Ethyl acetate synthesis by coupling of fixed-bed reactor and reactive distillation column—Process integration aspects

Coupling of a fixed-bed reactor and a reactive distillation column was used for acetic acid and ethanol esterification utilizing strong acidic ion-exchange resin as catalyst. Laboratory experiments were focussed on the investigation of catalyst loading effect on reaction conversion in a fixed-bed reactor at the temperature interval between 60 and 120 °C with partial separation of products in the form of their azeotropic mixture by the flash distillation. This procedure increased the reaction conversion above chemical equilibrium. The experimental results achieved with a reactive distillation column of the overall efficiency of 14 theoretical stages (1 reaction stage) were successfully compared with numerical simulation by means of AspenPlus software.