Membrane reactors for isoamyl acetate production

• Isoamyl acetate production is studied for membrane reactor processes.
• Acetate recovery is a crucial factor to minimize energy costs in all processes.
• Optimum acetate recovery minimizes total heat duty and membrane area requirement.

In our previous paper (Chem. Eng. Process., 76 (2014) 70), a comprehensive study of conventional and hybrid membrane processes for isoamyl acetate synthesis, using experimentally certified models, was presented. Here, as an extension of that previous work, the performance of membrane reactors was analyzed, using the same thermodynamic, kinetic, and membrane transport models. Two different configurations were investigated by simulation using ASPEN Plus® together with a homemade Excel®-MatLab® interface for membrane reactor modules simulation. The goal was to gain more insight into the isoamyl acetate synthesis using membrane reactors, as a prelude to a detailed experimental research. The analysis procedure includes both the optimization of membrane reactor performance and the minimization of process energy consumption, including the energetic integration using the pinch point methodology. Total annualized costs were estimated and compared with the conventional and hybrid membrane schemes.

Annualized cost comparison for conventional, hybrid, and membrane reactor process schemes for isoamyl acetate production.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide