Patent ID: 7610775

Claim:
A process for distilling a fluid mixture in a microchannel distillation apparatus, the microchannel distillation apparatus comprising a plurality of microchannel distillation units, each microchannel distillation unit comprising a plurality of microchannel distillation sections, each microchannel distillation unit having one or more unit inlets, the microchannel distillation apparatus having an apparatus inlet and one or more channel inlets connecting the apparatus inlet to the unit inlets, the fluid mixture comprising a more volatile component and a less volatile component, the process comprising: flowing a vapor phase through the microchannel distillation units in a first direction; flowing a liquid phase through the microchannel distillation units in a second direction that is counter-current to the first direction; and flowing the fluid mixture through the apparatus inlet, channel inlets and unit inlets into the microchannel distillation units, part of the more volatile component transferring from the fluid mixture to the vapor phase to form a more volatile component rich vapor phase, part of the less volatile component transferring from the fluid mixture to the liquid phase to form a less volatile component rich liquid phase.