Monoethanolamine (MEA) is produced by reacting ethylene oxide with aqueous ammonia. The reaction also creates diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA). MEA is used in aqueous solutions for scrubbing certain acidic gases.
It is also used as feedstock in the production of detergents, emulsifiers, polishes, pharmaceuticals, corrosion inhibitors and chemical intermediates. MEA, DEA and TEA are separated in a distillation train operating under vacuum. This allows the distillation to proceed at lower temperatures, which reduces product degradation and poor color quality. Our Wire Gauze structured packing provides the very low pressure drop and high efficiency required for this application. AX and BX wire gauze packing can be used to achieve even lower pressure drop and higher efficiency when liquid rates are low enough to take advantage of the capillary effect to wet the packing. The high separation efficiency of AX and BX wire gauze packing results in low energy consumption through reduced reflux rates and higher purity products at shorter column heights.