Optimization of reactive distillation column

Abstract

The reactive distillation combines both chemical reaction and multi component separation into a single unit. It is a unit operation in which chemical reaction and distillative separation are carried out simultaneously within a fractional distillation apparatus. Reactive distillation (RD), the combination of chemical reaction and distillation in a single unit operation, has proven to be advantageous over conventional process systems consisting of separate reactor and distillation units. A simulation model based on an extension of conventional distillation is proposed for the simulation step of the optimization problem. A reactive distillation column has been synthesized for the production of ethylene glycol for the given number of trays, feed distribution, liquid hold up in each plate, boil up fraction assuming ideal vapor liquid equilibrium relation. The objective function is the minimization of the total annualized cost and to evaluate the objective function, the operating conditions determined by the column simulation for each decision vector have to be calculated. The optimization of the objective function has been done by using genetic algorithm, and the results obtained are similar to those previously reported.