Comparison of the Startup of Reactive Distillation in Packed and Tray Towers

摘要

The startup of distillation towers and in particular reactive distillation (RD) towers is a very complex, time and energy consuming process. To analyze and optimize this process, a dynamic simulation model is developed which takes into account the changes of thermodynamic and hydraulic variables during the startup starting from a cold and empty state. Different aspects in modeling as well as in managing of the startup process for packed and tray towers are discussed and special startup strategies are analyzed considering as an example the methyl acetate synthesis in towers with different internals. Experimental validation results are presented showing good agreement between the measured and simulated temperature profiles during the whole startup.