Abstract
This paper presents the techno-economics insights of projects of diethyl carbonate (DEC) production from ethanol and CO2 in which the raw materials are proposed to be obtained from existing plants such as the bioethanol industry. The complete DEC plant was simulated using Aspen Plus®. The exothermic reaction system was modeled in multitubular PFR with CeO2 catalyst and dehydrating agent 2-cyanopyridine (2-CP), achieving an EtOH conversion of 86.04 % and a yield of DEC of 83.34 %. Three different configurations were evaluated in the DEC separation stage aiming to intensify the plant with the use of a sidestream distillation column and reactive distillation column. The integration of the DEC plant with ethanol and sugar biorefineries, offering lower-cost acquisition of raw materials, is the key to making the process economically profitable. The process has the potential to capture 0.088–0.204 kg CO2/kg DEC, demonstrating a promising pathway to extend the life cycle of renewable carbon.
Published Version
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