises: (a) passing the mixture to a first fractionation zone (Z1) to produce a liquid bottoms stream (L1) comprising at least 98 wt.% water and aldehydes and an overhead gas stream (G1) comprising more than 99 wt.% ethylene oxide; and (b) passing G1 to a second fractionation zone (Z2) to produce a liquid bottoms stream (L2) comprising ethylene oxide, water and aldehydes and an overhead gas stream (G2) comprising ethylene oxide. |