Design and optimization of batch reactive distillation processes with off-cut

Although off-cut is commonly applied in non-reactive batch distillation, reports of the application of off-cut for batch reactive distillation (BREAD) are quite rare. In order to systematically investigate the use of off-cut in BREAD systems, we develop the optimal BREAD process design with and without off-cut for a canonical set of hypothetical reaction systems and a process for the hydration of methyl lactate. The results show that using off-cut can significantly improve performance, especially when both reactants have boiling points between those of the two products (for a quaternary system), when the product purity specification is high, and when the reaction equilibrium constant is low. The optimal batch recipe including off-cut can also be understood based on the normal boiling point ranking of the reactants and products. (C) 2013 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.