Patent ID: 8273219

Claim:
A distillation apparatus comprising: a vessel comprising a top, a bottom and a continuous sidewall extending therebetween; the vessel being connected to a feed inlet; the vessel comprising a plurality of separation zones comprising a top rectification zone, a lower rectification zone, a top stripping zone and a bottoms stripping zone; the top rectification zone being connected to a top overhead loop that connects the top rectification zone to a top heat pump and a bottoms heat exchanger, the bottoms stripping zone being connected to the bottoms heat exchanger where bottoms material is heated by material passing through the top overhead loop; and the lower rectification zone being connected to a lower overhead loop that connects the lower rectification zone to a lower heat pump and a top heat exchanger, the top stripping zone being connected to the top heat exchanger where material from the top stripping zone is heated by material passing through the lower overhead loop.