Dehidrasyon ve Saflaştırma

GEA Moleküler Elek veya Adsorpsiyon Teknolojisi, örneğin etanolün dehidrasyonu için düşük enerjili bir prosesi temsil etmektedir.

The superheated alcohol/water mixture passes a zeolite bed , that holds back the small water molecules  while the bigger alcohol molecules pass the bed.

GEA supplies as standard three adsorption vessels which operate in continuous batch mode.  One unit works in adsorption mode while the second is regenerated. The third vessel allows smooth switching between the two modes in order to ensure a long life service for the zeolite. Another advantage of the  third vessel is a constant flow  of the dehydrated ethanol vapors towards the distillation train, leading to a constant energy input  on one of the reboilers,  where the vapor is condensed.

But also the  two-vessel-concept  has proven itself within a multistage distillation plant , however not achieving as constant conditions as the three-vessel-concept.