Process integration for simulated moving bed reactor for the production of glycol ether acetate

Abstract

This work designs and optimizes a simulated moving bed reactor (SMBR) within an overall process that includes two downstream units. The extract and raffinate streams are processed to improve product purity, and recycle streams leaving the downstream units are returned to the SMBR to reduce solvent consumption. Three different operating schemes are evaluated–the standard, limited superstructure, and full superstructure configuration.The proposed process flowsheet is optimized in a deterministic, nonlinear dynamic optimization scheme. The productivity of the target product, propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PMA), is maximized while the minimum conversion is maintained between 70% and 99%, and the ratio of excess (solvent) reactant to the product is from 1.2 to 8. In addition to the standard configuration of SMBR, we found novel operating schemes through a superstructure formulation which allows feeding the recycle stream from downstream separation units. This work offers a realistic understanding of SMBR for implementation in an overall process flowsheet for industrial applications.