Simulation of extractive distillation of C6 components from Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis oil

Extractive distillation is used for separating oxygenates from other components in the C₆ cut oil from Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis followed by separating 1-hexene from N-hexane using the same solvent as the extractant. Furfural (FUR) is identified as an excellent solvent for extractive distillation of the C₆ cut from FTS oil for separating oxygenates from other components as well as for separating 1-hexene from N-hexane via searching from more than 100 solvents by simulation using Aspen Plus. The behavior of the newly found solvent FUR is compared with that of the reported best solvent N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and the results show that FUR scheme has the advantages of lower market price, lower dosage needed, less reboiler duty required and higher overall tray efficiency for fulfilling the same separation task.