Designing Reative Distillation Processes with Improved Efficiency

1 Introduction......Page 19
1.1 A Changing Environment for the Chemical Process Industry......Page 20
1.2 Reactive Distillation Potential......Page 21
1.3 Significance of Conceptual Design in Process Systems Engineering......Page 23
1.4 Scope of Research......Page 27
1.5 Outline and Scientific Novelty of the Thesis......Page 29
2 Fundamentals of Reactive Distillation......Page 31
2.1 Introduction......Page 32
2.2 One-stage Level: Physical and Chemical (non-) Equilibrium......Page 34
2.3 Multi-stage Level: Combined Effect of Phase and Chemical Equilibrium......Page 35
2.4 Multi-stage Level: Reactive Azeotropy......Page 38
2.5 Non-equilibrium Conditions and Rate Processes......Page 41
2.6 Distributed Level: Column Structures......Page 44
2.7 Distributed Level: Hydrodynamics......Page 47
2.8 Flowsheet Level: Units and Connectivities......Page 48
2.9 Flowsheet Level: Steady-State Multiplicities......Page 49
2.10 Summary of Design Decision Variables......Page 56
3 Conceptual Design of Reactive Distillation Processes: A Review......Page 59
3.2 Graphical Methods......Page 60
3.3 Optimization-Based Methods......Page 79
3.4 Evolutionary/Heuristic Methods......Page 83
3.5 Concluding Remarks......Page 88
4 A New Approach in the Conceptual Design of RD Processes......Page 93
4.1 Introduction......Page 94
4.2 Interactions between Process Development and Process Design......Page 95
4.3 Structure of the Design Process......Page 97
4.4 Life-Span Performance Criteria......Page 100
4.5 Multiechelon Approach: The Framework of the Integrated Design Methodology......Page 102
4.6 Concluding Remarks......Page 105
5 Feasibility Analysis and Sequencing: A Residue Curve Mapping Approach......Page 107
5.2 Input-Output Information Flow......Page 108
5.3 Residue Curve Mapping Technique......Page 109
5.4 Feasibility Analysis: An RCM-Based Approach......Page 113
5.5 Case Study: Synthesis of MTBE......Page 115
5.6 Concluding Remarks......Page 121
6 Spatial and Control Structure Design in Reactive Distillation......Page 125
6.1 Multilevel Modeling......Page 126
6.2 Simultaneous Optimization of Spatial and Control Structures in Reactive Distillation......Page 133
6.3 Concluding Remarks......Page 142
7 Steady and Dynamic Behavioral Analysis......Page 145
7.1 Introduction......Page 146
7.2 Steady-State Behavior......Page 147
7.3 Dynamic Behavior......Page 162
7.4 Concluding Remarks......Page 170
8 A Design Approach Based on Irreversibility......Page 173
8.1 Introduction......Page 174
8.2 Generic Lumped Reactive Distillation Volume Element......Page 176
8.3 Integration of Volume Elements to a Column Structure......Page 186
8.4 Application 1. Steady-state Entropy Production Profile in a MTBE Reactive Distillation Column......Page 196
8.5 Application 2. Bi-Objective Optimization of a MTBE Reactive Distillation Column......Page 199
8.6 Application 3. Tri-Objective Optimization of a MTBE Reactive Distillation Column: A Sensitivity-Based Approach......Page 203
8.7 Comparison Between Classical and Green Designs......Page 207
8.8 Concluding Remarks......Page 209
9 Conclusions and Outlook......Page 211
9.2 Conclusions Regarding Specific Scientific Design Questions......Page 212
9.3 Conclusions Regarding Goal-Oriented Questions......Page 218
9.4 Scientific Novelty of this Work......Page 219
9.5 Outlook and Further Research......Page 223
A.1 Mathematical Models......Page 227
A.2 Degree of Freedom Analysis......Page 235
B.1 Motivation......Page 239
B.2 Description of the System......Page 240
B.4 Physical Properties, Reaction Equilibrium and Kinetics......Page 242
References......Page 247
Summary......Page 265
Sammenvatting......Page 269
Acknowledgements......Page 275
Publications......Page 279
Index......Page 281
List of Symbols......Page 285
Colophon......Page 295