Sulzer Distillation Technology
Precision. Performance. Partnership.
Distillation is the most commonly applied separation process in the chemical and refining industries, and Sulzer has been at the forefront since 1940. Today, more than 100,000 columns equipped with Sulzer internals operate in over 500 different applications worldwide.
Components
Advanced mass transfer and phase separation internals
Mass Transfer Components
Structured Packing
Over 50 years of design experience makes us the ideal partner. Our MellapakPlus™ packing is a proprietary, high-efficiency solution, often copied but never equaled.
Random Packing
We offer a one-stop solution with a range including traditional and high-performance rings like NeXRing™ and Nutter Rings™, I-Rings™, C-Rings™, P-Rings™, and R-Rings™ in metal or plastic.
Trays
We hold the largest tray portfolio on the market, ranging from conventional fixed and movable valve trays to high-performance chordal downcomer, multi-downcomer, like VGPlus™ (one of the best high-performance trays ever tested at FRI). A specialized design with extremely low tray spacing slit trays as a state-of-art offer while tray are preferred for skid-mounted project.
Slit trays | Sulzer
Internals for Packed Columns
Even the best packing won't reach its full potential without appropriately designed internals. We ensure the perfect design for liquid distributors, supports, and collectors.
Column internals | Sulzer
Phase Separators and Statics Mixers
Gas-Liquid Separators
Sometimes the gas-liquid separator would be offer as part of the distillation solution while small amount of entrainment leads to concern of product quality, such as fine solids, metal ion and yellowness. We offer high-performance technologies to address those concerns. The portfolio includes KnitMesh™ mist eliminators, Mellachevron™ vane packs, which significantly enhances bulk de-entrainment.
Liquid-Liquid Separators (Coalescers)
In Some of distillation system, designer would make use the power of phase splitting to make separation smarter and more efficient. In order to secure the separation and not letting liquid disperse become noise of the process, Sulzer offer comprehensive portfolio to serve the need:
DC Coalescer™ utilizes proprietary co-knitted materials to enhance droplet growth and separation efficiency. To address stable secondary dispersions where droplets are too fine to settle by gravity,
Dusec™ and Dusec Plus™ are specifically engineered to break emulsions and ensure high-purity phases. Additionally, Mellaplate™ high-performance plate packs accelerate the process by significantly reducing settling distances within the vessel while system may prone to fouling.
Explore a comprehensive range of distillation technologies designed to optimize separation and performance across industries
Batch Distillation
Azeotropic distillation
Extractive distillation
Continuous distillation
Batch distillation involves processing a fixed volume of liquid the "charge" where components are vaporized, rectified and collected sequentially. This process provides the critical flexibility required for multi-product facilities that must frequently switch between varying feedstocks.
Sulzer’s Excelot™ modular platform streamlines these operations by integrating advanced internals and high-efficiency evaporators, significantly reducing startup times and product loss while ensuring high-purity separation in a single cycle.
Learn more about Excelot™
Pressure swing distillation
Specialized distillation
(Distillation 2.0)
Reactive distillation
Download our Technical Resources
Contact an expert
Our technical specialists are ready to help you find the optimal distillation solution for your specific application
Chris Lu
Head Soutions Development
"With over 20 years of experience in chemical industry and 15+ years on distillation systems design and troubleshooting, I'm here to help you maximize efficiency and achieve your process goals."
Select a Resource
Choose from 2 documents
Brochure
Process plants
18 pages
Brochure
Chemical process industry
24 pages
Brochure
Separation technology for the chemical process industry
Overview
Sulzer offers a full range of column internals with trays, structured packing, and random packing embedded in column simulation, process design, basic engineering and field services.
24 pages
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How distillation works (for both batch and continuous)
A step-by-step breakdown of the distillation process that enables precise separation of liquid mixtures
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A pre-heated liquid mixture enters the column, typically somewhere in the middle for continuous and bottom for batch. This mixture contains various components, each with a unique boiling point.
Feed
At the bottom of the column, a reboiler continuously heats the liquid collected there. This generates vapor that rises through the column.
Heating
As the vapor rises, it becomes richer in the components with lower boiling points (the "lighter" fractions). At this step, distillation is literally with 1 actual stage for separation when we only had vapor from bottom reboiler only.
Vaporization & Ascent
Once the lighter components mixture reaches the top of the column then enters a condenser, where it is cooled and converted back into a liquid as the condensate.
