OBTENCIÓN DE ALCOHOLES SUPERIORES A PARTIR DE FUSEL MEDIANTE PROCESO DE DESTILACIÓN FRACCIONADA

Abstract

The Fusel oil is a mixture of superior alcohols that are obtains during the rectification stage in the process of obtaining of ethanol, like an impurity of this process. By means of a distillation process can be separate the alcohols that compose it in different fractions, according to their points of boil and later for an esterification process with different acids can be obtained the esters of these fractions, among those are the ethyl acetate, the isobutyl acetate and the isoamyl acetate, which have a high value in different industries like the nutritious one. The objectives of the present work are directed to the study of the distillation stage, for the obtaining of the fractions of alcohols. Experiences were developed to laboratory scale where firstly the Fusel became dehydrated approximately from 17, 24% until 2.3% mass to improve the later separation of the alcohols that form it by means of distillation. The fractions were separate according to the opposing ranges of temperature in the bibliography, in a column of glass of 10 plates, separating three fundamental fractions; up to 79 ºC, another of 79 - 108 ºC of great volume and another of 108 - 128 ºC, the products were characterized by means of gas chromatography. Lastly the column was simulated to process the Fusel coming from 4 stills of the country, using for it the Professional Pretender HYSYS v.3.2. As results we have that the compounds that are so much in more proportion in the raw Fusel as in the one dehydrated are the isoamyl-alcohol, the i-butanol, the 1-propanol and the ethanol, similar to those obtained by other authors that have carried out similar studies. By means of the simulation two fundamental currents are obtained, trying to achieve high concentrations of 1-propanol, ethanol and i-butanol in the distilled current and high concentrations of isoamyl-alcohol in the current that leaves as residual, for their later treatment in the obtaining of their respective esters.