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The waste solvent is unavoidably generated from the high solvent dependable processes. One of them is the semiconductor industry. The waste solvent is frequently incinerated to eliminate hazardous waste and this practice raises the issue of environmental and treatment costs. Thus, recovery of waste solvent is a substantial environmental mitigation option. This study explores the recovery of multicomponent waste solvents from the semiconductor industry. To achieve a greener and energy-efficient process, the recovery process is proposed through investigation of mixture thermodynamic behavior, process design, optimization, economics, and integration of renewable energy for environmental advantages. Herein, Distillation, a practical technology option for solvent recovery, with green solvent for extractive distillation and a new approach using renewable energy in waste solvent recovery are explored. As the result, waste solvent recovery by distillation with conventional energy exhibits bold advantages to cost and lower carbon process compared to waste disposal. The integration of renewable energy with about 37 % share of conventional energy as the backup indicates the highest annual cost-saving and reduces about 89.4 % of annual carbon emission compared to carbon emission from waste disposal., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

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A thermally coupled distillation technology can bring energy‐saving benefits, but it poses challenges to process control. This article explores dynamic control of different side‐stream quaternary extractive distillation configurations. One the one hand, the open‐loop controllability of these processes is analyzed in terms of various criteria by the control design interface technology of Aspen Plus Dynamics. On the other hand, their control structures are established and examined by introducing large feed flow and composition perturbations. The results show that the triple‐side‐stream distillation still performs the best state and input–output controllability in spite of the strongest nonlinearity, and is also well resistant to large feed perturbations using a simple control structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CO2‐derived dimethyl carbonate (DMC) synthesis process becomes greatly attentive but suffers high energy consumption in DMC distillation process. In this work, the DMC‐MeOH azeotropes separation process by pressure swing distillation and extractive distillation was compared, and key operating parameters, including the total number of trays and the feeding position of the mixture liquid, were optimized with the minimum total annual cost (TAC) as the objective function. On the basis of this optimization, economic evaluation of different distillation processes was conducted, and it was found that extractive distillation was more economical than pressure swing distillation. The application of the dividing‐wall distillation process upgraded by extractive distillation can significantly reduce the minimum annual total cost by 37.4% and 10.7% compared to the original pressure swing distillation and extractive distillation process, respectively. The optimization of relevant heat exchange network based on pinch technology resulted in energy consumption reduction by 27.2% and 25.9% for its hot and cold utilities, respectively. Carbon life cycle assessment (LCA) on the DMC distillation process revealed over 50% of energy as well as carbon emissions from steam consumption, whose reduction can significantly minimize CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and ultimate cost. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Presently, there are no studies that examine the impact of side‐reactions of ethylene oxide hydration on triple‐column reactive‐extractive distillation (TC‐RED). This study addressed this gap by investigating how these side‐reactions influence the energy consumption, total annual cost (TAC), and CO2 emission of the TC‐RED process. Two case studies, which involve the ternary separation of tetrahydrofuran (THF)/ethanol (ETOH)/water and ethyl acetate (EA)/ETOH/water were conducted here. Results: Case studies 1 and 2 showed significant increase in energy consumption (39.68% and 16.56%), TAC (65.57% and 47.88%) and CO2 emission (21.15% and 12.89%) resulting from side‐reactions. The increase in energy consumption, TAC, and CO2 emission is primarily a consequence of the high boiling point of higher glycol product derivatives, altered chemical equilibrium behavior and increased reactant flowrates, which necessitate larger equipment sizes and incur higher capital costs. Notwithstanding this, TC‐RED with side‐reactions still outperforms pressure swing distillation (PSD) for separation of THF/ETOH/water and extractive distillation (ED) for separation of EA/ETOH/water. However, it falls short of double‐column reactive‐extractive distillation (DC‐RED) owing to the need for an additional column. Conclusion: Our study highlights the importance of considering side‐reactions in TC‐RED during process design. Although the decline in performance is a result of the additional complexities brought by side‐reactions, it is important to emphasize that the primary takeaway of this study is that the system model is more realistic. By incorporating side‐reactions into the simulation, we can model the system more comprehensively, providing future researchers with an opportunity to explore and address potential issues resulting from side‐reactions. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to improving the separation technology of the methanol + water + methyl methacrylate mixture. Several alternative variants are proposed: separations based on the application of auto-extractive distillation and a combination of distillation and splitting process. The separation schemes are aimed at separating all components in pure form and increasing the yield of methyl methacrylate. A computational experiment is carried out to determine the operating parameters of the columns to ensure the production of substances of a given quality. The most energy-efficient scheme is based on the use of auto-extractive distillation and a combination of distillation with splitting process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of extractive distillation of a four-component mixture of solvents are predicted by means of simulation using the Aspen Plus 10.0 software. Schematic flow diagrams of separation are suggested using various selective agents in distillation columns operating under different pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distillation is widely recognized as the preferred method for separation due to its operational and control benefits. Traditional distillation processes, however, cannot successfully separate azeotropic mixtures with near boiling points. Numerous special distillation processes have been developed to address this limitation. Extractive distillation, in particular, has gained significant popularity in the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and refining industries. This review examined the state-of-the-art advances in extractive distillation. The importance