Steady-State Modelling and Simulation of a Reactive Distillation Process for n-Butyl Acetate Production Using CHEMCAD

Abstract

This work has been carried out to demonstrate the application of a process simulator known as CHEMCAD to the modelling and the simulation of a reactive distillation process used for the production of n-butyl acetate, with water as the by-product, from the esterification reaction between acetic acid and n-butanol. The esterification reaction, which is generally an equilibrium type, was modelled as two kinetic reaction types in the reaction section of the column used, which had 17 stages with the middle section (stages 6 – 12) being the reaction section. A reflux ratio of 3 and reboiler duty of 78 kJ/min as well as 30 mL/min of each of the reactants with 99% molar purity were used for the simulation of the column. The results obtained revealed that the developed model was a valid one because there was a very good agreement between the results and the theoretical knowledge of a distillation column based on the fact that the desired (which was the heavy) product (n-butyl acetate) was found to have the highest mole fraction in the bottom section of the column while the by-product of the process (water) was discovered to have a mole fraction higher than that of n-butyl acetate in the top (condenser) section of the column. Therefore, CHEMCAD has been applied to the steady-state simulation of the reactive distillation process used for the production of n-butyl acetate from the esterification reaction of acetic acid and n-butanol successfully.

Evaluation of mechanical vapor recompression in the reactive distillation of the N-butanol esterification process

“…Usually, it is produced through the esterification reaction of acetic acid (HAc) with n-butanol (n-BuOH) in the presence of an acid catalyst. The increasing consumption of n-BuAc is justified by its lower impact on the environment compared to other esters (Cho et al, 2014;Giwa & Giwa, 2017;Tian et al, 2012;Venimadhavan et al, 1999).…”

Biodiesel production using reactive distillation column: Real time model predictive control in Matlab Simulink

“…In addition to the advantages mentioned before, basically, the combination of reaction and distillation in the same equipment unit gives rise to suppression of side reaction (s) and utilization of heat evolved from an exothermic reaction for mass transfer operation. These synergistic effects of the process result in low energy cost and high product yields [1,2]. However, as a result of combining reaction and separation in a single piece of equipment in this process, its control has been a challenge to process engineers because it must be handled using a robust control method that will be able to take care of the complexities involved in it.…”

Modelling, Simulation and Sensitivity Analysis of a Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Reactive Distillation Process Using Aspen Plus

“…Moreover, basically, the combination of reaction and distillation has several advantages which include increase of reaction conversion by simultaneous reaction and separation of products, suppression of side reaction(s) and utilization of heat evolved from an exothermic reaction for mass transfer operation. These synergistic effects of the process result in low capital investment, low energy cost and high product yields [21,24].…”

“…Reactive distillation combines the benefits of equilibrium reaction with distillation to achieve a substantial progress in promoting reaction conversion as a result of constant recycling of unconverted materials and removal of products. Also, reduction of capital and operating costs as a result of the reduction of number of equipment units of the plant [18,[21][22][23] is another benefit of the process. Moreover, basically, the combination of reaction and distillation has several advantages which include increase of reaction conversion by simultaneous reaction and separation of products, suppression of side reaction(s) and utilization of heat evolved from an exothermic reaction for mass transfer operation.…”

“…It is a so-called hybrid process in the sense that it merges two different unit operations in a single piece of equipment [7][8][9][10], namely reaction and separation (distillation). A lot of benefits are associated with this process, especially for those reactions occurring at temperatures and pressures suitable for the distillation of the reaction components [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Reactive distillation combines the benefits of equilibrium reaction with distillation to achieve a substantial progress in promoting reaction conversion as a result of constant recycling of unconverted materials and removal of products.…”