Efficient removal of acid from sulfuric acid alkylation reaction products by fiber coalescence technique: Lab-scale and industrial experiments

Abstract

Removing acid from sulfuric acid alkylation reaction products through fiber media is a new and challenging process in the industry. In this paper, a filler braided from stainless-steel fiber and polytetrafluoroethylene fiber is used to separate the acid-hydrocarbon emulsion. The selected filler characteristics (fiber diameter is 50 μm, bed porosity is 58.3%) and operation condition (superficial velocity is 37.5 m/h) based on lab-scale experiments were applied in the industrial tests, and a good acid-hydrocarbon separation performance was obtained. The separation efficiency was 99.82% and the pressure drop was 43.4 kPa at the superficial velocity of 37.5 m/h. In addition, through the study of fiber wettability, the coalescence mechanism was revealed, which is that the special braided structure induces acid droplets and hydrocarbon droplets to move in different directions, and the droplets on the fiber continue to migrate, coalesce and grow up, thereby achieving the rapid separation of acid and hydrocarbon phases. These findings can facilitate further applications of the sulfuric acid alkylation technology and significantly improve environmental benefits.