(463h) Thermodynamic Analysis of the Driving Force Approach: Reactive and Non-Reactive Systems

One of the major contributions to separation process synthesis and design from Professor Rafiqul Gani is the driving force approach concept (Gani and Bek-Pedersen, 2000). The simplicity and reliability of the approach has been thoroughly exploited for the synthesis and design of many reactive or non-reactive separation processes. In the present work, a thermodynamic analysis of the driving force approach for reactive systems is presented. The thermodynamic analysis is based on the element concept for the solution of the chemical and phase equilibrium proposed by Gani and Perez-Cisneros (1997). Through the thermodynamic analysis, the fundamental relationships between the element reactive driving force and the energy involved in the reactive separation problem are revealed. The explicit relationship of the element reactive driving force with the heat of vaporization and the reaction enthalpies of the reacting mixture is shown. Validation of the thermodynamic analysis is carried out considering three binary element reactive systems: i) an ideal isomerization of n-butane reaction, ii) an ideal dimerization of propylene reaction, both reactive systems consider an inert component, and iii) a non-ideal reactive system representing the MTBE production reaction.