Design and Optimization of a Process for the Production of Methyl Methacrylate via Direct Methylation

Abstract

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) plays a vital role in national productions with broad application. Herein, the production of MMA is realized by the improved eco-friendly direct methylation method using Aspen Plus software. Three novel kinds of energy-saving measures were proposed in this study, including the recycle streams of an aqueous solution, methacrolein (MAL), and methanol, the deployment of double-effect distillation instead of a normal one, and the design of a promising heat-exchange network. Moreover, MMA with a purity of 99.9% is obtained via the design of a MAL absorber column with an optimal stage number of 11 and a facile chloroform recovery process by using the RadFrac model. Thus, the proposed green process with energy-conservation superiority is the vital clue for developing MMA, and provides a reference for the production of MMA-ramifications with excellent prospects.Processes 2019, 7, 377 2 of 12 design and dynamic control of the simplified separation process for MMA by using a one-column flowsheet with a middle decanter, which can cut operating costs by 35.9% compared to the industrial three-column design. Large disturbances of the feed composition can be effectively controlled [15]. Chang et al. studied an alternative design for separating mixtures (including methyl methacrylate, methanol, and water) using a distillation column, a stripper and a decanter. Compared with the traditional design process, the operating cost of during this improved design significantly reduced to 25.9%. In addition, based on open/closed-loop sensitivity testing, the overall design turns out to ensures the product of MMA with a high degree of purification [16]. The azeotropic distillation and ionic liquid eco-environmental separation of methacrolein (MAL) was investigated by Yan et al. to obtain MMA, and results indicated that used green process had significant economic and green-degree advantages [14]. Compared with related reports, C 4 -IDMM has gradually been regarded as a promising green technique, due to the low-cost equipment, short reaction path, and sufficient raw materials, and so on [12,13,17], though there are no large-scale uses in industry. However, it is still a challenge to develop the production process of MMA based on C 4 -IDMM economically. The method used in our study is based on the improved direct methylation of isobutylene method proposed by the Asahi Kasei Corporation. There is no MAA step during this process, which effectively avoids side reactions such as MAA polymerization, simplifies the process flow, and reduces energy consumption, thereby greatly reducing operating costs and investment costs and making it more competitive.

Process Simulation of the Separation of Aqueous Acetonitrile Solution by Pressure Swing Distillation

“…For increasingly complex industrial technologies, Gao and Dai [26][27][28] proposed the fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) and data-driven approaches in the modeling, control, and optimization of complex industrial systems. Many design variables are involved in the chemical distillation industry, so commercial software, such as Aspen Plus, can better design, optimize, and control the distillation process [29,30]. Aspen Plus (Aspen Tech, Bedford, MA, USA) is a large-scale general process simulation system for plant design, steady-state design, and dynamic simulation.…”

Novel nanocomposites: relationship between microstructure-properties and tribological behavior

“…Por su sencillez, esta última variante con un único paso resulta la más atractiva para su uso extensivo, con menores costes energéticos y un menor potencial contaminante que la ruta ACH. Sin embargo, necesita un mayor desarrollo en cuanto a la mejora de la durabilidad de los catalizadores metálicos necesarios para la reacción [33,34].…”