Conceptual design of an extractive distillation process for the separation of azeotropic mixture of n-butanol-isobutanol-water

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2018.05.003

Chin.J.Chem.Eng. ›› 2018, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (10): 2040-2047.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2018.05.003

• Separation Science and Engineering • Previous Articles Next Articles

Conceptual design of an extractive distillation process for the separation of azeotropic mixture of n-butanol-isobutanol-water

Hengjun Gai, Kaiqiang Lin, Yirong Feng, Meng Xiao, Kai Guo, Hongbing Song

College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China

Received:2017-11-20 Revised:2018-05-02 Online:2018-11-14 Published:2018-10-28
Contact: Hongbing Song,E-mail address:cehbsong@qust.edu.cn
Supported by:
Supported by the National Key Technology Support Program of China (2014BAC10B01), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21406123), and the Key Scientific and Technological Project of Shanxi Province (MH2014-10).

Conceptual design of an extractive distillation process for the separation of azeotropic mixture of n-butanol-isobutanol-water

Hengjun Gai, Kaiqiang Lin, Yirong Feng, Meng Xiao, Kai Guo, Hongbing Song

College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China

通讯作者: Hongbing Song,E-mail address:cehbsong@qust.edu.cn
基金资助:
Supported by the National Key Technology Support Program of China (2014BAC10B01), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21406123), and the Key Scientific and Technological Project of Shanxi Province (MH2014-10).

Abstract

Abstract: In many chemical processes, large amounts of wastewater containing butanol and isobutanol are produced. Given that n-butanol-isobutanol-water can form triple azeotrope, high-purity butanol cannot be recovered from the wastewater by ordinary distillation. To economically and effectively recover butanol from this kind of wastewater, 1,4-butanediol is selected as an extractant to break the formation of the azeotropes, and a doubleeffect extractive distillation process is proposed. The conceptual design of the proposed process is accomplished based on process simulation. With the proposed process, the purity of recovered butanol and water is greater than 99.99 wt%. In comparison with the conventional azeotropic distillation process, economic analysis shows that the operating cost of the proposed process is lower:when the capacity of wastewater treatment is 100 t·h^-1, the total operating cost decreases by 5.385×10⁶ USD per year, and the total annual cost of the new process decreases by 5.249×10⁶ USD per year. In addition, in the extractive distillation system, variable effects on separation purities and cost are more complex than those in the ordinary distillation system. The method and steps to optimize the key variables of the extractive distillation system are also discussed in this paper and can provide reference for similar studies.

Key words: Extractive distillation, Triple azeotropic system, Conceptual design, Butanol dehydration

摘要： In many chemical processes, large amounts of wastewater containing butanol and isobutanol are produced. Given that n-butanol-isobutanol-water can form triple azeotrope, high-purity butanol cannot be recovered from the wastewater by ordinary distillation. To economically and effectively recover butanol from this kind of wastewater, 1,4-butanediol is selected as an extractant to break the formation of the azeotropes, and a doubleeffect extractive distillation process is proposed. The conceptual design of the proposed process is accomplished based on process simulation. With the proposed process, the purity of recovered butanol and water is greater than 99.99 wt%. In comparison with the conventional azeotropic distillation process, economic analysis shows that the operating cost of the proposed process is lower:when the capacity of wastewater treatment is 100 t·h^-1, the total operating cost decreases by 5.385×10⁶ USD per year, and the total annual cost of the new process decreases by 5.249×10⁶ USD per year. In addition, in the extractive distillation system, variable effects on separation purities and cost are more complex than those in the ordinary distillation system. The method and steps to optimize the key variables of the extractive distillation system are also discussed in this paper and can provide reference for similar studies.

关键词: Extractive distillation, Triple azeotropic system, Conceptual design, Butanol dehydration

Hengjun Gai, Kaiqiang Lin, Yirong Feng, Meng Xiao, Kai Guo, Hongbing Song. Conceptual design of an extractive distillation process for the separation of azeotropic mixture of n-butanol-isobutanol-water[J]. Chin.J.Chem.Eng., 2018, 26(10): 2040-2047.

References

[1] L. Wang, H. Ma, Y. Chen, F. Li, Comprehensive application of butanol and octanol Raffinates, Petrochem. Technol. (2006) 782-784.

[2] C. Xing, Z. Hu, Optimization of butyl alcohol extraction process by azeotropic distillation technology and its applications, Chem. Ind. Eng. Prog. (China) (2006) 825-828.

