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Optimisation of Methyl Tert‐Butyl‐Ether (MTBE) Synthesis Processes using Aspen‐Plus
Author(s) -
Kim S.,
Douglas P.L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
developments in chemical engineering and mineral processing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1932-2143
pISSN - 0969-1855
DOI - 10.1002/apj.5500100108
Subject(s) - reactive distillation , distillation , extractive distillation , process engineering , effluent , isothermal process , fractionating column , chemistry , environmental science , thermodynamics , chromatography , engineering , environmental engineering , physics
Four different configurations for the production of MTBE were simulated and optimised using AspenPlus All process configurations were simulated and costed using AspenPlus The total annual cost (TAC), i e the sum of the individual annualised capital and operating costs, was calculated using models consistent with the conceptual design level Optimisation of each process configuration using AspenPlus simulation models was performed to determine the optimal design and operating variables The optimised configurations were compared on an economic basis It was possible to achieve iso‐butylene conversions in the range of 90 to 97% with a single conventional reactor followed by a distillation tower However, by using a reactive distillation column it was possible to achieve iso‐butylene conversions > 99% The optimal configuration was found to be a combination of an isothermal reactor followed by a catalytic distillation column The optimal TAC of this configuration was 22% lower than its nearest competitor, the catalytic distillation column It was found that the net MTBE reaction rate remains high until a substantial amount of iso‐butylene is converted, and then decreases quickly as the reacting liquid composition approaches the reaction equilibrium Therefore, it is not surprising that the best means of synthesis is to carry out the bulk of the initial conversion using a conventional reactor and to apply reactive distillation to the reactor effluent that is close to equilibrium at the exit temperature