Ethanol Purification Using Activated Natural Zeolite

Abstract

Bio ethanol is one of the potential fuels in the fu ture. However, ethanol in water mixture has an azeo tropic concentration of 95.6 wt. %, which makes it difficult to purify furt her. The common method of purification is by using an azeotropic distillation column, which requires an intensive en ergy and an addition of specific solvent. In this s tudy, ethanol purification is done using an adsorption column pac ked with zeolite Raschig rings. The natural zeolite r ng was modified beforehand using the NaOH solution to enha nce the material’s water adsorption performance. Th e ethanol purity can reach more than 99% with the modified ze olit packing. The modification also increases the saturation time of the packed bed column, thus making it more effic i nt.