Thermodynamic analysis of the driving force approach: Reactive systems

Abstract

A thermodynamic analysis of the driving force based approach for design of reactive systems has been performed. The thermodynamic analysis is based on the element concept for the solution of the chemical and phase equilibrium. Through the thermodynamic analysis, the fundamental relationships between the element reactive driving force and the energy involved in achieving a desired reactive separation, are highlighted. In this work, the explicit relationships of the element reactive driving force with the heat of vaporization and the reaction enthalpies of the reacting mixture are shown. Validation of the thermodynamic analysis is carried out considering three binary element reactive systems: (i) the isomerization of n-butane reaction, (ii) the dimerization of propylene reaction, both reactive systems consider an inert component, and (iii) the reactive system representing the MTBE production reaction.