Reactive separation

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The main objective of the proposed research is to develop new processes for the chemical and petroleum industries by combining reaction with separation in a catalytic distillation column. The processes under consideration require lower capital investment and are more energy efficient, thus resulting in lower greenhouse and pollutant emissions. Continuous removal of products by distillation eliminates the constraints imposed by the equilibrium of the reaction. Overall energy consumption is also reduced due to the fact that heat of reaction can supply energy that is required for distillation. The two petro-chemical processes to be studied are: (1) hydration of olefins; and (2) oxidative etherification of alcohol. **For process (1), two specific processes will be studied: (a) production of isopropanol by hydration of propylene and (b) drying of ethanol by introducing isobutylene to react with water which is present in the ethanol feed stocks from fermentation of biomaterials. **For process (2), the study will focus on the oxidative etherification in a catalytic distillation column by reacting methanol with propylene oxide to produce propylene glycol methyl ether. The ether is a low toxicity, environmentally friendly high-performance industrial solvent used in paints, coatings, cleaners etc. The oxidative etherification is a highly exothermic reaction. The energy saving by use of catalytic distillation to remove heat of reaction is in excess of 30% as compared with the conventional process design. My research group has recently patented a catalytic distillation process for the production of propylene oxide, which will be used as the reagent for the etherification. **The applicant proposes to conduct fundamental study of mass transfer and catalysis in a catalytic distillation column, catalyst preparation and characterization, and kinetics and mechanism for each reaction. The catalytic distillation column already exists in my lab and is available for future use. Only minor equipment modifications are needed for the proposed studies. Economic assessment based on the kinetic data, ASPEN Plus simulation results and our patented column internal design can then be carried out for those processes showing promising results. Once patent protection is obtained, funding from industry will be sought to support pilot plant studies.