of the proper selection of a solvent was discussed. Several configurations of extractive distillation processes were presented. Additionally, alternative extractive distillation systems have been elaborated. However, significant research gaps remain, such as the need for an exhaustive investigation of various control variables, the impact of certain entrainers on distillation processes, and cost comparisons across specialized distillation systems. Furthermore, process intensification strategies require additional research to solve complexity and operability issues. The integration of energy-efficient technologies, developments in renewable energy consumption, and the development of cost-effective reactive or split distillation columns will shape the future of distillation operations. These advances will help the chemical process sector achieve improved energy efficiency, lower environmental impact, and increased sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure effect on the relative volatility of binary mixtures of different natures and ternary mixtures containing potential separating agents such as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and butyl propionate is studied. A wide range of information is obtained based on the data on the vapor–liquid equilibrium, and effects of the pressure on the relative volatility of various nature and cause for a fixed composition of the initial mixture are determined. In the presence of intersection points of the phase-equilibrium curves in the initial binary mixture and pseudobinary mixture (in the section with a constant concentration of the third high-boiling component), the concentration simplex is divided into regions in which the values of the relative volatility decrease (increase) upon varying pressure. This fact makes it possible to improve the procedure of separation process optimization at the stage of operating pressure selection in the columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates an efficient and sustainable process for recovering n-propyl acetate and n-propanol from wastewater via extractive distillation coupled with pervaporation (PV). The selection of potential extractants is based on the equilibrium data between the system and the extractants in vapor-liquid phase. For the ternary extractive distillation process, we optimize it using the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II with the objectives of minimizing the total annual cost and gas emissions. The PV model is integrated with the distillation process to enhance solvent recovery, while an energy-efficient scheme combined with heat integration technology and heat pump improves separation efficiency. Economic, environmental and exergy analyses are conducted to evaluate feasibility, revealing that coupling extractive distillation with PV enhances economic and environmental benefits compared to basic processes. The combination of heat pump assisted heat integration technology further improves the economy performance, environmental protection and thermodynamic efficiency, and the process selection needs to be balanced according to the actual industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dehydration of isopropanol (IPA) is a crucial process in numerous industries, and the optimization of its efficiency and economic viability is essential. This review provides a comprehensive analysis and comparison of various distillation processes, heat integration (HI) strategies, and process intensification (PI) techniques employed for IPA dehydration. The advantages, limitations, and applicability of distillation processes, such as extractive distillation, heterogeneous azeotropic distillation, and pressure swing distillation, are discussed. In addition, this review explores the potential of HI techniques to optimize energy consumption and reduce operating costs of IPA dehydration processes. PI techniques, including thermally coupled arrangements and dividing wall columns, are examined for their ability to improve the process efficiency and sustainability. It is crucial to conduct thorough evaluations, as well as energy and economic analyses, when choosing the appropriate distillation process, HI approach, and PI technique for specific IPA dehydration applications. This review emphasizes the potential for improving the energy efficiency, product purity, and cost-effectiveness of IPA dehydration through the integration of advanced distillation processes and PI techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controllability features of the extractive distillation process and the pressure‐swing distillation process were studied with dynamic tools and compared in the case study of separation of a mixture of 50 mol % tetrahydrofuran and 50 mol % water. Process simulations with Aspen Plus and Aspen Plus Dynamics were carried out to obtain 99.9 mol % product purity. Control structures for the two distillation techniques were determined. Load rejection studies were completed for ±10 % feed throughput and ±10 % feed composition disturbances, for both processes. The comparison of the dynamic responses, integral absolute errors, and integral square errors shows that the pressure‐swing distillation process has better controllability features than extractive distillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of distillation separation of the isobutyl acetate (IBA)–acetic acid (AA)–isoamyl acetate (IAA) industrial mixture, which is a product of the large-capacity waste processing of the alcohol industry, is considered. Various versions of the process flow diagramm (PFD) are proposed and the operating parameters of the distillation columns for providing isolation of IAA and IBA with purity higher than 99.5 mol % from the IBA–AA–IAA industrial mixture are determined. For the IBA–AA, IBA–IAA, IBA–SF, and AA–SF systems the binary interaction parameters of the NRTL-HOC model were estimated. New experimental data on the liquid–vapor phase equilibrium in the IBA–SF and AA–SF systems at 200 mm Hg are obtained for the estimation of the parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colloidal lignin particles (CLPs) are potentially one of the sustainable alternatives for petroleum‐based feedstock. CLPs address the heterogeneity of lignin by enhancing its homogeneous dispersion in aqueous phases. The main production steps are dissolving lignin in tetrahydrofuran, diluting the solution with ethanol, forming CLPs through self‐assembly after encountering water, recovering solvents, and finally drying CLPs. In this process, solvent recovery plays an important role in mitigating environmental problems. However, the formation of azeotropes makes the separation process energy‐intensive and costly. In this work, two separation methods, evaporation and distillation, are modelled in Aspen Plus® and compared based on their total annual costs (TACs). Sizing and cost estimations are conducted based on vendor quotations and using design and economic analyzer tools. Results show that distillation reduces costs by up to 37% compared to evaporation. Accordingly, as the main separation unit, distillation parameters are optimized based on the minimum TAC. For further assessment of the increase in the rate of costs by reaching nearly pure products, extractive distillation is simulated and examined. Results show that using an entrainer to enhance the tetrahydrofuran concentration from 88 to 99.5 wt.