Recovery of anhydrous Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} from SO{sub 2}-scrubbing liquor by extractive crystallization: Liquid-liquid equilibria for aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate, sulfate, and/or sulfite plus acetone, 2-propanol, or tert-butyl alcohol
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Ept. of Chemical Engineering
- Unilever, Valhinds (Brazil)
- Merck, West Point, PA (United States)
Sodium carbonate is a superior scrubbing agent for removing SO{sub 2} from combustion gases, but the resulting sodium sulfate (or sulfite) must be recovered for environmental reasons. Recovery by evaporative crystallization is energy-intensive; extractive crystallization provides an attractive alterative when technically feasible. Liquid/liquid equilibrium data were determined for two-phase mixtures containing aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate, sulfate, or sulfite and a polar organic solvent: acetone, 2-propanol, and 2-methylpropan-1-ol (i.e., tert-butyl alcohol). In the salt-saturated two-phase region, data were obtained between the lower consolute temperature and 60 C (50 C for acetone). data were also obtained at 35 C for liquid/liquid systems that were subsaturated with their respective salts and for liquid/liquid systems with overall molar ratios of sodium sulfite/sodium sulfate fixed at 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25. In the latter systems, it was found that the sulfite/sulfate ratios in the organic and aqueous phases were the same, i.e., there is no selectivity by these solvents for one salt relative to the other. The data show that any one of these solvents can be used to extract water from a concentrated solution of either sodium sulfite or sodium sulfate in a countercurrent extractor at 35 C, causing the anhydrous salt to crystallize. The wet solvent can be dried for recycle in a similar countercurrent operation at 35 C, using a saturated solution of Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3} as the drying agent. The number of moles of carbonate required for drying does not exceed the number of moles of sulfite-plus-sulfate precipitated. The process energy is about 0% of that required for single-stage evaporative crystallization of the same liquor.
- OSTI ID:
- 404571
- Journal Information:
- Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 35, Issue 11; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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