[3] Q. Ye, y. Xi, H. Hu, Simulation and optimization of recovering n-butanol by heterogeneous azeotropic distillation, Chem. Ind. Eng. (2012) 46-50.

[4] S.Y. Lee, J.H. Park, S.H. Jang, L.K. Nielsen, J. Kim, K.S. Jung, Fermentative butanol production by clostridia, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 101(2008) 209-228.

[5] V.H.G. Diaz, G.O. Tost, Ethanol and isobutanol dehydration by heat-integrated distillation, Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif. 108(2016) 117-124.

[6] A. Kujawska, J. Kujawski, M. Bryjak, W. Kujawski, ABE fermentation products recovery methods-A review, Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 48(2015) 648-661.

[7] Y. Tang, Z. Li, Y. Li, Salting effect in partially miscible systems of n-butanol water and butanone water 2. An extended Setschenow equation and its application, Fluid Phase Equilib. 105(1995) 241-258.

[8] W.L. Luyben, I.L. Chien, Design and Control of Distillation Systems for Separating Azeotropes, 2010.

[9] W. Shen, L. Dong, S.A. Wei, J. Li, H. Benyounes, X. You, V. Gerbaud, Systematic design of an extractive distillation for maximum-boiling azeotropes with heavy entrainers, AIChE J. 61(2015) 3898-3910.

[10] W. Shen, H. Benyounes, V. Gerbaud, Extension of thermodynamic insights on batch extractive distillation to continuous operation. 1. Azeotropic mixtures with a heavy entrainer, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 52(2013) 4606-4622.

[11] W.F. Shen, V. Gerbaud, Extension of thermodynamic insights on batch extractive distillation to continuous operation. 2. Azeotropic mixtures with a light entrainer, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 52(2013) 4623-4637.

[12] W. Shen, H. Benyounes, V. Gerbaud, Extractive distillation:Recent advances in operation strategies, Rev. Chem. Eng. 31(2015) 13-26.

[13] W.L. Luyben, Control of the heterogeneous azeotropic n-butanol/water distillation system, Energy Fuel 22(2008) 4249-4258.

[14] E. Díez, P. Langston, G. Ovejero, M.D. Romero, Economic feasibility of heat pumps in distillation to reduce energy use, Appl. Therm. Eng. 29(2009) 1216-1223.

[15] W. Zhou, X. Huang, Simulation and calculation of extractive distillation process of Iso-butanol-water system using Aspen Plus, Comput. Appl. Chem. 28(2011) 1294-1298.

[16] C. Kou, Y. Xu, F. Liu, Prediction of solvent selection for extractive distillation of water-isobutanol, Shandong Coal Society 2006 Annual Conference Proceedings 2006, pp. 139-140.

[17] X. Gao, J. Chen, Z. Ma, L. Yang, Simulation and optimization of distillation processes for separating a close-boiling mixture of n-butanol and Isobutanol, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 53(2014) 14440-14445.

[18] Lumin, Yuliang, Jian Zhai, Lanyi, Yuanyu Tian, Design and control of self-heat recuperative distillation process for separation of close-boiling mixtures:n-butanol and iso-butanol, China Pet. Process. Petrochem. Technol. 17(2015) 111-120.

[19] P. Bastidas, J. Parra, I. Gil, G. Rodríguez, Alcohol distillation plant simulation:thermal and hydraulic studies, Procedia Eng. 42(2012) 80-89.

[20] M.C. Ferreira, A.J.A. Meirelles, E.A.C. Batista, Study of the fusel oil distillation process, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 52(2013) 2336-2351.

[21] J.R. Knight, M.F. Doherty, Optimal design and synthesis of homogeneous azeotropic distillation sequences, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 28(1989) 564-572.

[22] J.P. Knapp, M.F. Doherty, Minimum entrainer flows for extractive distillation:A bifurcation theoretic approach, AIChE J. 40(1994) 243-268.

[23] G. Li, P. Bai, New operation strategy for separation of ethanol-water by extractive distillation, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 51(2012) 2723-2729.

[24] A. Yang, L.P. Lv, W.F. Shen, L.C. Dong, J. Li, X. Xiao, Optimal design and effective control of the tent-amyl methyl ether production process using an integrated reactive dividing wall and pressure swing columns, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 56(2017) 14565-14581.

[25] X. You, G.U. Jinglian, C. Peng, W. Shen, H. Liu, Improved design and optimization for separating azeotropes with heavy component as distillate through energy-saving extractive distillation by varying pressure, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 56(2017) 9156-9166.

[26] W.L. Luyben, Distillation Design and Control Using Aspen Simulation, Vol. 87, 2006312.

