Reactive Dividing-Wall Columns - Defying Equilibrium Restrictions

Abstract

This work presents an integrated reactive-distillation design based on a dividing-wall column (DWC) applied to an industrial case study within AkzoNobel. Remarkably, it is among the first industrial applications of a reactive DWC reported in literature. The benefits of this novel integrated design are the ability to overcome VLE and chemical equilibrium limitations, as well as to separate the main product as high purity side-stream. To solve the problem of a production shift required by market demand changes, we propose an innovative integrated design that combines reaction and separations into one reactive DWC that allows significant savings in capital and operating costs – up to 35% and 15%, respectively. Two scenarios are analyzed and the results of the rigorous AspenPlus simulations are provided.