% substantially increases the TAC by over 50%. Finally, based on the results, the desired solvent recovery model is finalized by employing the rate‐based approach. Currently, studies with a focus on the techno‐economic assessment of pilot‐scale separation units are limited, and the developed model offers a good basis for designing optimal solvent recovery units, related to processes where lignin is dissolved, prior to commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are three kinds of binary azeotropes and one kind of a near‐boiling compound with clamping zone characteristics in the triethylamine‐dichloromethane‐acetone‐water system, which belongs to complex quaternary systems. A four‐column distillation process of heterogeneous azeotropic extraction for the separation of the system was designed, simulated, and optimized to obtain more suitable process parameters and energy consumption distribution of each column. On this basis, taking the total annual cost (TAC) as the comprehensive economic evaluation index and CO2 emission as the environmental evaluation index, the thermal integration technology and mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) heat pump technology were applied to the energy‐saving research of the distillation process for the system. The results indicate that compared with the conventional four‐column heterogeneous azeotropic extractive distillation process, the thermal integration distillation process and single‐column MVR heat pump coupled thermal integration distillation process can save energy consumption and TAC, and it can reduce CO2 emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of heat pumps in extractive distillation is studied on the example of the acetone–methanol mixture. The dependence of the efficiency on the feed mixture composition is investigated. It is found that the most effective in the whole range of feed compositions is the scheme with a heat pump in which the compressed overhead vapor of the regeneration column heats its own reboiler. A criterion for estimating the energy savings is suggested, based on which a number of efficiency conditions of heat-pump application both in extractive distillation and in distillation in general are formulated. Proceeding from the obtained results, a preliminary discrimination algorithm for versions of the distillation schemes with heat pumps is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To improve the process of developing energy-efficient flowsheets for the distillation separation of multicomponent aqueous and organic mixtures based on a comprehensive study of the phase diagram structures, including those in the presence of additional selective substances.Methods. Thermodynamic-topological analysis of phase diagrams; modeling of phase equilibria in the AspenTech software package using the equations of local compositions: Non-Random Two Liquid and Wilson; computational experiment to determine the column parameters for separation flowsheets of model and real mixtures of various nature.Results. The fractionation conditions of the origin multicomponent mixture due to the use of sharp distillation, pre-splitting process, extractive distillation with individual and binary separating agents were revealed. The columns operation parameters and the energy consumption of the separation flowsheets ensuring the achievement of the required product quality with minimal energy consumption were determined.Conclusions. Using the original methods developed by the authors earlier and based on the generalization of the results obtained, new approaches to the synthesis of energy-efficient multicomponent mixtures separation flowsheets were proposed. The provisions that form the methodological basis for the development of flowsheets for the separation of multicomponent mixtures and supplement the standard flowsheet synthesis plan with new procedures were formulated.

This perspective paper features the process intensification (PI) application for advanced distillation-based processes. Starting with the historical background of generic PI, we subsequently narrow down the discussion to extractive distillation (ED), reactive distillation (RD), and hybrid reactive-extractive distillation (RED). We categorize the existing PI techniques onto internal and external intensification, where the former does not involve altering the distillation configuration while the latter does. Instead of deliberating the technical aspects, we explicitly highlight the contribution of PI applied to ED, RD, and RED towards societal impact covering energy, economic, environmental, control, and safety perspectives. The future perspectives of PI are discussed in the last section, covering the development of hybrid PI technologies, exploring the energy efficiency of different PI configurations, prioritizing PI beyond energy by considering some other sustainability aspects, and linking PI with the ever-increasing Industry 4.0 applications. • Historical application of PI of conventional distillation. • Extension of PI to advanced distillation processes covering ED, RD, RED. • Categorization of internal and external PI techniques. • Contribution of PI to sustainability and societal impact. • Future perspectives of PI applied to ED, RD, and RED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy efficiency of using nonadiabatic distillation in the process of extractive distillation of an acetone–chloroform–n-butanol mixture with dimethylformamide as an entrainer is evaluated. Two options for organizing heat integration are considered: (1) between the regeneration column of the entrainer and the extractive column; and (2) between the regeneration column, the extractive column, and the chloroform-recovery column. It is shown that the use of nonadiabatic distillation schemes makes it possible to decrease the energy consumption by 7.4–12.7% during heat integration between the extractive distillation and dimethylformamide regeneration columns; in the case of heat integration of all columns of the scheme, energy consumptions is reduced by up to 20% compared to the original scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distillation-based separation processes, such as extractive or heteroazeotropic distillation, present important processes for separating azeotropic mixtures in the chemical and biochemical industry. However, heteroazeotropic distillation has received much less attention than extractive distillation, which can be attributed to multiple reasons. The phase equilibrium calculations require a correct evaluation of phase stability, while the topology of the heterogeneous mixtures is generally more complex, comprising multiple azeotropes and distillation regions, resulting in an increased modeling complexity. Due to the integration of distillation columns and a decanter, even the simulation of these processes is considered more challenging, while an optimal process design should include the selection of a suitable solvent, considering the performance of the integrated hybrid process. Yet, the intricate mixture topologies largely impede the