Design and simulation of a reactive distillation process to produce high-purity ethyl acetate

In this work, production of high-purity ethyl acetate (EtAc) is studied using reactive distillation (RD) embedded in HYSYS process simulation software. A new configuration of a RD process is proposed by dividing a single RD column into two separate columns namely, RD and rectifier. Impacts of three parameters, including reactant flow rate, reaction trays, and feed-inlet location on the temperature profile and component compositions in the columns are investigated to achieve an optimum condition of the process in terms of energy demand. The simulation results show that ratio of reactants near the stoichiometric values with a small amount of ethanol lead to the industrial specification output results. Additionally, it is found that with increasing the reaction stage number, the residence time and the reaction conversion increase. Meanwhile extra water is produced through esterification reaction, resulting in more energy consumption. The optimum number of trays for the RD column is determined to be 29 by HYSYS simulator. Moreover, it is shown by simulation that a lower RD reflux ratio and low required duty can be demonstrated when the feed-inlet of the reaction column is located in lower portion of the column.

► Presenting new configuration of reactive distillation to produce high purity ethyl acetate.
► Performing sensitivity analysis on operating and design variables.
► Feasibility of using HYSYS process simulation software for a reactive distillation process.
► Multifunctional role of reflux ratio in the reactive distillation process.