Mixed-integer nonlinear programming optimization of reactive distillation processes

The paper presents a conceptual method for the design of optimized processes of reactive distillation. The first part of the paper deals with the thermodynamic fundamentals of reactive distillation. Their knowledge is an indispensable prerequisite for the design of an appropriate superstructure for a given system. The second part outlines the strategy for the development of optimized processes by mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) on the basis of this superstructure. The objective function applied is the annualized total costs that contain both the investment and the operating costs. In the third part, finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by two important examples of industrial reactive distillation processes, that is, the synthesis of methyl tent-butyl ether and of methylacetate.