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Enzymatic catalyzed reactive dividing wall column: Experiments and model validation
Author(s) -
Egger Torben,
Fieg Georg
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.15598
Subject(s) - reactive distillation , chemistry , column (typography) , catalysis , transesterification , scale up , enzyme catalysis , process (computing) , pilot plant , chromatography , process engineering , chemical engineering , biological system , organic chemistry , engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , physics , classical mechanics , connection (principal bundle) , operating system , biology
A novel process for the integration of chemical reaction and product separation is proposed: the enzymatic catalyzed reactive dividing wall column (eRDWC). The eRDWC combines the highly integrated and complex reactive dividing wall column (RDWC) with the use of a very selective enzymatic catalyst. This apparatus enables the simultaneous production and separation of up to 4 pure product streams. Comprehensive experiments with the reference system of a hexanol and butyl acetate transesterification in a DN 65 pilot scale column show the feasibility of stable steady state operations for this process. A rigorous model for the plant design of an eRDWC wall column is developed. The reaction kinetics and vapor‐liquid‐equilibria for the reference system are measured and implemented in the model. The model is successfully validated using the acquired experimental data. The application of enzymes in continuous reactive distillation processes has the potential to increase the selectivity at milder process conditions. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 63: 2198–2211, 2017