use of simplified criteria for solvent selection. To overcome these limitations and allow for a process-based screening of potential solvents, the current work presents a topology-based initialization and optimization approach for designing heteroazeotropic distillation processes. The systematic initialization enables an efficient evaluation of different solvents with different mixture topologies, which is further exploited for optimization-based sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization. Three case studies are analyzed with about 170 individually optimized process designs, including stage numbers, feed locations, phase ratios, and heat duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The triple‐column extractive distillation (TCED) process for the ternary multi‐azeotropic mixture of N‐hexane/acetone/chloroform is a significant step in waste recovery and purification. Given the common occurrence of feed disturbances in practical industrial production, a feasible dynamic control scheme should effectively resist feed disturbances and ensure product quality, enabling the process to run steadily and safely with a high efficiency. However, it is challenging to design a robust control scheme for separation processes accompanied by side‐stream capability. In this work, dynamic control schemes were designed for four separation processes: conventional and double side‐stream TCED processes with single and double entrainers. A multipoint temperature control scheme, composition‐temperature cascade control scheme and variable ratio control were combined to improve the dynamic performance of the control schemes. RESULTS: The results showed that the control schemes designed for the four extractive distillation processes are highly robust, resisting ±20% feed flow and composition disturbances. A variable ratio control combined with composition‐temperature cascade was found to be vital for double side‐stream TCED schemes. CONCLUSION: The conventional TCED with a single entrainer (CS‐TCED) is an optimal process for N‐hexane/acetone/chloroform separation both from control and economic perspectives. The designed control scheme is simple, low‐cost and easy‐to‐implement with a superior dynamic performance over other separation schemes. This study has a certain theoretical guidance for N‐hexane/acetone/chloroform separation in terms of economic benefits and practical production. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Reactive-extractive coupling distillation is proposed for ethyl acrylate synthesis. • One ternary azeotrope and four binary azeotropes are separated efficiently. • Relationship between conversion rate and economy of the processes is studied. • New processes are analyzed from the molecular level to the technological level. The synthesis and purification of ethyl acrylate are of great importance in studying the coupling performance of reaction and separation. In this manuscript, reactive extractive distillation (RED), immiscible-assisted reactive extractive distillation (IRED), and high conversion rate process (HCP) were comprehensively studied. The conceptual design by quaternary phase diagram was demonstrated. The optimal extractant was selected based on relative volatility and quantum chemistry. Multi-objective algorithm was used to minimize gas emissions and total annual cost (TAC). Based on economic, environmental and profit etc., the RED, IRED, and HCP were evaluated. The results show that the TAC, gas emissions, exergy loss, energy consumption, and profit of IRED were decreased by more than 25 %, 21 %, 12 %, 14 %, and 26 % compared to RED. Besides, the profit of the IRED is better than that of the HCP, which indicates that higher conversion rate of the reaction cannot represent better economy of the reactive distillation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The separation of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol – isopropanol azeotropic mixture by extractive distillation is considered. • N -methyl-2-pyrrolidone is used as a separating agent. • The separation was carried out in a single distillation column in batch mode. • It is shown that the use of N -methyl-2-pyrrolidone allows to separate the mixture into individual components during the extractive distillation process. On a laboratory scale, a complete technological extractive distillation cycle of an industrial azeotropic mixture of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) – isopropanol (IPA) of equimolar composition using N -methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a separation agent (SA) was implemented. All technological stages (extractive distillation, target component separation and SA regeneration) were carried out in one apparatus – a batch distillation column. It was shown that this approach makes it possible to separate the TFE – IPA mixture into individual components, as well as to regenerate NMP. The proposed method is an alternative to traditional chemical methods and allows to eliminate the use of aggressive auxiliary reagents and the formation of by-products, to reduce the number of stages and apparatuses from 5 to 1. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppose the gain matrix is written as HT ht Graph where I T i SB 1 sb and I T i SB 2 sb are the temperatures of selected trays, and I u i SB 1 sb and I u i SB 2 sb are the selected manipulated variables (see Section 3.2). Keywords: control structure selection; distillation column; inferential control; machine learning; multi-loop PID control EN control structure selection distillation column inferential control machine learning multi-loop PID control 171 197 27 04/29/22 20220401 NES 220401 1 Introduction Distillation is a physical process for separating a mixture of substances into products of different compositions based on differences in the boiling points of the individual components. First, the tray showing the largest differential temperature with respect to a non-key component is defined HT ht . [Extracted from the article]

This work considers four extractive distillation flowsheets of a benzene–cyclohexane–toluene mixture with different structures: one of them is conventional and consists of three two-outlet columns and three of them include schemes with thermally coupled distillation systems. For each flowsheet, the optimal steady state parameters with respect to the criterion of total reboiler heat duty are determined, automated control structures are developed, and the robustness against the external disturbances the form of variation of the flow rate and composition of the feed flow is analyzed. It is shown that the energy-consumption economy due to the application of thermally coupled distillation systems reaches 31.98%. An automated control structure is proposed for a system with a side stripping section, which reduces energy consumption by 28.37%. It provides comparable to conventional flowsheet control efficiency and robustness in the face of the disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amino ethers of ortho-phosphoric acid prepared using triethanolamine; ortho-phosphoric acid; polyoxyethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol and glycerol (AEPA-DEG/TEG/Gl) were investigated as extractants for the