Simulation and optimization of reactive distillation for the production of ethyl acetate using [BMIM]HSO4 as catalyst

Abstract

This study explicates the preparation of ethyl acetate (EtOAc) via esterification of acetic acid and ethanol over brønsted acid ionic liquid (1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate, [BMIM]HSO4) as catalyst. The ideal homogeneous (IH) and non-ideal homogeneous (NIH) models were applied to describe reaction kinetics and the model parameters were obtained by data fitting, where NIH model showed higher accuracy and confirmed the higher catalytic efficiency of [BMIM]HSO4 than Amberlyst 15. A novel reactive distillation (RD) flow-sheet for EtOAc production using [BMIM]HSO4 was designed and performed by Aspen Plus, in which the obtained reaction kinetic equations were formulated in the setting module of RADFRAC block. The optimal conditions of catalyst dosage, plate number, feed position, feed molar ratio, liquid holdup and reflux ratio for RD process were obtained by taking the EtOAc concentration in product stream as objective function and was found with maximum content of 90.44wt.% with less than 3 % deviation. Keeping the high yield and simple mechanization, this approach can provide a feasible RD process design for EtOAc production using [BMIM]HSO4 as high-activity catalyst and can be envisaged as an alternative route for the industrial production of EtOAc.