Separation of water from tert-butanol, useful as a solvent, comprises distillation of the butanol-water mixture to yield a butanol-water azeotrope and a water-free butanol stream and membrane separation of the water from the azeotrope

摘要

A process for the separation of water from a mixture of tert-butanol (TBA) and water comprises: (a) distillation of the TBA-water mixture to yield a TBA-water azeotrope and a water-free TBA stream; (b) separation of the water from the TBA-water azeotrope through a membrane to yield a stream containing essentially TBA and a stream containing essentially water and; (c) recycling of the TBA containing stream to step (A).