Methyl acetate production

FIG. 13-80 Reactive extracting distillation for methyl acetate production, (a) Composition profile, (b) Temperature profile. 

Methyl acetate production is often used as an example to demonstrate the advantages of RD processes [5]. The basic set-up of the heterogeneously catalyzed methyl... 

Methyl acetate production Combined unit ops - reactive distillation... 

Figure 2 column configuration for the methyl acetate production. 

F. Methyl acetate production. Methanol made from synthesis gas is reacted with by-product acetic acid from cellulose esters manufacturing to form methyl acetate in an Eastman patented process (U.S. Patent 4,435,595). The principal component of this process is a reactor-distillation column in which acetic acid and methanol flow counter-currently, reacting and flashing at each stage. The acetic acid serves the dual functions of reactant and extractive agent to remove water and methanol from their methyl acetate azeotropes. 

Methyl acetate production is a classical example of reactive distillation technology. A single reactive distillation column could replace the conventional process train consisting of 11 units. This significant reduction in number of units led to tremendous improvement in process economics via improved conversions and reduced equipment and operating costs. Various reactions that are suitable for reactive distillation are given in Table 1.1. These reactions... 

The boiling point ranking indicates that if we consume the heavy reactant (HHK component B) before it reaches the bottom of the reactive zone, the heavy product (HK component D) can be obtained from the colunm base. The scenario is simpler toward the top of the colunm because the light product (LLK component C) can be withdrawn from the top while the light reactant (LK component A) can be prevented from leaving the reactive zone. The popular methyl acetate production via acetic acid esterification (Chap. 7) example falls into this category. 

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