Vandana Sakhre

By Vandana Sakhre

Chemical process industries deal with production which further utilizes reaction followed by separation of the reaction mixtures. Reactive distillation is a new technique of combination of both reaction and separation in a single unit beneficial for equilibrium-limited reactions and also cost-effective. This makes it a highly complex process because many parameters involved in both reaction and separation are interactive in nature. In this chapter, modeling, simulation, and optimization of reactive distillation are presented. Methyl acetate production via reactive distillation is chosen as a case study. The results are compared for both experimental and simulation studies. The synthesis of methyl acetate was carried out in a packed RDC by catalytic esterification using acetic acid and methanol as reactants in a pilot-scale experimental setup. A strong acidic ion exchange catalyst, Amberlyst-15, was used to enhance the rate of heterogeneous esterification reaction. The result obtained was observed with change in various variables including the reflux ratio (RR), distillate-to-feed (D/F) ratio, and bottom-to-feed (B/F) ratio with respect to product composition. The optimization and sensitivity analysis was carried out using Aspen Plus process simulation software.

Part of the book: Distillation

By Vandana Sakhre

In this chapter, previous studies on reactive distillation process control including control using conventional as well as soft sensor control, membrane assisted reactive distillation design and simulation, estimation and control are discussed. The review of literature in different dimensions is carried out to explore the opportunities in the field of research work. The chapter is focused on dynamics and control of Reactive distillation, its control using Conventional Techniques, Model Predictive Control MPC), Reactive Distillation using Soft Sensors/Soft Controllers, Membrane assisted reactive distillation, Biodiesel in Reactive Divided Wall Column: Design and Control and Membrane reactive divided wall column. These control techniques are proposed and analyzed by many researchers. These techniques have potential use in process industries to have better soft sensor control of nonlinear processes.

Part of the book: Promising Techniques for Wastewater Treatment and Water Quality Assessment