NOVEL DESIGN OF REACTIVE DISTILLATION WITH INCORPORATION OF MEMBRANE FOR TAEE SYNTHESIS Anshu K. Pandey 1 ,Chitrangda Singh 2 ,Vandana Sakhre 3 1,2,3 Department of Chemical Engg.,Madhav Institute of Technology & Science, Gwalior, India E-mail: 1 gb.anshupandey@gmail.com, 2 24chitrangdasingh@gmail.com, 3 vssakhre@gmail.com Abstract ID: PI-029 68thAnnualSessionofIndianInstituteofChemicalEngineers,27-30December|Guwahati,India CHEMCON 2015 "Chemical Engineering: From Laboratory To Industry" Abstract We describe a set of methods, calculations and modeling techniques that underline the design of reactive distillation columns. The model requires increasingly sophisticated datas. The approach is required for the production of tert- amyl ethyl ether (TAEE) using tert-amyl alcohol (TAA) and ethanol as reactants. The purpose of the study is to: (1) Maximize the production of TAEE (2) Minimize the capital expenditure. In this paper a novel design of reactive distillation column assisted with zeolite membrane in the reactive zone is proposed over the conventional reactive distillation for the synthesis of TAEE. Apart from addressing the above mentioned problems and their solutions, the study also incorporates a simulated model using the ASPEN PLUS software. For a better understanding, an optimization study is also incorporated. The study depicts that the proposed model gives high purity product and lesser energy requirements. The aim of this paper is to explore and exploit the potential applications of zeolite membrane reactors from laboratory scale to industrial. Keywords: Reactive distillation, tert-amyl ethyl ether, zeolite membrane, Aspen plus. 1 Introduction Tertiary ethers as oxygenated compounds have become important additives for enhancing the combustion efficiency of gasoline. Amongst the tertiary ether methyl-tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has been widely used and is produced in large scale, however it has been observed that MTBE may pollute underground water due to its high solubility. Other oxygenated compounds such as Tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) and Tertiary amyl ethyl ether (TAEE) are of much interest. TAEE is more propitious choice over TAME in environmental aspects as ethanol can be derived renewably from agricultural products. Most of the studies considered the TAEE production from isoamylenes (IA) and ethanol (EtOH) in reactive distillation [1, 2]. Instead of IA Tertiary amyl alcohol (TAA) can be an alternative reactant which is main component of fusel oil and derived as by-product from fermentation process for ethanol production. Several studies investigated the application of reactive distillation (RD) for TAEE production from TAA and EtOH. The applicability of reactive distillation (RD) as a tool of process intensification is well investigated in the past for esterification of different alcohols [3]. It has been shown that the RD is a favourable alternative process since the conversion beyond an equilibrium limitation can be achieved. Although, the existence of water-EtOH and water-TAA minimum azeotropes discourages the common design strategies in RD. This arise the dilemma of investigating the reaction feasibility in conventional RD. In this study, a conventional reactive distillation column is applied for synthesis of TAEE from TAA and EtOH [4]. A concept of reactive distillation incorporated with zeolite membrane is proposed. A simple approach of design is considered in which a ceramic tube supports the outer surface of porous zeolite membrane in the distillation column. The design is subsequently more complex as compared to conventional reactors or reactive distillation columns. The design aspect of model is considered and its effects on operating parameters: flow rates, composition, on the performance of reactive distillation.