separation of aqueous ethanol solutions by extractive distillation. Using the method of open evaporation, the influence of the molecular structure of AEPADEG/TEG/Gl on the conditions of vapor–liquid equilibrium in ethanol–water solutions was studied. It has been shown that the addition of AEPA-DEG/TEG/Gl removes the azeotropic point. At the same time, the observed effect turned out to be significantly higher in comparison with the use of pure glycerol or glycols for these purposes. The UNIFAC model was used to calculate the activity coefficients in a three-component ethanol–water–AEPA-DEG/TEG/Gl mixture. Within the framework of this model, a division of AEPA-DEG/TEG/Gl molecules into group components is proposed. Previously unknown parameters of the groups PO–CH, PO–CH2, PO–OCH2, PO–NHCH2, PO–OH, and PO–H2O were determined from our own and published experimental data. The concentration dependences of the density and dynamic viscosity of AEPA-Gl aqueous solutions have been experimentally measured. Experimental studies of the extractive distillation of ethanol–water using AEPA-Gl as an extractant have been carried out in a column with bubble cap plates and a packing, and its high efficiency has been established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last 5 years have seen a series of advances in the application of isothermal titration microcalorimetry (ITC) and interpretation of ITC data. ITC has played an invaluable role in understanding multiprotein complex formation including proteolysis‐targeting chimeras (PROTACS), and mitochondrial autophagy receptor Nix interaction with LC3 and GABARAP. It has also helped elucidate complex allosteric communication in protein complexes like trp RNA‐binding attenuation protein (TRAP) complex. Advances in kinetics analysis have enabled the calculation of kinetic rate constants from pre‐existing ITC data sets. Diverse strategies have also been developed to study enzyme kinetics and enzyme‐inhibitor interactions. ITC has also been applied to study small molecule solvent and solute interactions involved in extraction, separation, and purification applications including liquid‐liquid separation and extractive distillation. Diverse applications of ITC have been developed from the analysis of protein instability at different temperatures, determination of enzyme kinetics in suspensions of living cells to the adsorption of uremic toxins from aqueous streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The separation of polymer‐grade propylene from a propylene‐propane mixture was performed by an extractive distillation (ED) process in the steady state, and was developed on the Aspen Plus V9 simulator, by using an extractive column and a recovery column. To increase the volatility and relative selectivity of propylene, aqueous N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) was used as extracting agent. By using an ED process and aqueous NMP, compared with the high‐pressure binary distillation process, a reduction in energy consumption was obtained, with a saving of 52 % in total annual cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extractive distillation is one of the energy‐efficient methods for separating azeotropic mixtures. The question of the influence of the mixture original composition on the operating parameters of the columns of extractive and auto‐extractive distillation remains open. The extractive distillation of an acetone+methanol mixture and auto‐extractive distillation of an acetone+methanol+water (dimethylsulfoxide) mixture was simulated using AspenPlus. The impact of the solvent and acetone content in the original mixture on the operating parameters of the columns was investigated for the first time. It is demonstrated that the presence of an entrainer in the original mixture reduces the amount of solvent needed to separate the mixture, the reflux ratio, and the total energy consumption of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Controlling the behavior of processes for the recovery of ethyl acetate and isopropanol from industrial wastewater is a hot topic. In this work, dynamic control structures of the extractive distillation process and heat pump combined with feeding preheating extractive distillation process are researched. The control performance of the proposed control structures is tested by adding feed flow and composition disturbance. In these two processes, two‐point temperature control structure is first used. RESULTS: The results show that this structure can maintain product purity within a reasonable range under disturbance. Furthermore, the composition controller is used to improve control performance. CONCLUSION: The improved structure can effectively meet the requirements of product purity. The heat pump combined with feeding preheating extractive distillation process can use the same control structure as the extraction process and show good controllability. This study has a certain guiding value for the research of chemical dynamic control. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new distillation process for purifying MMA from azeotrope is proposed. • The feasibility of separation are assessed using ternary phase diagram analysis. • Extractive distillation and pressure-swing distillation are coupled for new process. • Heat integrated extractive pressure-swing distillation is used to save more energy. • Evaluate the processes from the economy, environment, energy and exergy. Methyl methacrylate is a new polymer material monomer, which is often used in the manufacture of plexiglass, and has very high industrial application value. Producing high purity methyl methacrylate requires a clean and effective separation process. In this work, an efficient separation method of methyl methacrylate/water/methanol azeotrope based on pressure swing distillation coupled extractive distillation is established. The best entrainer in terms of both environmental impact and effectiveness is chosen by examining the impact of relative volatility. The feasibility of pressure swing distillation and the best separation order are determined by ternary phase diagram analysis. A multi-objective optimization method is used to optimize the three designed processes, targeting gas emissions and total annual costs, thereby obtaining the best process plans and parameters. On this basis, the optimal thermal integration design of the three processes is carried out. The analysis of the four processes is conducted from the viewpoints of the energy, economy, environment and exergy. The findings demonstrate that the pressure swing extractive distillation process when combined can significantly increase economy and lessen mixture separation difficulty. Compared with the traditional process, the total annual cost, gas emission and energy loss are reduced by 8.20%, 10.46%, 11.69%, and the effective energy utilization rate is 50.31%. The development of this process is of great significance for the recovery of wastewater containing methyl methacrylate and methanol and the separation of high-purity methyl methacrylate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Efficient separation technology for the fermentation mother liquor to n-butanol was proposed. • Molecular polarity and weak