A generalized method for the synthesis and design of reactive distillation columns

Abstract Owing to the combination between the reaction operation and the separation operation involved, it is extremely difficult to determine in advance the optimum configuration of a reactive distillation column and this makes process synthesis and design a great challenging task. Currently, no easy-to-use and yet effective methods are available to guide process synthesis and design, restricting considerably the applications and therefore the impacts of reactive distillation columns to the chemical process industry. In this paper, a generalized method is proposed for the synthesis and design of reactive distillation columns in terms of the insights from process intensification. The method is initiated from a simple process design with all feeds of reactants at the middle of the process and all stages as reactive ones. In terms of an economical objective function, it can be evolved into the optimum process design via sequential structure adjustments, including reactive section arrangement, feed stage relocation, feed splitting, and catalyst redistribution. The generalized method proposed is characterized by great simplicity in principle, the capability to tap the full potentials of process intensification, and the high robustness to the initial guess of process configuration as well as the thermodynamic properties of the reacting mixtures separated. Four example systems are employed to evaluate the generalized method proposed and the obtained outcomes demonstrate its effectiveness and applicability to the synthesis and design of various reactive distillation columns.

[1]  Arthur W. Westerberg,et al.  Visualization of stage calculations in ternary reacting mixtures , 2000 .

[2]  Cheng-Ching Yu,et al.  Design of reactive distillations for acetic acid esterification , 2005 .

[3]  Arthur W. Westerberg,et al.  Graphical design applied to MTBE and methyl acetate reactive distillation processes , 2001 .

[4]  Michael F. Doherty,et al.  Design method for kinetically controlled, staged reactive distillation columns , 1998 .

[5]  Domingos Barbosa,et al.  Design and minimum-reflux calculations for single-feed multicomponent reactive distillation columns , 1988 .

[6]  William L. Luyben,et al.  Design and control of an olefin metathesis reactive distillation column , 2002 .

[7]  Domingos Barbosa,et al.  Optimization of reactive distillation processes with simulated annealing , 2000 .

[8]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  A disjunctive programming approach for the optimal design of reactive distillation columns , 2001 .

[9]  Johan Grievink,et al.  Designing reactive distillation processes: present and future , 2004, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[10]  Steinar Hauan,et al.  Extreme conditions in binary reactive distillation , 2000 .

[11]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  Generalized modular representation framework for process synthesis , 1996 .

[12]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  Modular synthesis framework for combined separation/reaction systems , 2001 .

[13]  Steinar Hauan,et al.  Graphical methods for reaction distribution in a reactive distillation column , 2000 .

[14]  Amy R. Ciric,et al.  Synthesis of nonequilibrium reactive distillation processes by MINLP optimization , 1994 .

[15]  A. Tsutsumi,et al.  Towards further internal heat integration in design of reactive distillation columns—part I: The design principle , 2005 .

[16]  Michael F. Doherty,et al.  Calculation of residue curve maps for mixtures with multiple equilibrium chemical reactions , 1995 .

[17]  James R. Fair,et al.  Design Guidelines for Solid-Catalyzed Reactive Distillation Systems , 1999 .

[18]  Ulrich Hoffmann,et al.  Kinetics of methyl tertiary butyl ether liquid phase synthesis catalyzed by ion exchange resin—I. Intrinsic rate expression in liquid phase activities , 1990 .

[19]  Johann Stichlmair,et al.  Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming Optimization of Reactive Distillation Processes , 2001 .

[20]  W. Luyben.  Distillation Design and Control Using Aspen Simulation , 2006 .

[21]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  The interactions of design control and operability in reactive distillation systems , 2002 .

[22]  Michael F. Malone,et al.  Simulation of kinetic effects in reactive distillation , 2000 .

[23]  Kejin Huang,et al.  A fundamental principle and systematic procedures for process intensification in reactive distillation columns , 2010 .

[24]  Michael F. Doherty,et al.  Reactive distillation by design , 1992 .

[25]  William L. Luyben,et al.  Effect of the Chemical Equilibrium Constant on the Design of Reactive Distillation Columns , 2004 .

[26]  San-Jang Wang,et al.  Understanding the Impact of Operating Pressure on Process Intensification in Reactive Distillation Columns , 2010 .

[27]  Hsiao-Ping Huang,et al.  Feed-splitting operating strategy of a reactive distillation column for energy-saving production of butyl propionate , 2010 .