Experimental investigation of start-up dynamics for various heating effects in batch reactive distillation to produce methyl acetate

Abstract

Abstract In this article the experimental results related to various wall heating conditions for a batch reactive distillation (BRD) are presented. A solid catalyzed esterification reaction between acetic acid and methanol to produce methyl acetate and water is chosen as the system for study. An experimental apparatus with reboiler and a rectification column along with top total condenser is used. As a novelty the rectification column is provided a jacket through which hot water can be circulated. The dynamics of temperature in the reboiler, the time for onset of distillate and the purity of product in the distillate were recorded. The wall temperature of rectification column is varied to study its effect. Another two sets of conditions with air filled jacket and insulated conditions were also studied. The reboiler is supplied a constant heat input rate at three different values. An objective function pertaining to high throughput of the desired product in distillate is defined to select the most suitable option among all the above mentioned operating conditions.