Thermodynamic Fundamentals of Reactive Distillation

Reactive distillation means the simultaneous implementation of reaction and distillation in a counter currently operated column. The effective phase equilibrium is very complex since the chemical equilibrium is superimposed on the vapor-liquid equilibrium. The paper focuses on the calculation and presentation of this equilibrium using so called reactive distillation lines. This leads to a clear explanation for the existence of reactive azeotropes and to a simple method for the determination of the concentration of these azeotropes. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated on several mixtures with different reaction mechanisms.