On the basis of the transformation of concentration coordinates,
the concept of reactive distillation
lines is developed. It is applied to study the feasibility of a
reactive distillation with an
equilibrium reaction on all trays of a distillation column. The
singular points in the distillation
line diagrams are characterized in terms of nodes and saddles.
Depending on the characterization
of the reactive distillation line diagrams, it can be decided whether a
column with two feed
stages is required. On the basis of the reaction space concept, a
procedure for the identification
of reactive distillation processes is developed, in which the reactive
distillation column has to
be divided into reactive and nonreactive sections. This can be
necessary to overcome the
limitations in separation which result from the chemical equilibrium.
The concentration profile
of this combined reactive/nonreactive distillation column is estimated
using combined reactive/nonreactive distillation lines.
The production of methyl acetate in a reactive distillation process ± prior art for 15 years ± is often used as an example to study the basic phenomena of reactive distillation. The present paper deals with a theoretical and experimental analysis of methyl acetate synthesis in a reactive distillation column. A design method based on the interpretation of reactive distillation line diagrams is used to identify the main process parameters and to provide a foundation for experimental investigation. The significant influence of the reflux ratio on the conversion in the column is shown by mini plant experiments using supported ion exchanger in the form of Raschig rings as a heterogeneous catalyst. These experiments demonstrate the catalytic quality of this packing material. To simulate the reactive distillation column with a simple stage-to-stage method, the separation efficiency of the catalytic rings is investigated. Comparison of experimental and simulation results reveals that a simple model based on the assumption of simultaneous chemical and phase equilibrium describes the experimental data quite well over a wide range of reflux ratios. Furthermore, simulation results show that the conversion depends less on the number of reactive stages than on the use of two feed stages.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.