Determination of catalytic packing characteristics for reactive distillation

Catalytic distillation still expands its field of applications. New structured catalytic column internals have been developed in recent years and new studies have been reported. A modern structured catalytic packing MULTIPAK^® is a subject of the investigations presented in this paper.

Important parameters of MULTIPAK^® have been examined experimentally in a 250 mm ID laboratory column: pressure drop for dry, prewetted and irrigated packings, flooding line and mass transfer coefficients for the gas and liquid phases.

The correlations obtained have been incorporated into a software tool for the simulation of catalytic distillation processes and simulations have been performed assuming methyl acetate synthesis as a model process. The calculations have been verified using the experiments performed for the same synthesis in a 50 mm ID catalytic distillation column operating continuously and thus reflecting industrial applications. It is concluded that the model represents the real process with satisfactory accuracy, although some deviations can be observed, especially within the reactive zone.     

Performance Prediction of Structured Packing Column for Cryogenic Air Separation with Hybrid Model

A detailed investigation of a thermodynamic process in a structured packing distil ation column is of great impor-tance in prediction of process efficiency. In order to keep the simplicity of an equili...     

CO偶联制草酸二乙酯分离工艺的开发

CO气相催化偶联法生产草酸二乙酯是目前正在开发中的一碳化工新工艺。在中试及工业装置设计中开发分离工艺是新工艺的重要组成部分。该文在实验室连续精馏塔上研究工艺条件对草酸二乙酯精制过程的影响 ,为模型参数的修正提供实验数据。通过模拟计算 ,提出了适宜的草酸二乙酯精制分离工艺流程。最佳工艺条件 :闪蒸罐操作温度 90℃ ,压力 10 1.3kPa ;精馏塔常压操作 ,理论板数 14块 ,回流比 11,第7板侧线采出 ;减压蒸馏釜操作压力 3.2kPa。     

Reactive distillation with KATAPAK

KATAPAK-SP and -S are structured catalytic packings for reactive distillation or gas–liquid reactors available from laboratory to industrial scale. Applying the KATAPAK-SP concept, the ratio of catalyst volume fraction to separation efficiency can be varied over a wide range, therefore the design of a reactive distillation column can be further optimized to fit each reaction system best.

Pressure drop, separation efficiency, dynamic liquid hold-up and residence time distribution have been investigated for KATAPAK-SP in a diameter of 250 mm. Results for different gas and liquid loads are presented. The findings are compared with results for the structured laboratory scale packing KATAPAK-S and the industrial scale packing KATAPAK-S 170.Y.

The dehydration of tert-butyl alcohol was selected as a sample reaction to illustrate the influence of different catalytic structures on the performance of the reactive distillation column. The setups are compared with respect to dimensions and economics.     

非平衡级速率模型用于催化精馏过程的模拟计算

采用非平衡级速率模型对醋酸甲酯水解的催化精馏中试过程进行了模拟计算,反应精馏段催化剂填料层的气相和液相传质系数用自行测定的经验关联式计算,提馏段的填料层传质系数用Onta的关联式,反应速率根据所测定的宏观反应动力学方程结合催化剂包的效率因子进行计算,得到令人满意的结果．     

Investigations on the Synthesis of Methyl Acetate in a Heterogeneous Reactive Distillation Process

The production of methyl acetate in a reactive distillation process – prior art for 15 years – is often used as an example to study the basic phenomena of reactive distillation. The present paper deals with a theoretical and experimental analysis of methyl acetate synthesis in a reactive distillation column. A design method based on the interpretation of reactive distillation line diagrams is used to identify the main process parameters and to provide a foundation for experimental investigation. The significant influence of the reflux ratio on the conversion in the column is shown by mini plant experiments using supported ion exchanger in the form of Raschig rings as a heterogeneous catalyst. These experiments demonstrate the catalytic quality of this packing material. To simulate the reactive distillation column with a simple stage-to-stage method, the separation efficiency of the catalytic rings is investigated. Comparison of experimental and simulation results reveals that a simple model based on the assumption of simultaneous chemical and phase equilibrium describes the experimental data quite well over a wide range of reflux ratios. Furthermore, simulation results show that the conversion depends less on the number of reactive stages than on the use of two feed stages.     

