(445b) Coupled Permsmbr - Process Design and Development for 1,1-Dibutoxyethane Production
AIChE Annual Meeting
2013
2013 AIChE Annual Meeting
Process Development Division
Process Intensification by Process Integration
Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - 8:51am to 9:12am
The PermSMBR is an innovative technology that consists in the integration of permselective membranes with the Simulated Moving Bed Reactor (SMBR)1. It was already evaluated for the production of oxygenated compounds, like acetals (1,1-diethoxyethane and 1,1-dibutoxyethane) and a green solvent (ethyl lactate). The PermSMBR shows a productivity enhancement accompanied by a significant reduction on the solvent consumption when compared with other intensified technologies, as reactive distillation and/or SMBR, proving PermSMBR high potential2-3. However, in those studies an integrated PermSMBR was considered, which comprises a set of tubular membranes packed with a solid that acts as catalyst and selective adsorbent to water (by-product). In this work, a new configuration is presented, the coupled PermSMBR, where the tubular membranes are located after fixed-bed columns packed with the catalyst/adsorbent. By this way the membranes will not be in contact with the solid, which from an industrial point of view will be easier to implement since the process of membranes installation/replacement and clean-up is simpler. The 1,1-dibutoxyethane production is used, as an example, and each set-up features are discussed. For the studied conditions, the highest productivity achieved using the coupled PermSMBR is 73.44 KgDBE.Lresin-1.day-1 with a desorbent consumption of 0.89 Ln-Butanol /KgDBE. The results obtained indicate the coupled PermSMBR suitability for the sustainable 1,1-dibutoxyethane production.
References:
(1) Silva, V. M. T. M.; Pereira, C. S. M.; Rodrigues, A. E. Simulated Moving Bed Membrane Reactor, new hybrid separation process and used thereof. PT Patent 104496; WO Patent 2010/116335, 2009.
(2) Silva, V. M. T. M.; Pereira, C. S. M.; Rodrigues, A. E. PermSMBR—A new hybrid technology: Application on green solvent and biofuel production. AIChE Journal 2010, 57, 1840-1851.
(3) Pereira, C. S. M.; Silva, V. M. T. M.; Rodrigues, A. E. Green Fuel Production Using the PermSMBR Technology. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2011, 51, 8928–8938.
Acknowledgement: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 241718, EuroBioRef.