Conceptual design of the eastman organic wastewater treatment process

The organic wastewater produced in Eastman process is composed of a large quantity of organics with approximate 60,000 mg/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD). With a flow rate of about 1,011 kg/h, this organic rich wastewater will contaminate environment heavily if discharged without any treatment. This paper developed one “waste control by waste” scheme to treat this wastewater by simulation and experiment approaches. First, extraction equilibrium and reaction kinetics of TXIB are investigated through experiments with key parameters estimated. Second, an extraction scheme using an own synthesized ester (2,2,4- trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol- di-isobutyrate, TXIB) as extractant is selected since it can avoid the solvent recovery problem. The scheme is simulated and evaluated with ASPEN PLUS software. Finally, the optimum designing scheme of Eastman wastewater treatment process is determined with necessary parameters obtained from the experiment. A plantwide control structure is also developed, and its effectiveness in the face of large disturbances is demonstrated by dynamic simulation.