Reactive Pressure-Swing Distillation toward Sustainable Process of Novel Continuous Ultra-High-Purity Electronic-Grade Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether Acetate Manufacture

Abstract

Ultra-high-purity propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) is required as an electronic-grade solvent to meet the stringent requirements of the rapidly developing semiconductor industry. The high demand for ultra-high-purity PGMEA has created the need for an efficient sustainable process for reducing energy consumption as well as satisfying tight waste management regulations. Here, a potentially sustainable and novel process for efficient continuous electronic-grade PGMEA manufacturing is presented. This study covers the extensive design of the novel PGMEA manufacturing process and its intensification from the conceptual level to rigorous simulation. The base case of the proposed PGMEA manufacturing process highlights the feasibility of renewable resource use, single ultra-high-purity PGMEA, nonrequirement of an additional solvent, less waste generation, and reduction in the usage of raw materials. The advanced intensification of PGMEA manufacturing by exploiting reactive pressure-swing distillation achieves total reduction in energy, cost, and CO₂ emissions of approximately 38.65, 35.05, and 36.25%, respectively, compared to the base case with rigorous optimal reactive distillation and pressure-swing distillation. Furthermore, heat integration of intensified case reduced the total heat utility by 47.27%.