JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
188, RAJA S.C. MALLICK ROAD,
KOLKATA 700032
HEAT INTEGRATED REACTIVE DISTILLATION
FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMICAL PROCESS

NAME – SYED FAHIM AHAMAD

ROLL NO. 00180301170
EXAMINATION ROLL – CHE216005
REGISTRATION NUMBER – 143897 OF 2018-19

UNDER GUIDANCE OF

DR PARAMA GHOSHAL

BACHELOR OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY
Jadavpur, Kolkata- 700032.
JUNE 2021
Declaration of Originality and Compliance
of Academic Ethics

I hereby declare that this project report contains literature

survey and original research work by the undersigned
candidate, as part of his “Bachelor of Chemical Engineering”
studies.
All information in this document have been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical
conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and
conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and
results that are not original to research work.

Name :- SYED FAHIM AHAMAD

Examination roll no :- CHE216005
Roll no :- 001810301170
Project title:- HEAT INTEGRATED REACTIVE DISTILLATION OF
SUSTAINABLE CHEMICAL PROCESSES.

SYED FAHIM AHAMAD

BChE 3rd Yr, A2

Date – 21/6/2021
 CERTIFICATION
To whom it may concern

This is to certify that SYED FAHIM AHAMAD, third year

student of
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering of Department of Chemical
Engineering, Jadavpur University (Exam Roll No:CHE216005;
Roll No:001810301170; Registration No: 143897 of 2018-
2019),
has completed the Project work titled “HEAT INTEGRATED
REACTIVE DISTILLATION FOR SUSTAINABLE CHEMICAL
PROCESSES ” under the
guidance of DR. PARAMA GHOSHAL in the stipulated time
during her Under Graduation Curriculum. This work has not
been reported earlier anywhere and can be approved for
submission in partial fulfilment of the course work.

------------------------ ------------------- -------

DR. PARAMA GHOSHAL

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
CHEMICAL ENGGINEERING DEPARTMENT
JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY, KOL-32.

INTRODUCTION
Chemical engineering and process technology nowadays is process
intensification [1]. One of the most well-known examples of this is
Reactive Distillation (RD).
Commercially, process intensification has been exploited. Using a
combination of combining chemical reaction and distillation into a
single process. In some chemical reaction systems, RD has economic
advantages.
Reactive distillation (RD) is one of the most successful process
intensification technologies, having been developed since the early
1920s and already having a significant positive impact in the
chemical process industries. It also has a lot of potential for process
modularization.
RD is based on the synergy that occurs when catalytic reactions
and distillation are combined into a single unit. However, because
both activities take occur in the same unit at the same time, the
operational parameters for reaction and distillation [2] must be
compatible. The qualities of the components (e.g. boiling
temperatures), catalytic activity, and selectivity usually limit this
overlap and the design of the equipment, to name a few.
As a result, the area in which RD is truly viable is usually limited,
resulting in a trade-off as indicated in Figure below. [3]. However,
other parameters that have a role (e.g., mass transfer, residence
duration, reaction rate) that can be changed by utilising alternative
equipment or operating modes are not depicted in this diagram.
Novel RD technologies that combine the principles of reactive
distillation with other intensified distillation technologies, leading to
new RD processes such as:
• Reactive dividing-wall columns (R-DWC)
• Reactive cyclic distillation (R-CyDist)
• Reactive (internally) heat integrated distillation column (R-HIDiC)
• Reactive HiGee distillation (R-HiGee)
A comparison with classic RD processes and a pro/con analysis is
made, considering process synthesis and
design, controllability and operability, energy efficiency, key benefits
and limitations, and the potential for practical adoption of these
technologies by the CPI. We also pinpoint the most promising of
these RD technologies, as well as the research challenges that lie
ahead for adoption industrially.
Closely related to sustainable design is process intensification (PI),
which is aiming to develop or improve processes of higher flexibility,
reduced environ-mental impact, improved safety, and higher energy
efficiency (Stankiewicz and Moulijn, 2000). A well-known example of
PI is the concept of reactive distillation (RD), where separation and
reaction are combined into one compact unit operation. As reactants
are transformed into products, the product is immediately purified
by means of distillation. This fast product removal is advantageous
for the conversion, as the chemical equilibrium is shifted to the right
side of the reaction. An illustrating example is the commercialization
of the Eastman Chemical Methyl Acetate Process that was
traditionally operated in a reactor and a separation train
of nine distillation units. With the aid of RD, the process could be
intensified; where a single RD unit could generate the same product
quality and capacity (Krishna, 2002).RD has become a mature
technology and in these days new applications are found in the
specialty chemicals. RD is proven useful for biofuel production
(Mahfud et al., 2007), but also for fatty-acid production (de Jong et
al., 2009) and polyester production (Shah et al., 2009). But, RD
processes are difficult to design and control, as reaction and
separation have complicated interactions.
Current energy production (electricity and heat) is still mostly
based on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), which has a
significant environmental impact. By most metrics (e.g., air and
water pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss,
water and land use, global warming emissions, etc. ), fossil fuels are
unquestionably worse than renewable energy sources. The chemical
industry consumes over a third of all energy consumed by all
industrial sectors [4]. Figure 1 depicts a breakdown of industrial
energy consumption, with the bulk chemicals sector being the
greatest energy consumer. It also depicts worldwide greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions by economic sector. To provide a complete picture
of GHG emissions, emissions from electricity and heat production
must be included.
distillation that is reactive One of the products is regularly removed.
As a result, retrograde reaction is stifled. This favours the forward
reaction, resulting in a more efficient and high-conversion process.
Several researchers have looked into the possibilities of using the
reactive distillation process with various reactant combinations. This
review paper contains investigation on reactive distillation for
various reactions namely esterification, transesterification,
hydrolysis, isomerization, alkylation, aldol condensation and
cracking.
 REFERENCE
[1] A. Stankiewicz, Reactive separation for process intensification: an industrial
perspective, Chem. Eng. Process. 42 (2003) 137.