interaction analysis revealed the extractive separation mechanism. • TCEDP is a typical process intensification strategy with economic, energy and environmental benefits. To solve the problems of difficult separation of azeotropes and high energy consumption in the preparation of n-butanol from the fermented mother liquor, this study focused on the separation process integration of water/acetone/ethanol/n-butanol mixture based on the combination of mixed entrainer and thermally coupled distillation technology. Based on quantum chemical calculations, the molecular polarity and weak interaction between the entrainer and the mixture to be separated were studied at the molecular scale, and the separation mechanism of extractive distillation was revealed. Based on the simulation results, the three different configurations' process performance was evaluated and compared to the benchmark conventional extractive distillation process with ethylene glycol as the entrainer. The thermally coupled extractive distillation process with mixed entrainers can reduce the total annual cost by about 39.87%, reduce energy consumption and acid gas emissions by 46.53%, and improve the thermodynamic efficiency by 47.57%. The thermally coupled extractive distillation process with mixed entrainers is an economical, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly production scheme superior to the conventional extractive distillation process. The thermally coupled extractive distillation process, as an essential energy-saving technology for producing n-butanol from fermentation mother liquor, has broad development prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New arrangement of reactive-extractive distillation (RED) for energy-saving. • Rearrange double column RED (DCRED) to extractive-reactive distillation (ED-RD). • New intensified ED-RD provides significant energy-saving. • Old intensified DCRED cannot provide any energy-saving. • Thermally couple ED-RD provides 28 and 27% lower energy and cost relative to DCRED. The concept of reactive-extractive distillation (RED) is not new and has gained significant attention as an innovative approach for separating azeotropic mixtures. Presently, there have been at least 18 studies on RED, exploring variations such as triple column RED (TCRED), double column RED (DCRED), and their intensified configurations like dividing-wall DCRED (DW-DCRED) or side-stream DCRED (SS-DCRED). However, a major drawback observed in all existing intensified RED studies is the inability to achieve energy savings, which contrasts with the outcomes of most conventional distillation system studies. To address this, we propose a new alternative configuration called extractive-reactive distillation (ED-RD) by rearranging the column sequence in DCRED. The ED-RD configuration achieves a substantial 7 % reduction in the total annual cost (TAC) compared to DCRED, primarily due to a reduced number of stages and the utilization of relatively cheaper low-pressure steam in the extractive distillation column (EDC). Furthermore, the intensified thermally coupled ED-RD (TC-ED-RD) configuration demonstrates superior performance, achieving an impressive 21 % reduction in TAC compared to the proposed ED-RD configuration, mainly driven by a significant decrease in total reboiler energy consumption. Overall, the TC-ED-RD configuration excels with a remarkable 28 % reduction in total reboiler energy consumption and a 27 % decrease in TAC compared to DCRED. This reflects the potential of incorporating process intensification techniques to the proposed configuration to achieve substantial energy and cost savings, in contrast to the limitations observed in the conventional RED systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Biobutanol is considered to be a promising alternative biofuel in terms of sustainability and environmental friendliness because of its desirable properties. High purity isopropanol–butanol–ethanol (IBE) mixture can be directly used as gasoline additive. However, the purification process of IBE is hindered because of its low concentration and high energy consumption. In order to reduce energy consumption and improve the efficiency of the IBE purification process, two novel processes combining liquid–liquid extraction with extractive distillation or azeotropic distillation are proposed. Moreover, the heat integration designs of the processes are carried out to further reduce energy. These processes are compared with regard to energy, economic, environmental and exergy impact. RESULTS: The results show that the energy consumption of these enhanced processes are effectively reduced compared with the original process in the literature. Among them, the thermal integrated process of liquid–liquid extraction combined with extractive distillation is the best design, which has a total annual cost of $32.656 × 105 and an energy consumption of 5936.94 kW. CONCLUSION: Compared with the original process, this process can save 71.33% of energy consumption. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy, economic and environmental analysis is used to evaluate the four processes. • Hybrid processes combining extractive distillation and pervaporation is used to separate ternary mixture. • Compared with TCED process, EDPV process can achieve 46.47 % CO2 reduction. Ethyl acetate is a vital chemical raw material and is usually produced by esterification in industry. But this reaction can produce multiazeotrope mixtures of ethyl acetate/ethanol/water. In this work, triple column pressure-swing distillation process with and without heat integration and hybrid processes combining extractive distillation and pervaporation are proposed to separate a mixture of ethyl acetate/ethanol/water. Furthermore, the three processes are comprehensively compared with the triple-column extractive distillation process. Based on minimization of the total annual cost, the parameters of the all processes are optimized. The triple-column extractive distillation process has the greatest economic advantage. Additionally, the performances of the all processes in environmental protection and energy efficiency are evaluated. The energy efficiency of the combined extractive distillation and pervaporation unit process is relatively low, but its environmental impact is the lowest among the four processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Column sequencing; Dividing wall columns; Efficiency of Distillation; Thermal couplings EN Column sequencing Dividing wall columns Efficiency of Distillation Thermal couplings 1 11 11 07/21/20 20200801 NES 200801 INTRODUCTION Separations are ubiquitous in chemical, petrochemical and biochemical industries. The best membrane in the literature for propylene/propane separation reported a propylene selectivity between 50 and 70.10 Nevertheless, Chavez Velasco et al. considered a selectivity of 100 in their calculations allowing for possible improvements in the near future. (b) Distillation is not an inefficient process and it has been demonstrated that its thermodynamic efficiency can reach as high as 70-80%.13,14 Apart from propyplene/propane, production of ultra pure nitrogen and oxygen from air is another important industrial separation where distillation column exhibits a high efficiency of 70%15 and the overall separation efficiency is greater than 30%. For example, in addition to the familiar " I conventional distillation column i " (see Figure 3), process designers must consider heat-pumps, double and multi-effect, intermediate reboilers and condensers (often referred to as pump-around in the petroleum industry), prefractionator arragement, internally heat-integrated distillation (HiDiC), and so forth. [Extracted from the article]

