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Enhancing the Separation Efficiency in Acetic Acid Manufacturing by Methanol Carbonylation
Author(s) -
Dimian Alexandre C.,
Kiss Anton A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.202100230
Subject(s) - acetic acid , methanol , gas compressor , distillation , chemistry , catalysis , process engineering , reactive distillation , homogeneous , process integration , downstream processing , chemical engineering , chromatography , organic chemistry , engineering , thermodynamics , mechanical engineering , physics
Acetic acid is an essential chemical used in the production of many chemical products. Using methanol as bio‐building block, the acetic acid produced may be incorporated in bio‐based products. This study deals with enhancing the efficiency of separations in a process using a homogeneous catalyst, which is the most applied today industrially. Several configurations for downstream processing by distillation are investigated using effective combinations of fully thermally coupled columns, namely, dividing‐wall columns, alone or combined with heat pumps. The results indicate that the three‐column direct sequence may be effectively replaced by a two‐column sequence. Overall, the total annual cost is reduced by 34 %. The cost of compressor may be paid back in 1.5 years by the saved energy. Low energy intensity is achieved by tight integration with the reaction section.