A semicontinuous approach for heterogeneous azeotropic distillation processes

The separation of azeotropes has substantial energy and investment costs, and the available methods require high capital costs for reconstruction of process plants. As an alternative, a semicontinuous configuration that utilizes an existing plant with minor modifications has been explored. In this paper, a semicontinuous, heterogeneous azeotropic distillation process is proposed and acetic acid dehydration process is used as a case study. To carry out the simulation work, Aspen HYSYS^® simulation software is used along with MATLAB^® and an interface program to handle the mode-transition of the semicontinuous process. Sensitivity analyses on operating parameters are performed to identify the process limits. Comparisons are made to conventional heterogeneous azeotropic distillation, and dividing-wall distillation column on the annual cost. The results proved that the semicontinuous system is the best setup in terms of total annual costs and energy requirements.     

A molecular model for ion dehydration in confined water

Although ion dehydration in confined water is ubiquitous in many important processes concerning ion adsorption, transport and separation, and so forth, few theoretical models have been developed to unravel the mechanism of dehydration in confined space. Herein, a molecular model is proposed by weighing the molecular orientation of surrounding water within the first hydration shell, and then this model is applied to predict the hydration numbers and hydrated radii of simple ions with the help of molecular density functional theory. The predictions are rationalized not only with parallel simulations but also with relevant experimental measurements. We find that the ion hydration in confined water is depressed owing to the confinement, and thus the multilayer hydration shell is disturbed, which results in the decline of hydration number and hydrated radius, favoring the ion dehydration. This work provides an insightful route toward the quantitative understanding and prediction of ion dehydration in confined water.     

Unique structure of fibrous ZSM-5 catalyst expedited prolonged hydrogen atom restoration for selective production of propylene from methanol

A unique mesostructured fibrous silica@ZSM-5 (HSi@ZSM-5) catalyst was synthesized via microemulsion ZSM-5 zeolite seed assisted synthesis method and successfully applied in enhanced propylene formation in methanol to olefin (MTO) process. Characterization of the catalysts were carried out by FESEM, TEM, XRD, TGA, N₂ adsorption-desorption, NH₃ and KBr probed FTIR. Catalytic performance of as-synthesized catalyst was examined using a micro-pulse reactor and compared with the commercial HZSM-5. The reaction mechanism was elucidated by in-situ methanol FTIR spectroscopy. It was found that HSi@ZSM-5 produced higher propylene selectivity (56%) and was stable for long time on stream (80 h), nearly three-fold higher than that of commercial HZSM-5. In addition, HSi@ZSM-5 displayed higher rate of methanol dehydration, surface methoxy species generation and olefin methylation, indicating that alkene catalytic cycle is the dominant reaction mechanism. The higher selectivity towards propylene was correlated to the existence of moderate acidity which impeded the formation of paraffins and polymethylbenzene intermediates. These observations are further supported by KBr probed FTIR findings which revealed negligible paraffinic carbon species on HSi@ZSM-5. Thus, the unique fibrous silica@ZSM-5 retarded coke deposition due to suppression of undesired side reactions thereby signifying intensified propylene formation, which is highly desirable in commercial MTO processes.     

炼油生化剩余污泥催化深度减量技术的工业应用

大幅减少炼油生化剩余污泥对降低企业污泥处理和处置费用、保护生态环境意义重大。考察了炼油生化剩余污泥催化深度减量SMR技术工业化的处理效果，运行结果表明：对含水率98.3%的炼油生化剩余污泥，经过SMR污泥减量装置的处理，污泥脱水性能得到显著改善，脱水残渣平均含水率57.1%、污泥量减少99.4%、挥发性悬浮物平均去除率78.3%、消解液BOD₅/COD比为0.31，达到了污泥深度减量化的目的。     

Optimization of environmental impact reduction and economic feasibility of solvent waste recovery using a new software tool

The environmental impact reduction and operating costs savings associated with the purification and recovery of solvent waste in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API's) were investigated. A software toolbox has been developed that combines Aspen Plus^® process simulation with SimaPro^® and Ecosolvent life cycle assessment (LCA) databases. A LCA approach was used in order to consider the environmental impact beyond pharmaceutical production plant boundaries. The feasibility of a relatively small flexible equipment-skid capable of recovering multiple solvent waste streams was evaluated. Distillation and pervaporation were considered to separate binary waste solvent mixtures. Optimum distillation reflux ratio and feed stage were determined to maximize the environmental impact reductions and operating cost savings. The optimum reflux ratio was significantly higher than 1.2 times the minimum reflux ratio suggested by traditional heuristics. The emissions and cost reductions obtained were as much as 49% and 56% higher, respectively, as compared to using the conventional optimum reflux ratio. A comprehensive cash flow analysis showed that the recovery of low volume solvent waste streams is economically feasible, despite traditional thinking. Three case studies from Pfizer are presented to show how our software tool can aid in green engineering decision making.     

Effect of the P/Al ratio on the performance of modified HZSM-5 for methanol dehydration reaction

The precipitation method was used to modify HZSM-5 by coating it with aluminophosphate at P/Al molar ratios of 0.3, 0.8, 1.2 and 1.5. These catalysts were characterized by XRD, NH₃-TPD, BET, FT-IR, ICP-TEOS and SEM and evaluated as catalysts for the methanol dehydration reaction. The ZALPO0.8 catalyst achieved 86% conversion which was the highest conversion till 315 °C. It was found that primary benefits of AlPO modification were that it tended to retard the activity of the highly active acid sites which promote dimethyl ether decomposition and led to decrease in the apparent activation energy.     

煤层气脱水工艺分析

对国内AW煤层气进行三甘醇法(TEG)脱水工艺模拟分析,可以得出:随着原料煤层气压力增大,脱水率增大,水露点降低,但变化的幅度均逐渐减小;原料气温度则相反,温度升高时,水露点升高和脱水率降低,变化幅度逐渐增大;进料量增大时出现"吹液"而使得脱水效果降低;随贫液温度升高,水露点和脱水率分别呈线性增大和减小,但总体上影响不大;综合考虑制造成本和脱水效果,存在一个最优塔板数,若在此基础上继续提高塔板数意义不大。