The present work aims to study the
influence of the solvents monoethanolamine
(MEA), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), and monoethylene
glycol (MEG) on the subsequent extractive distillation of a benzene–cyclohexene–cyclohexane
mixture. Process simulations were carried out using the Aspen Plus
software, considering a mixture composition obtained from previous
catalytic tests for benzene hydrogenation in the liquid phase. The
adopted production of cyclohexene, the main product of interest, was
based on the capacity of a large chemical company in São Paulo
state (Brazil). The results show that MEA is efficient only to separate
benzene, whereas with the use of NMP or MEG all components are separated
with high purity. Monoethylene glycol is a more advantageous solvent
for this extractive distillation since its use leads to more practicable
operating conditions and lower energy consumption, besides being a
less expensive and biodegradable compound.
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