| Popis: |
A mathematical model of a reactive distillation column, which takes into account chemical equilibrium, kinetics of liquid phase catalysed reaction and tray efficiency, has been developed. The case of two reactants A and B which form a light product C and a heavy one D is analysed. The main reaction of the process is strongly influenced by chemical equilibrium, thus D production is increased by feeding the light reagent A to the bottom of the column and stripping from the reacting liquid the light product C. The mathematical model consists of a system of algebraic equations that describe the mass and energy balances of the reacting and non-reacting trays of the column, coupled with the equations for vapor—liquid and chemical reaction equilibria and, for those components that are present at very low concentration in the liquid phase, the diffusion controlled mass—tranfer from the liquid to the vapor phase. The analysis is performed to enlighten the effects of various parameters and operating conditions, such as the number of the reacting trays and vapor feed flowrate, with aim of obtaining a guide for the minimisation of the energy consumption per unit heavy product D. |
