Miscanthus can be hydrogenated into
ethylene glycol (EG) or can be oxidized into methyl glycolate (MG),
a precursor of EG. For comparison, three-, two-, and four-column processes
(I, II, and III, respectively) were established for the separation
of hydrogenation (I) and oxidation products (II and III) in ASPEN
PLUS. Oxidation products containing negligible and appreciable amounts
of methyl levulinate (MLE) were separated by the processes II and
III, respectively. The total heat duty (THD) and total cold duty (TCD)
of process I were approximately 73% lower than those of processes
II and III, and the E-factor of process I was relatively low, but
the maximum operation temperature (MOT) was high. Process II (esters
hydrogenation first) was both energy-saving and cost-effective because
of low high-temperature heat duty (HTHD), less EG loss, and low total
annual cost. Process III (esters distillation first) exhibited the
largest THD, TCD, HTHD, and total annual cost. Sensitivity analysis
results demonstrated that MLE greatly increased HTHD in process III.
The appreciable amount of MLE could be extracted from MG with n-hexane with an MG yield of 93.7%, for EG production through
process II.
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