SBIR-STTR Award

Feasibility and fundamental operation of an innovative nonboiling minimum energy heat and mass transfer device will be investigated. An ethanol/water binary system was selected because of its commercial importance. The heat and mass transfer device uses an inert carrier gas operating at atmospheric pressure to evaporate ethanol and water and then to condense water and ethanol in a manner so as to reuse the heat of vaporization and cause compositional changes potentially resulting in high product purities. This device is constructed of inexpensive materials.Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee:The process and device should allow capital cost to be one-fourth that of conventional fractionators and energy usage to be on the order of the required heat of solution corresponding to product purity specification. Because of process and equipment simplicity, these savings would accrue to both the small and the large-scale user.