(595c) Design and Control of Ternary Reactive Distillation Columns with and without Inerts

Many types of reactive distillation columns have been studied in the literature. Most papers dealing with ideal systems consider the quaternary ideal two-reactant, two-product chemistry A+B=C+D.This paper explores the ideal ternary system with the chemistry A+B=C. Two cases are considered. In the first there are only three components. In the second the feed contains another inert component that does not participate in the reaction but has a major impact on the structure of the column and the vapor-liquid phase equilibrium. The effects of a number of kinetic and design parameters are explored. Significant differences are observed between the system without inerts and that with inerts.

Dynamic control of these systems is also investigated. The paper demonstrates that the control structures for these two systems are also quite different. Of particular importance is the finding that a two-temperature control structure provides effective control for the ternary system without inerts, but this structure does not work when inerts are present, indicating that a direct composition measurement of a column internal composition is required for effective control.