The extractive distillation of an isobutanol–isobutyl acetate mixture using dimethylformamide has been considered. Schemes that use vapor recompression heat pumps and partially thermally coupled distillation systems both without and with a heat pump are considered in comparison with the conventional schemes. It is shown that the use of heat pumps in the process under investigation allows for a considerable reduction in the energy consumption and total annual costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethyl acetate is intensively used as a solvent for paints, coatings, resins, inks, main ingredient in different fragrances and flavors for consumer products and decaffeination. An assessment of the ethyl acetate esterification process for different process intensification techniques was studied to identify the several advantages over the traditional process. Experimental and simulation details for individual ethyl acetate production process and coproduction process with n-butyl acetate or isopropyl acetate are discussed. Simulation studies analysis shows the comparison of various mathematical models and the identification of the most commonly used model for different process simulators. This review focuses on ethyl acetate process intensification techniques including Reactive distillation, pervaporation assisted reactive distillation, pressure-swing reactive distillation, reactive dividing wall columns, reactive extractive distillation, microwave reactive distillation, reactive chromatography. The effect of various process parameters i.e. ethanol flow rate, acetic acid flow rate, choice of a homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst, reflux ratio, feed tray position, the total number of trays, types of entrainer, condenser and reboiler duties on ethyl acetate purity, overall production rate, energy consumption and total annual cost were discussed. Reactive distillation overcomes chemical equilibrium limitations, saving energy and ensuring economic effectiveness by reduced capital investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reaction distillation processes to separate ethanol/1,4-dioxane/water mixture. • MOGA optimize with economy and entropy generation as the objective functions. • Novel side-stream reactive-extractive distillation process with intermediate reboiler. • Performance comparison with existing extractive distillation process. Conventional distillation methods cannot separate ternary mixtures containing multiple azeotropes. This article designs two reaction distillation processes to recovery ethanol and 1,4-dioxane from wastewater, and a novel side-stream reactive-extractive distillation process with intermediate reboiler (SREDIR) process for the first time is proposed to separate this mixture. Taking economy and entropy generation as objective functions, multi-objective genetic algorithm is used to optimize the processes. It is concluded that all the proposed reaction distillation processes are energy-saving than the existing extractive distillation process for recoverying ethanol and 1,4-dioxane from wastewater. This existing process is an indirect extractive distillation process with DMSO as entrainer with heat integration (IED-DMSO-HI) process. Compared with IED-DMSO-HI process, the SREDIR process is economic since its total annual cost is reduced by 64.30%. However, the total entropy generation of SREDIR process is increased by 16.06%. Therefore, if there are high thermodynamic requirements for the separation process, reactive distillation requires careful consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of different water content on reactive-extractive distillation (RED). • Performance comparison between RED and conventional extractive distillation. • Separation of ethyl acetate (EA), 1,4-dioxane (DIO), and water as case study. • Different configurations perform differently under various water content conditions. Reactive-extractive distillation (RED) has gained significant attention as an innovative approach for separating azeotropic mixtures. Although many studies have reported its positive benefits, no studies have explored the impact of varying water content on RED performance, a domain that has seen exhaustive exploration in conventional extractive distillation. In this study, we investigate how water content affects RED performance using the separation of ethyl acetate (EA), 1,4-dioxane (DIO), and water as a case study. We design diverse configurations tailored for feed compositions ranging from 0.35 to 0.8 water mole fractions using a double column reactive-extractive distillation (DCRED). These configurations are globally optimized and the performance is compared against the triple-column conventional extractive distillation (TCCED) based on economic, environmental, and thermodynamic efficiency considerations. The TAC and CO 2 emission of TCCED schemes exhibit the linear decreases, reaching its lowest point at 50 mol.% water content. Beyond this threshold, both indicators increase significantly, even surpassing the reference case (20 mol.% water) at 80 mol.% water content. The thermodynamic efficiency of TCCED behaves inversely due to the intrinsic exergy destructions. Interestingly, the DCRED schemes show almost linear decreases in the trends of both economic and environmental indicators, and the notable deviations are then observed at 65 mol.% water content, accompanied with a slight decrease up to 80 mol.%. The thermodynamic efficiency of DCRED scheme gives an inverse trend, identical to those observed in TCRED. Overall, TCCED performs best at 50 mol.%, in which DCRED excels at 80 mol.% water content. This comprehensive study bridges a significant knowledge gap, offering insights into optimizing RED processes for varying water content, an unexplored topic despite widespread application of RED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fully automated and comprehensive optimization framework is introduced. • The framework is potential to optimize complex chemical processes. • Distillation, organic Rankine cycle, and methanol synthesis are used as cases. • Significant enhancements are observed compared to classical algorithms. • The optimization efficiencies have improved by over 50%. We present an automated framework that integrates rectified linear unit activated artificial neural network (ReLU-ANN) and mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) to enable efficient operational-level optimization of complex chemical processes. Initially, data is generated through rigorous simulations to pre-train surrogate models based on ReLU-ANN (classification and regression), and subsequently, MILP is employed for optimization by linearly formulating these models. This novel framework efficiently handles complex