Investigation on catalytic distillation for ethyl acetate production with different catalytic packing structures

The catalytic packing is the core component of the catalytic distillation, and how the catalyst exists in the packing has significant influence on the process. To investigate the effect of catalyst packings on the catalytic distillation process, the classical ethyl acetate reactive distillation system was utilized, and a supported catalytic packing(SCP) was prepared in comparison with the conventional tea-bag catalytic packing(TBP). Laboratory scale experiments showed that the ethyl acetate conv...     

不同温度反应与精馏集成生产醋酸叔丁酯的过程模拟

针对醋酸与异丁烯加成酯化可逆反应温度低、精馏分离温度高的特点,采用带侧反应器的反应精馏集成过程(SRC)建立了低温反应与高温精馏集成的醋酸叔丁酯生产新工艺。固定塔釜上升汽化量100 kmol·h^-1,规定新鲜醋酸进料的转化率达到99.9%、醋酸叔丁酯选择性达到97.0%,采用过程模拟考察了进入侧反应器的精馏塔采出量、精馏段塔板数、侧反应器进出口间隔塔板数和侧反应器台数等参数对合成醋酸叔丁酯的SRC过程的影响。模拟结果表明,醋酸与异丁烯加成酯化生产醋酸叔丁酯的SRC过程中只有反应能力与分离能力达到最佳匹配才能使单位产品的生产成本最小。研究结果为醋酸叔丁酯生产新工艺的放大设计与优化奠定了基础。     

三元恒沸精馏生产无水乙醇工艺研究及共轭环的应用

用CHEMCAD软件对乙醇、苯和水三元恒沸体系生产无水乙醇的工艺进行了模拟。根据模拟研究结果设计并建成了年产1 800 t无水乙醇的生产装置。主塔和回收塔中均采用共轭环塔填料。生产实践表明,共轭环塔填料具有传质效率高、单位填料层压降低和操作弹性大的特点;通过对生产工艺的优化,得到无水乙醇产品的苯质量浓度小于0.2 mg/mL,水质量浓度小于0.5 mg/mL。研究结果对设计无水乙醇生产装置有很好的参考价值。     

Dehydration of Methanol to Dimethyl Ether by Catalytic Distillation

The kinetics of liquid catalytic dehydration of methanol over an ion exchange resin (Amberlyst 35) has been determined for the temperature range 343 to 403 K using a batch reactor. The experimental data are described well by an Eley‐Rideal type kinetic expression, for which the surface reaction is the rate‐determining step. A catalytic distillation process for methanol dehydration to dimethyl ether (DME) has been modeled using the experimentally determined kinetic data. The results were incorporated into the rate‐controlled reaction mode for RadFrac, a part of the commercial simulation program Aspen Plus. It was shown that synthesis of high purity DME can be achieved using a single catalytic distillation column. Thus there is significant potential for reduction of overall capital cost for a plant for methanol dehydration to DME when compared to conventional production facilities that involve separate reaction and distillation processes.     

矿物均相酸催化剂催化甲醇和乙酸酯化反应动力学(英文)

In this work, esterification of acetic acid and methanol to synthesize methyl acetate in a batch stirred reactor is studied in the temperature range of 305.15–333.15 K. Sulfuric acid is used as the homogeneous catalyst with concentrations ranging from 0.0633 mol·L?1 to 0.3268 mol·L?1. The feed molar ratio of acetic acid to methanol is varied from 1:1 to 1:4. The influences of temperature, catalyst concentration and reactant concentration on the reaction rate are investigated. A second order kinetic rate equation is used to correlate the experimental data. The forward and backward reaction rate constants and activation energies are determined from the Arrhenius plot. The developed kinetic model is compared with the models in literature. The developed kinetic equation is useful for the simulation of reactive distillation column for the synthesis of methyl acetate.     

