Simulation Study of a Reactive Distillation Process for the Ethanol Production

A simulation study of the effects of design and operating parameters under which optimal-stable steady states may occur in a reactive distillation process for synthesis of ethanol has been presented. The conceptual design of the reactive separation process is based on the element concept where the reactive driving force approach is employed. To validate the proposed design, steady state simulations using ASPEN PLUS® software package were accomplished, and a sensitivity analysis was done to establish the operating conditions of the process. The analysed parameters were as follows: i) the operating pressure and ii) the reflux ratio. The results showed that a new energy-efficient design with minimal energy requirements may be considered a viable technological alternative for ethanol synthesis. Also, this reaction-separation process allows to satisfy the design and operating constrains. This is, a novel reactive distillation process capable to increase the purity of the ethanol from a dilute solution, i.e., up to 30% ethanol in water under optimal operating conditions.