Reactive Distillation Design

The terms involved in the TAC equations are calculated from the following set of assumptions and guidelines  

Assuming an F factor of 1 in English engineering units, the diameter of the column is calculated from 

The column height is calculated assuming 0.61 m (2 ft) tray spacing and allowing 20% more height for base level volume. 

The heat transfer areas of the reboiler and the condenser are calculated using the steady-state vapor rates and the heat of vaporization. 

In the reactive column, the vapor rate in the top tray V r is higher than the vapor rate in the reboiler Vs because of the liquid vaporized through the reactive section. Thus, the heat transfer areas of the reboUer and the condenser are calculated using two different vapor rates. 

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The mass balance of these designs is given in Table 33.2, while Table 33.3 shows a comparison between the base case and the heat-integrated alternative, in terms of energy requirements. Compared to the conventional reactive distillation design, the energy requirements in the heat-integrated case are further decreased with... 

W.L. Luyben and C-C. Yu, Reactive Distillation Design and Control, J.Wiley and Sons, New York, 2008. ISBN 9780470226124. 

REACTIVE DISTILLATION DESIGN USING COLUMN PROFILE MAPS... 

In this chapter, we present a brief overview of reactive distillation and illustrate its application in a numerical example. A much more thorough treatment of reactive distillation is available in the book Reactive Distillation Design and Control ... 

Question 5. What are the (performance) criteria that need to he considered from a life-span perspective when specifying a reactive distillation design problem ... 

Flowsheets for processes are sometimes generated without following the hierarchy of properties described previously. As an example, Siirola [20] proposed a reactive-distiUation solution to make methyl acetate. Unit operations that combine the property differences present abrupt departures from common methodologies. With the advent of various pieces of equipment, such as differential side-stream feed reactors (i.e., semicontinuously fed batch reactors), continuous evaporator-reactors (e.g., wiped-film evaporators), and reactive distillation columns, one can consider these unit operations in the development of conceptual designs. As an example, Doherty and Malone [21] have presented systematic methods for reactive distillation design. 

Reactive Distillation Design and Control. By William L. Luyben and Cheng-Ching Yu Copyright (g) 2008 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

A literature search using Compendex showed some interesting chronological features. The search was limited to only journal articles in English. From 1969 to 1994 there were only 35 citations in reactive distillation design and a mere six in reactive distillation control. From 1995 to 2007 there were 435 citations in reactive distillation design and 106 in reactive distillation control. This clearly indicates the recent level of interest, particularly in control. 

In the next three chapters we will explore various aspects of the ideal quaternary chemical system introduced in Chapter 1. This system has four components two reactants and two products. The effects of a number of kinetic, vapor-liquid equilibrium, and design parameters on steady-state design are explored in Chapter 2. Detailed economic comparisons of reactive distillation with conventional multiunit processes over a range of chemical equilibrium constants and relative volatilities are covered in Chapter 3. An economic comparison of neat versus excess-reactant reactive distillation designs is discussed in Chapter 4. 

TABLE 3.4 Optimization Results of Reactive Distillation Design... 

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