Patent ID: 7470348

Claim:
A separation system comprising: a distillation column into which a mixture of a first component mainly comprising water and a second component mainly comprising nonaqueous substances is supplied; an overhead vapor supply pipe connected to a top of said distillation column; first and second branch pipes branched from said overhead vapor supply pipe; a superheater connected to said first branch pipe; a separator provided downstream of said superheater and including a separation membrane for separating overhead vapor discharged from the top of said distillation column into a permeable vapor which mainly comprises said first component and a nonpermeable vapor which mainly comprises said second component by allowing only a selected portion of said overhead vapor to permeate said separation membrane; and a reflux unit comprising a condenser connected to said second branch pipe for cooling a portion of said overhead vapor into a liquid and a gas-liquid separator for separating gas from the liquid produced by cooling in said condenser and returning the thus separated liquid into the top of said distillation column.