Distillation with Chemical Reaction and Apparatus Selection

Abstract

Reactive distillation was studied practically and theoretically for the esterification of succinic anhydride with methanol to produce in a first step monomethyl succinate and in a second one dimethyl succinate and water. It was shown that simulations using the ASPEN PLUS rigorous distillation model RADFRAC corresponds with experimental data quite well. With this fundament further calculations were performed simulating several kinds of reactive and distillation equipment. On basis of this, an apparatus selection is made related on energy consumption and relative conversion. Key parameters, as reaction velocity for the reaction term and the relative volatility (α from 1.2 to 14), affect markedly the selection of the apparatus of choice. The reaction column is the apparatus of choice for fast reactions and high volatilities considering the energy input. For low relative volatilities the choice is between the reaction column or the reactor with evaporation, depending on whether operating costs or investment costs are taken into account.