• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.698-705
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• 2016

Butyl acetate is produced from acetic acid and butanol via an esterification reaction in reactive distillation (RD). The product, butyl acetate, has been used as an internal entrainer until now. In this case, butyl acetate and water are removed at the top of column and separated into two different phases (organic and aqueous phases) after condensation, and butyl acetate rich organic phase is refluxed into the RD. This method makes butyl acetate remain high at the reactive zone, leading to lower equilibrium conversion and product yield. We introduced an extraneous entrainer to solve the problem. The extraneous entrainer forms a new azeotrope with water. The proposed process provides lower concentration of butyl acetate in the reactive zone than conventional RD processes using an internal entrainer. We compared the yield and production rate of butyl acetate between the proposed and conventional processes through pilot-scale experiments. Experimental and simulation results showed that the proposed process was more efficient than conventional process using internal entrainer.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.341-352
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• 2017

Butyl acetate is produced from acetic acid and butanol via an esterification reaction in a reactive distillation column. Entrainer can be used for efficient removal of produced water from the reaction region, leading to significant improvement of the column performance. Batch reactive distillation has clear advantages over continuous one in terms of flexibility and adaptability in a small plant. We studied batch and semi-batch reactive distillation processes through process simulation and pilot-scale experiments. We investigated process configuration and type of entrainer for improvement of the column performance and suggested a novel cyclic operation strategy using the semi-batch reactive distillation column. The cyclic strategy was shown to give relatively high production rate and stable operation.