Due to a high risk of polymerization and complex thermodynamic
behavior of the chemical system, the current production process for n-butyl acrylate synthesis is cost-intensive and challenging.
Reactive distillation integrates chemical reactions and distillation
into one unit at the same time and is one of the best-known examples
of process intensification. To facilitate industrial application of
this concept for the production of n-butyl acrylate,
reliable experimental data are required. This article presents an
experimental and theoretical investigation of the synthesis of n-butyl acrylate using reactive distillation. Experiments
were conducted in a pilot-scale reactive distillation column, and
the decisive operational parameters were varied. To predict the experimental
results, a nonequilibrium-stage model was applied and the model was
validated using the experimental data. The validated model was then
used to perform a process analysis, showing trends in the conversion
of acrylic acid and n-butanol and the purity of n-butyl acrylate that can be used for prospective optimization
studies.
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