乙酸正戊酯酯化反应动力学探讨与催化精馏模拟

在间歇釜式反应器中,以NKC-9阳离子交换树脂为催化剂,对乙酸和正戊醇催化合成乙酸正戊酯的酯化过程进行了研究。实验考察了不同催化剂用量及反应温度对乙酸转化率的影响,同时测定了实验条件下乙酸正戊酯酯化反应的反应动力学数据。采用拟均相模型对实验数据进行关联,得到了平衡常数和反应速率常数的计算式。在本实验条件下,该酯化反应为吸热反应,反应热及正、逆反应活化能分别为8.339kJ/mol、50.191kJ/mol和41.852kJ/mol,平衡常数及正、逆反应速率常数与温度的关系式分别为：K=54.2173e^-8338.8/RT,k₁=95402.5e^50191/RT,k₂=1759.6e^41852.2/RT。结合测定的动力学方程,建立了基于严格数学模型的过程模拟计算方法,对乙酸正戊酯催化精馏酯化过程进行过程模拟优化。优化后的操作条件为精馏段板数3、反应段板数9、提馏段板数14、进料位置7、混合进料酸醇摩尔比1.1∶1,此时塔釜乙酸正戊酯摩尔分数与正戊醇转化率达到99%以上。     

催化精馏合成乙酸乙酯的工业试验

以固体酸为催化剂,在中试催化精馏塔中进行了乙酸与乙醇反应制备乙酸乙酯的工业试验,试验塔的精馏段塔径为600 mm,内装陶瓷规整填料,反应精馏段塔径为1 000mm,内装7层立体催化精馏塔板.采用连续操作,考察了不同的回流比、釜酸质量分数、进料流量对反应和分离过程的影响,同时测定了塔板上气液相质量分数的分布.通过试验得到...     

渗透汽化-隔壁塔精馏耦合初步分离费托合成水的过程研究

费托合成水中含有醇、酮、酸等多种高附加值含氧有机物可提取出来作为高附加值产品,但由于费托合成水处量大,共沸体系复杂,通常需要首先对其进行初步分离。设计了直接两塔精馏、渗透汽化-两塔精馏、直接隔壁塔精馏、渗透汽化-隔壁塔精馏四种可供选择的初步分离工艺。根据渗透汽化实验数据在Aspen Plus中构建渗透汽化过程模型并进行模拟,结合灵敏度分析得到精馏过程的最佳工艺参数和模拟结果,并对四种工艺的能耗和有效能损失进行对比。结果表明,渗透汽化-隔壁塔精馏工艺具有明显的节能优势,其能耗较直接两塔精馏可降低15.85%,有效能损失降低45.74%。经渗透汽化膜预浓缩后,溶液的浓度可进入隔壁塔的适宜分离浓度区间,以充分发挥隔壁塔优势。由于渗透汽化所需能量可由余热等低品位热源提供,在余热充足的煤化工领域中可显著降低有效能损失。对于该过程而言,当渗透汽化膜价格低于438元/m²时,渗透汽化-隔壁塔精馏耦合工艺将会表现出较高的经济性。     

环丁砜萃取精馏过程模拟分析及工艺参数优化

以环丁砜-烃类相平衡数据和NRTL-RK热力学方法为基础，对环丁砜萃取精馏过程进行了全流程模拟和工艺操作参数优化。综合考虑各个操作变量及其关联，提出了基于局部耦合参数迭代优化的整体协同优化的策略。通过文献数据回归和Aspen Plus物性估算系统相结合，补充修正了缺失的模型参数，并以此模拟分析了各关键操作参数对环丁砜萃取精馏过程能耗和分离效果的影响。结果表明：当萃取精馏塔操作压力为0.17 MPa，溶剂回收塔操作压力为0.05 MPa时，贫溶剂最佳温度为100℃，原料饱和气相进料的最佳进料位置为第50块塔板；溶剂回收塔最佳回流比为0.33；最佳进料位置为第6块塔板，汽提水量为2853 kg·h^-1。优化后，装置最小热公用工程由1.158 GJ·t^-1下降至0.802 GJ·t^-1，节能效果显著。     

Experiments and dynamic modeling of a reactive distillation column for the production of ethyl acetate by considering the heterogeneous catalyst pilot complexities

Great effort has been applied to model and simulate the dynamic behavior of the reactive distillation as a successful process intensification example. However, very little experimental work has been carried out in transient conditions. The work presents a series of experiments for the production of ethyl acetate from esterification of acetic acid and ethanol in a reactive distillation pilot column. The steady-state approach performed experiments with both excess of alcohol and stoichiometric feed configuration. Predicted and measured results show good agreement and reveal a strong dependency of the structured packing catalyst activity on the pilot geometry and its operating conditions. The transient process behavior of the heterogeneously catalyzed system was deeply investigated and continuous and dynamic data were collected for an equilibrium model validation, after different perturbations on parameters. The experimental validation is shown to be essential to provide realistic hydrodynamic parameters, to understand the sensitive parameters such as heat losses and to adapt values for the catalyst holdup as a function of the system.     

