A REACTIVE DISTILLATION PROCESS FOR AN AZEOTROPIC REACTION SYSTEM: TRANSESTERIFICATION OF ETHYLENE CARBONATE WITH METHANOL

A reactive distillation process is proposed for manufacturing dimethyl carbonate (DMC) through the transesterification reaction of ethylene carbonate (EC) with methanol. Modeling and simulation of the reactive distillation column have been carried out to study the effects of operating conditions, such as the reflux ratio, the number of theoretical plates, the feed ratio, the top effluent, the liquid holdup, and the feed location, on EC conversion and product composition at the top of the reactive distillation column. The calculated results show that a complete EC conversion can be achieved. The model reliability is analyzed under different Murphree tray efficiencies, showing no considerable difference between the equilibrium and nonequilibrium models for this system. And the calculated results are verified by experimental data and commercial operation of a dimethyl carbonate plant of 10,000 tons per year.