Hybrid reaction and separation

So far, it has been assumed that the reaction and separation would be carried out consecutively and connected with recycle streams if appropriate. Consider a liquid-phase 

It may also be useful to carry out such hybrid reaction and separation when byproducts are formed from competing reactions, such as  

there are a number of potential advantages for reactive distillation  

In some fortunate circumstances, azeotropes can be eliminated from the separation that would need to be dealt with if reaction and separation are carried out consecutively. 

Most processes require storage for the feed and product. Storage of feed is required if the delivery of the feed is in batches (e.g. barge, rail car, road truck). Even if the feed is being delivered continuously via pipelines for gases and liquids or conveyors in the case of solids, there will be no guarantee that feed will be free from interruptions in supply. 

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