Solid-liquid separation processes using a large pore filter

1. A process for recovering a solid aromatic carboxylic acid from a solid/liquid mixture of the solid aromatic carboxylic acid in a solvent, the solid aromatic carboxylic acid comprising terephthalic acid or isophthalic acid and being in the form of a collection of particles having a distribution of particle sizes having a median particle size, the method comprising:

filtering the solid/liquid mixture to form a filter cake on a filter surface, the filter cake comprising the solid aromatic carboxylic acid; and

removing the filter cake from the filter surface;

wherein the average pore size of the filter surface is greater than the median particle size of the collection of particles, and further wherein

the median particle size of the collection of particles is at least 50% and less than 95% of the average pore size of the filter surface; and

the median particle size of the collection of particles is within the range of 80 μm to 200 μm.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the median particle size of the collection of particles is less than 90% of the average pore size of the filter surface.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the median particle size of the collection of particles is at least 60% of the average pore size of the filter surface.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the median particle size of the collection of particles is within the range of 100 μm to 180 μm.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the solvent comprises a monocarboxylic acid solvent.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein filtering the solid/liquid mixture takes place using a rotary pressure filter, and the solid/liquid mixture is transferred to the rotary pressure filter from a crystallization zone in which the aromatic carboxylic acid is crystallized.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the solvent comprises water.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein filtering the solid/liquid mixture takes place using a rotary pressure filter, and the solid/liquid mixture is transferred to the rotary pressure filter from a purification zone in which the aromatic carboxylic acid is purified.

9. The process of claim 1 , further comprising washing the filter cake to form a wet filter cake.

10. The process of claim 9 , further comprising drying the wet filter cake before removing the filter cake from the filter surface.

11. The process of claim 9 , further comprising removing a wet filter cake from the filter surface without substantially drying the filter cake, and transferring at least a portion of the removed wet filter cake to a mixing zone, the mixing zone configured to mix and slurry the wet filter cake with a make-up solvent to provide a purification reaction mixture comprising solid aromatic carboxylic acid.

12. The process of claim 11 , further comprising transferring at least a portion of the purification reaction mixture to a purification zone, the purification zone comprising a hydrogenation catalyst under reaction conditions suitable to form a purification effluent comprising purified aromatic carboxylic acid.

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the monocarboxylic acid solvent comprises acetic acid.

14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the median particle size of the collection of particles is at least 50% and less than 85% of the average pore size of the filter surface.

15. The process of claim 1 , wherein the median particle size of the collection of particles is at least 60% and less than 95% of the average pore size of the filter surface.

16. The process of claim 1 , wherein the median particle size of the collection of particles is at least 60% and less than 85% of the average pore size of the filter surface.

17. The process of claim 1 , wherein

the median particle size of the collection of particles is at least 60% and less than 85% of the average pore size of the filter surface; and

the median particle size of the collection of particles is within the range of 100 μm to 180 μm.