Kinetics of acetic acid esterification over ion exchange catalysts

Computer simulation showed that catalytic distillation is an attractive process for the removal of dilute acetic acid from wastewater. Selection of catalysts and kinetic data have been obtained for the design of the catalytic distillation column. Kinetic measurements were conducted in a batch reactor. Methanol was added to the dilute acetic acid solutions and reacted with the acid in water to form methyl acetate and water. The reaction can be catalyzed by solid acid catalysts. It was found that Amberlyst 15 was an effective catalyst for this reaction. The effects of stirrer speed, reaction temperature, reactant concentration and catalyst loading on reaction rate were investigated. A complete kinetic equation for describing the reaction catalyzed by Amberlyst 15 was developed. This equation can be used in the simulation and design of the catalytic distillation column for removing acetic acid from wastewater.     

用新离子交换树脂催化剂优化连续催化精馏塔中乙基叔丁基醚的合成(英文)

Liquid phase synthesis of one of the important fuel oxygenate, ethyl tert-butyl ether （ETBE）, from etha-nol and tert-butyl alcohol （TBA） has been studied in catalytic distillation column （CDC） using ion exchange resin catalyst CT-145H. A packed CDC of 1.2 m height and 50 mm diameter with indigenously developed reactive sec-tion packing was used to generate experimental data. Effect of different key variables on product purity in distillate, was investigated to find the optimum operating conditions for ETBE synthesis. The optimum conditions for 0.2 kg·s-1 of ethanol feed were found：reboiler duty of 375 W, molar feed ratio of 1︰1.3 of reactants, and reflux ratio of 7. Concentration profiles for each component along each column section at optimum conditions were also drawn. Neither output nor input multiplicity was observed at experimental conditions.     

SO42-/TiO2-HZSM-5固体超强酸催化剂的制备及酯化性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了HZSM-5分子筛负载SO₄^2-/TiO₂固体超强酸催化剂, 利用直接酯化法催化合成三羟甲基丙烷油酸酯。通过IR、XRD、BET、SEM对催化剂进行了表征, 结果表明TiO₂以纳米颗粒的形式附着于HZSM-5分子筛表面, 且负载后催化剂的比表面积高达309.2m²/g, 比HZSM-5分子筛提高了45.6m²/g, 且催化剂具有强酸性(-13.8< H₀ < -12.14)。探讨了沉淀pH值、焙烧温度、焙烧时间等催化剂制备条件对SO₄^2-/TiO₂-HZSM-5固体超强酸催化剂催化三羟甲基丙烷油酸酯酯化反应活性的影响。结果表明在沉淀pH=8、硫酸的浸渍浓度为0.5mol/L、浸渍时间为30min、焙烧温度为550℃、焙烧时间4h的条件下, SO₄^2-/TiO₂-HZSM-5固体超强酸催化剂催化活性最高, 三羟甲基丙烷油酸酯的酯化率高达97.6%;抗乳化性能良好, 油水分离时间为5min。SO₄^2-/TiO₂-HZSM-5固体超强酸催化剂在重复使用6次的情况下, 酯化率下降8.8%, 催化剂的重复使用性能良好。     

Enzymatic catalyzed reactive dividing wall column: Experiments and model validation

A novel process for the integration of chemical reaction and product separation is proposed: the enzymatic catalyzed reactive dividing wall column (eRDWC). The eRDWC combines the highly integrated and complex reactive dividing wall column (RDWC) with the use of a very selective enzymatic catalyst. This apparatus enables the simultaneous production and separation of up to 4 pure product streams. Comprehensive experiments with the reference system of a hexanol and butyl acetate transesterification in a DN 65 pilot scale column show the feasibility of stable steady state operations for this process. A rigorous model for the plant design of an eRDWC wall column is developed. The reaction kinetics and vapor‐liquid‐equilibria for the reference system are measured and implemented in the model. The model is successfully validated using the acquired experimental data. The application of enzymes in continuous reactive distillation processes has the potential to increase the selectivity at milder process conditions. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 2198–2211, 2017