Tobias Keller

Modelling of homogeneously catalysed reactive distillation processes in packed columns: Experimental model validation

Abstract The design of reactive distillation processes requires reliable and accurate models to significantly decrease the expensive and time consuming experimental work. Different modelling approaches of varying complexity are available in the open literature. However, only few publications exist in which the question of the optimal modelling depth is discussed for homogeneously catalysed processes. Unlike these publications, we used experimental data in the present study to compare them with simulation results using different modelling depths for homogeneous reactive distillation processes. The nonequilibrium-stage model using the Maxwell–Stefan equations, the nonequilibrium-stage model using effective diffusion coefficients, the equilibrium-stage model including reaction kinetics, and the equilibrium-stage model assuming chemical equilibrium were investigated. The homogeneously catalysed transesterification of dimethyl carbonate with ethanol, for which pilot-scale experimental data were available, was used as a test system.

Chapter 8 – Reactive Distillation

Reactive distillation, a process in which chemical reaction and conventional distillation are integrated in a single apparatus, represents one of the best-known examples of process intensification. This chapter gives an overview of reactive distillation technology. The first part describes the relevant fundamentals of reactive distillation. A full discussion of benefits, limitations, and process alternatives is included to identify the potential of that technology. Later on, the different process synthesis and design methods as well as the available modeling approaches are discussed. Hardware aspects, with the main focus on column internals, are treated in the second part of this chapter. The last part shows industrial examples and presents the applications of reactive distillation technology currently discussed in the literature. In particular, the coupling of reactive distillation with other unit operations, the application of reactive distillation in biorefinery processes, and its use in multiple-reaction systems are handled.