Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research · 1997 · 104 citations · 5 references
Process IntegrationProcess DesignUnit OperationsProcess IntensificationEngineeringEnvironmental EngineeringDesignProcess ControlProcess EngineeringDistillation ColumnReactive DistillationReactive Distillation Lines
Reactive distillation line diagrams identify singular points as nodes and saddles, enabling separation beyond equilibrium limits. The paper applies this concept to evaluate the feasibility of fully equilibrium reactive distillation and introduces a procedure that partitions the column into reactive and nonreactive sections. By transforming concentration coordinates into reactive distillation lines, the authors determine feed‑stage requirements, estimate concentration profiles with combined reactive/nonreactive lines, and use a reaction‑space based method to identify suitable processes.
On the basis of the transformation of concentration coordinates, the concept of reactive distillation lines is developed. It is applied to study the feasibility of a reactive distillation with an equilibrium reaction on all trays of a distillation column. The singular points in the distillation line diagrams are characterized in terms of nodes and saddles. Depending on the characterization of the reactive distillation line diagrams, it can be decided whether a column with two feed stages is required. On the basis of the reaction space concept, a procedure for the identification of reactive distillation processes is developed, in which the reactive distillation column has to be divided into reactive and nonreactive sections. This can be necessary to overcome the limitations in separation which result from the chemical equilibrium. The concentration profile of this combined reactive/nonreactive distillation column is estimated using combined reactive/nonreactive distillation lines.
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