Patent ID: 9481624
Filing Date: 2016-11-01
CPC Classification: B01D,C07C,Y02P

Claim Text:
1. A process for the production of dimethyl ether, the process comprising: contacting an aqueous extractant comprising water and an effluent from a methanol synthesis reactor, in a partial or total vapor phase and comprising methanol and one or more of methane, water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen, whereby at least a portion of the methanol partitions into the aqueous extractant; recovering an extract fraction comprising the aqueous extractant and methanol, the extract fraction further comprises at least one of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide; recovering a raffinate fraction comprising the one or more of methane, water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen; feeding the extract fraction to a catalytic distillation reactor system at a location below a catalyst in the catalytic distillation reactor system; concurrently in the catalytic distillation reactor system; separating the first overheads fraction via fractional distillation to recover a second overheads fraction comprising the at least one of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and unreacted methanol and a second bottoms fraction comprising dimethyl ether; and recycling at least a portion of the second overheads fraction to the methanol synthesis reactor.