Condensation at the Top
In the beginning of the operation, total reflux would be maintained while the top condensate had not yet reached the required specification at this step. All the liquid condensates would be sent back to the column and then contact the hot vapor generated from bottom reboiler.
Total Reflux
Once the reflux returns to the distillation column, the rising vapor is gradually cooled at each stage, creating the vapor–liquid holdup and temperature profile along the column. This step allows us to reach the target specifications, especially for the top product, which is the primary objective of the separation process.
Contact & Mass Transfer
With a proper distillation design under total reflux, we can also achieve the bottom product specifications. In batch distillation, however, the bottom composition changes over time as light components are gradually removed.
Bottoms Product
While total reflux does not produce any product, once the column is stabilized we must reduce the reflux to allow economical production. Part of the condensate is returned to the column as reflux to improve vapor purity, while the remaining portion is withdrawn as the distillate product.
Adjust Reflux and Product Collection
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Pilot and test facilities
2
Swizerland and Singapore
Workshops
2
Swizerland and China
Turnaround and Tower field services
24/7
Repair, Maintenance and
Corrosion Protection
5
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Sulzer Advantage
Proven Process Solution Provider for complex and challenging separations
Full Service Provider for proprietary process equipment and plant solutions, backed by guaranteed performance
Provide solutions from design to operation
Unique technology portfolio and extensive application know-how
Unique experience in combining unit operations
Distillation is a fundamental separation process used to purify and separate liquid mixtures into individual components. It exploits the different boiling points of substances to achieve precise separation, making it essential in industries ranging from petrochemicals to pharmaceuticals.
The core principle: Heat a liquid mixture until it partially vaporizes, then cool and condense the vapor to separate components with different volatilities. Repeat this process to achieve the desired purity.
The choice depends on scale and flexibility. Batch distillation processes a fixed volume sequentially, offering the high flexibility needed for multi-product facilities using our Excelot™ platform. In contrast, continuous distillation is a steady-state operation designed for large-scale, uninterrupted production. Sulzer optimizes continuous processes through DistilCare™, utilizing high-performance internals like MellapakPlus™ to ensure consistent quality and maximum throughput.
Pressure swing distillation is the most effective solvent-free method for breaking azeotropes. By operating two columns at different pressure levels, the azeotropic point is shifted, allowing for high-purity separation in a continuous loop. This approach, supported by Sulzer’s advanced heat integration, significantly reduces OPEX and the overall carbon footprint compared to traditional azeotropic methods that require external chemical agents.
Reactive distillation combines chemical reaction and thermal separation into a single unit. This integration is ideal for equilibrium-limited reactions like esterification. By using proprietary Katapak™ catalytic packing, our solutions remove byproducts simultaneously with the reaction, shifting equilibrium to increase yield. This reduces CAPEX and OPEX by eliminating the need for separate reactors and downstream purification equipment.
Our GT-DWC™ technology consolidates a traditional multi-column sequence into a single shell. This allows for the high-purity separation of three-fraction mixtures within one unit. By reducing the number of reboilers and condensers, DWC technology significantly lowers capital investment and energy consumption, while drastically reducing the equipment footprint on-site.
As part of our "Distillation 2.0" initiative, Sulzer offers VoltaSplit™. This technology enables the electrification of distillation by replacing fossil-fueled steam reboilers with high-efficiency mechanical vapor recompression (MVR). Combined with advanced heat pump integration, this provides a direct pathway to Net-Zero operations by reducing Scope 1 emissions in thermal separation.
To optimize plant performance, we utilize advanced gas-liquid separators like KnitMesh™ mist eliminators and Schoepentoeter™ Plus inlet devices when the vapor line needs to eliminate the liquid droplet and concern behind (eg. solid, heavier component cause yellowness and even metal ion…etc.). For immiscible liquids, our DC Coalescer™ and Dusec Plus™ technologies break primary/secondary dispersions and take long time to be settle in the process equipment. These solutions ensure high-purity phases, minimize contamination of stream and results into lower internal circulation as a more effective separation solution.
150+ Years Experience
Proven track record in chemical process engineering and equipment manufacturing.
Global Presence
Worldwide support network with local expertise and rapid response capabilities.
Quality Assurance
ISO certified processes and rigorous quality control for reliable, safe operations.