Design and control of glycerol-tert-butyl alcohol etherification process.
Design, economics, and plantwide control of a glycerol-tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) etherification plant are presented. The reaction takes place in liquid phase, in a plug flow reactor, using Amberlyst 15 as a catalyst. The products' separation is achieved by two distillation columns where high-purity ethers are obtained and a section involving extractive distillation with 1,4-butanediol as solvent, which separates TBA from the TBA/water azeotrope. Details of design performed in AspenPlus and an economic evaluation of the process are given. Three plantwide control structures are examined using a mass balance model of the plant. The preferred control structure fixes the fresh glycerol flow rate and the ratio glycerol + monoether : TBA at reactor-inlet. The stability and robustness in the operation are checked by rigorous dynamic simulation in AspenDynamics.
Department of Chemical Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Street Gh. Polizu 1-7, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
Elena
E
Vlad
Costin Sorin
CS
Bildea
Grigore
G
Bozga
D000465:Algorithms; D057168:Distillation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004987:Ethers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005990:Glycerol / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000737:chemistry; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D044366:Transition Temperature; D020002:tert-Butyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*
D004987:Ethers; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D020002:tert-Butyl Alcohol; D005990:Glycerol