Fractional Distillation

Maratek’s fractional distillation columns are expertly engineered and tailored to meet the specific needs of your battery solvent waste streams. Designed by our in-house team, these systems are optimized using advanced tools like Aspen HYSYS and SolidWorks to deliver efficient, automated solutions for your facility.

Our columns simplify solvent separation by leveraging differences in boiling points, achieving exceptional purity for recovered solvents like Ethanol, Acetone, Hexane and N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Even challenging mixtures are effectively dewatered and purified with our cutting-edge technology.

Maratek’s innovative solutions empower battery manufacturers to cut operational costs, reduce waste, and champion sustainability by reclaiming valuable solvents like NMP. Their systems, ranging from 1 to over 500 gallons per hour, offer standard efficiency, while customizable options are available for those with larger or more intricate needs. With Maratek, the future of sustainable production is in reach. Maratek can also custom build, engineer and manufacture sizes above this capacity or for any complex mixtures that our clients are looking to separate. With over 50 years of engineering experience, Maratek can tackle any project, no matter the complexity.

Operating Principle

Maratek’s distillation systems ensure fully automated continuous processing of the feed and the consequent collection and removal of the distillate (top) and the bottom products, respectively. They are equipped with state-of-the-art instruments and fully customizable for constant and reliable process monitoring to ensure operator and plant safety.

Fractional units are primarily used to obtain purified solvents that can be used in other manufacturing processes. They can either be designed as stand-alone systems or be integrated with Maratek’s Continuous Solvent Recycling Systems.

The trays/packing inside the fractional column allow the vapor rising up the column to reach vapor-liquid equilibrium with the liquid flowing downwards. This process helps separate the feed entering the column into solvent-rich and solvent-lean streams based on the relative volatility of the feed components. The solvent-rich stream is collected as the distillate at the top of the column while the solvent-lean stream (with traces of solvent, if any) is collected/removed from the bottom.

To improve process efficiency and enhance the purity of the solvent, boil-up and reflux streams are often introduced by recirculating vapor (by heating a part of the solvent-lean liquid) at the bottom and a portion of the condensed (solvent-rich) liquid at the top of the column.