Design of a reactive distillation column for ecological decomposition of organic chloroderivatives in waste water

In the present paper the reactor design for the treatment of waste water containing organic chloroderivatives (2-chloroethanol, 2-chloro-ethoxy-ethanol and bis-(2-chloroethyl) formal) is presented. The main constrain of the reactor design is the achievement of organic chlorine concentration under the ecological limit of 10 ppm. As an optimal solution, a reactive distillation column in which R-Cl bonds are hydrolyzed in a solution of NaOH with possible recovery of ethylene oxide has been proposed. Using a simple equilibrium mathematical model of reactive distillation, an industrial column was designed. The industrial realization is presented and its results are compared with the theoretical prediction.