[27] MichaelF Doherty, Conceptual Design of Distillation Systems, McGraw-Hill, 2001.

[28] S.A., I. Chien, Design and control of an isopropyl alcohol dehydration process via extractive distillation using dimethyl sulfoxide as an entrainer, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 47(2008) 189-195.

Conceptual design of an extractive distillation process for the separation of azeotropic mixture of n-butanol-isobutanol-water

Conceptual design of an extractive distillation process for the separation of azeotropic mixture of n-butanol-isobutanol-water

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments

[1]	Qinggang Xu, Yasen Dai, Qing Zhao, Zhengrun Chen, Peizhe Cui, Zhaoyou Zhu, Yinglong Wang, Jun Gao, Yixin Ma. Economy, environmental assessment and energy conservation for separation of isopropanol/diisopropyl ether/water multi-azeotropes via extractive distillation coupled pervaporation process [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2023, 54(2): 353-363.
[2]	Xinqiang You, Kai Zhao, Ling Li, Ting Qiu. Ionic liquids as entrainer in extractive distillation for effectively separating 1-propanol–water azeotropic mixture [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2022, 49(9): 224-233.
[3]	Song Hu, Jinlong Li, Qihua Wang, Weisheng Yang. Design and optimization of an integrated process for the purification of propylene oxide and the separation of propylene glycol by-product [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2022, 45(5): 111-120.
[4]	Min Li, Yue Cui, Xiaojing Shi, Zhishan Zhang, Xiaoxiao Zhao, Xiuyu Zhu, Jun Gao. Simulated annealing-based optimal design of energy efficient ternary extractive dividing wall distillation process for separating benzene-isopropanol-water mixtures [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2021, 33(5): 203-210.
[5]	Hengjun Gai, Shuo Chen, Kaiqiang Lin, Xiaowei Zhang, Chun Wang, Meng Xiao, Tingting Huang, Hongbing Song. Conceptual design of energy-saving stripping process for industrial sour water [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2020, 28(5): 1277-1284.
[6]	Shirui Sun, Liping Lü, Ao Yang, Shun'an Wei, Weifeng Shen. Extractive distillation: Advances in conceptual design, solvent selection, and separation strategies [J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2019, 27(6): 1247-1256.
[7]	Hui Jia, Huixin Wang, Kang Ma, Mengxiao Yu, Zhaoyou Zhu, Yinglong Wang. Effect of thermodynamic parameters on prediction of phase behavior and process design of extractive distillation [J]. Chin.J.Chem.Eng., 2018, 26(5): 993-1002.
[8]	Hao Sun, Saijian Shi, Zhenggui Gu. Isomerization of alkyl naphthalene and refining of 2-methylnaphthalene [J]. , 2017, 25(2): 149-152.
[9]	Huajun Wang, Lei Pang, Chao Yang, Yihua Liu. Production of glycerol carbonate via reactive distillation and extractive distillation: An experimental study [J]. , 2015, 23(9): 1469-1474.
[10]	CAI Jialin, CUI Xianbao, YANG Zhicai. Simulation for Transesterification of Methyl Acetate and n-Butanol in a Reactive and Extractive Distillation Column Using Ionic Liquids as Entrainer and Catalyst [J]. , 2011, 19(5): 754-762.
[11]	Andreas Harwardt, Korbinian Kraemer, Bettina Rüngeler, Wolfgang Marquardt. Conceptual Design of a Butyl-levulinate Reactive Distillation Process by Incremental Refinement [J]. , 2011, 19(3): 371-379.
[12]	SONG Yiming, SONG Jinrong, GONG Ming, CAO Bin, YANG Yanhong, MA Xiaoxun. Modeling of Mass Transfer in Nonideal Multicomponent Mixture with Maxwell-Stefan Approach [J]. , 2010, 18(3): 362-371.
[13]	FANG Jing, LI Chunli, WANG Honghai, SUN Lijun. A Quasi-steady-state Model for Numerical Simulation of Batch Extractive Distillation [J]. , 2010, 18(1): 43-47.
[14]	ZHANG Jianyu, HU Aixi, WANG Yu, XIAO Xuhui, GUO Jiabin, LUO Xianfu. The Separation of Catechol from Carbofuran Phenol by Extractive Distillation [J]. , 2009, 17(1): 42-46.
[15]	YANG Xiaojian, YIN Xuan, OUYANG Pingkai. Simulation of 1, 3-Butadiene Production Process by Dimethylfomamide Extractive Distillation [J]. , 2009, 17(1): 27-35.