[2] Schembecker, G.; Tlatlik, S.; Process synthesis for reactive separations
Chem. Eng. Process., 2003, 42,
179-189.
(8) Li, H.

[3] Wierschem, M.; Gorak, A.; Reactive distillation, Elsevier Ref. Module Chem.
Mol. Sci. Chem. Eng., 2018,
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409547-2.14066-1

[4] US Energy Information Administration. Annual energy Outlook 2018 with

projections to 2050. 6 February 2018. Available online, www.eia.gov/aeo.
 REVIEW

YEAR AUTHOR TITLE SALIENT

POINT
2020 Anton A. Kiss , Rethinking The need for
Robin Smith energy use in greater
distillation sustainability for
processes for a the production of
more sustainable fuels and
chemical industry chemicals has
spurred
significant
research to
rethink energy
use in the
chemical
industry, and
eventually
substitute fossil
fuel sources by
renewable
sources.
Nowadays, the
chemical industry
is responsible for
about one third
of the total en-
ergy used - and
the associated
CO2 emissions -
in the industrial
sector. Among
the energy
intensive
operations,
distillation alone
is responsible for
about 40% of the
 energy used in
the chemical
industry, but
there is clearly
much room for
improvement.
2018 Anton A. Kiss, Taking Reactive Novel reactive
Megan Jobson Distillation to the distillation
Next Level of technologies that
Process combine the
Intensification. principles of RD
with other
intensified
distillation
technologies can
lead to promising
new RD
processes for
resource-,
energy- and
capital-efficient
production
of chemicals.
2014 Xin Gao Heat integrated The process of
,Fangzhou Wang , reactive reactive
Hong Li, Xibgang distillation distillation using
Li process for TAME r-PSTC
synthesis technology for
TAME synthesis
from 2M1B and
2M2B and
methanol was
Described
2018 Kiss A.A ,Jobson Reactive The potential
M, Gao X. distillation: benefit offered
stepping up to by these novel
the next level of intensified
process technologies is
intensification significant and
motivates
 accelerated
research efforts,
especially
experimental and
pilot-scale
studies, as well as
advanced
dynamic and/or
rate-based
modeling
techniques and
methodologies to
optimize process
design and
control.
2018 Anton A. Kiss Novel Catalytic Despite the
Reactive relatively
Distillation complex design,
Process for a control and
Sustainable equip-
Chemical ment, RD
Industry. remains one of
the best process
intensification
technologies that
fulfills all the
principles of
green engineer-
ing: design for
separation,
maximize
efficiency, use
renew-
able vs depleting
sources, prevent
instead of treat,
meet need
and minimize
excess, integrate
local material and
 energy
flows, output-
pulled vs input-
pushed, and
design for a com-
mercial afterlife.
.