Utilizing Azeotropes & Solvent Recycle for Cost Effective Implementation on Batch 1

This talk describes the development and scale-up of a solvent recovery strategy that utilized fundamental experimental data to support successful commercial implementation. The commercialization of an agrochemical intermediate required solvent recovery within a triethylamine-acetonitrile-water solvent system. The design of the recovery process was inhibited by the lack of reliable experimental data for this mixture. A spinning band column was used to determine the equilibrium azeotropic compositions. A successful process was developed based on these data to maximize the recovery of all three species. Additionally, the implementation of the solvent recovery improved the downstream crystallization and reduced the amount of waste generated. These detailed studies proved invaluable during start-up and were required on the very first batch due to an unforeseen global shortage of acetonitrile.