19-08-2014, 10:49 AM
Separation process is essential in industry as there is a great requirement for the purification of raw materials and intermediates and the recovery and purification of the desired product. In most conditions, the efficiency of the separation process has significant impact on both the quality and the cost of the product.
Separation process is essential in industry as there is a great requirement for the purification of raw materials and intermediates and the recovery and purification of the desired product. In most conditions, the efficiency of the separation process has significant impact on both the quality and the cost of the product.
The separation of close boiling, acidic/basic, isomeric/non-isomeric organic compounds is of considerable industrial importance. Many pharmaceuticals, dyestuff, pesticides, speciality chemicals and plastics utilize these chemical intermediates as raw materials. Conventional physical methods of their separations like, crystallization, rate selective processes, etc. have disadvantages like higher energy consumption, large amount of solid handling, lesser purity of the product etc. The separation of these organic compounds by different chemical methods has also received considerable attention in the recent years. Several chemical techniques like dissociation extraction, dissociation extractive distillation, extractive separation using hydrotropes, reactive distillation etc. have been used for the separation of acidic/basic organic compounds where high values of separation factor have been obtained. Considering the cost associated with the net consumption of chemicals and energy in these methods, alternative methods of separation can still be explored which are both, economical and can give compounds with 100% purity. In recent years the rising cost of energy has greatly stimulated research for more efficient separation techniques.