convergence constraints through a classification neural network which will be used for high-throughput screening data for regression, while simultaneously implementing an 'optimizing while learning' strategy. By iteratively updating the neural network based on optimization feedback, our approach streamlines the optimization process and ensure the feasibility of optimum solution. To demonstrate the versatility and robustness of our proposed framework, we examine three representative chemical processes: extractive distillation, organic Rankine cycle, and methanol synthesis. Our results reveal the framework's potential in enhancing optimization effect while concurrently reducing computational time, surpassing the capabilities of typical optimization algorithms. As for the three processes, optimization effectiveness improved by 10.11%, 28.69%, and 5.45%, respectively, while execution time were reduced by 71.71%, 54.49%, and 59.38%. This notable enhancement in optimization efficiency stems from a substantial reduction in costly while ineffective objective function evaluations. By seamless integration of ReLU-ANN and MILP, our proposed framework holds promise for improving the optimization of complex chemical processes, yielding superior results within significantly reduced timeframes compared to traditional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaching a hypothetical thermodynamically reversible process is one of the main directions of energy saving in distillation. In practice, this is achieved by the use of systems with coupled thermal and material flows (STMP). Such systems have long been used in the separation of zeotropic mixtures. As follows from the analysis of literature data, they save energy costs by up to 30%. Recently, it has been revealed that the use of such systems is possible, expedient and energetically advantageous for separating the close-boiling and azeotropic mixtures by extractive distillation (ED). The article considers the main approaches to the synthesis of distillation schemes, including systems with STMP: 1) a method based on the construction of a "superstructure"; 2) a method based on the concept of thermodynamically equivalent configurations; 3) an evolutionary algorithm; 4) a method based on the transformation of distillation scheme graphs. As the analysis of the literature has shown, the first three methods are sufficiently well developed only for the synthesis of distillation schemes with STMP to separate zeotropic mixtures. There are a relatively small number of publications that consider the generation of ED schemes with STMP based on the concept of thermodynamically equivalent configurations for distillation of specific binary mixtures. The only current system approach to the synthesis of ED schemes with coupled thermal and material flows for multicomponent mixtures is the method of graphs (algorithm 4). At present, the first step has been taken to implement it in the form of a computer program. Thus, the article presents the current state of the problem of synthesizing highly effective, energy-saving distillation technologies, including extractive distillation, based on the analysis of publications over the past 20-25 years.

The azeotropic mixture of acetonitrile and water is always encountered in industrial engineering, and it is difficult to separate them using ordinary separation method, where some special separation Technologies like extractive separation must be employed. Therefore, the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) for the ternary mixture of acetonitrile + water + l-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium glycolate ([EMIM][GAC]) was firstly determined through experimental measurement and the ionic liquid of [KMIM][GAC] was verified to be effective in eliminating the azeotropy of acetonitrile and water mixture. Based on VLE data, the binary interaction parameters in NKTL model were then obtained with the overall average absolute deviations 0. 67K and 0. 007 8 for equilibrium temperature and vapor phase composition, respectively. Finally, the separation process with one extractive distillation column (EDO and one solvent recovery column was built with Aspen Plus software. The simulation results showed that the IL entrainer of [KMIM][GACJ could decrease the molar solvent ratio from 0. 94 to 0. 20 and 9. 4% for the heating duty of KDC. meanwhile the number of theoretical stage for KDC decreases from 53 to 20, comparing to ones of ethylene glycol entrainer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anhydrous ethanol is apromising alternative to gasoline infuel engines. However, since ethanol forms an azeotrope with water, high-energy-consumption separation techniques such as azeotropic distillation, extractive distillation, and molecular sieves are needed to produce anhydrous ethanol. This work discusses the potential development of an integrated process for bioethanol production using ionic liquids and Ceratonia siliqua as a carbohydrate source for further fermentation of the aqueous extracts. A four-stage counter-current system was designed to improve the sugar extraction yield to values close to 99%. The alcoholic fermentation of the extracts showed ethanol concentrations of 95 g/L using the microorganism Saccharomyces cerevisae. The production of anhydrous ethanol through extractive distillation with ethylene glycol was simulated using CHEMCAD software, with an energy consumption of 13.23MJ/Kg of anhydrous ethanol. Finally, several ionic liquids were analyzed and are proposed as potential solvents for the recovery of bioethanol for the design of an integrated extraction-fermentation-separation process, according to their ability to extract ethanol from aqueous solutions and their biocompatibility with the microorganism used in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Separation alternatives of ethyl acetate/water/ethanol mixture are investigated. • Four methods, based on distillation techniques and pervaporation are modelled. • The distillation and pervaporation models are experimentally verified. • The methods are optimized by economic evaluation based on the total annual cost. • The heat integrated EHAD + PSD with D + HPV method is found as optimum. Ethyl acetate and ethanol are important organic solvents in fine chemical industry, which form with water ternary minimum-boiling azeotrope and three binary azeotropes, including heterogeneous-azeotrope. In this article, different distillations and pervaporation methods are studied to separate sharply the ternary mixture. In the case of separation of highly non-ideal mixtures the distillation based separation methods can be extraordinarily complex. The extractive heterogeneous-azeotropic distillation (EHAD) as new improvement can be a promising tool for splitting the ternary mixture. This process contains the preferences of heterogeneous-azeotropic- and extractive distillations in one unit without extra material addition. Four advanced separation methods are compared: Method I (pressure swing distillation (PSD) for ethyl acetate purification with extractive distillation (ED) for ethanol purification), Method II (PSD with distillation-hydrophilic pervaporation (D + HPV) for ethanol purification), Method III (EHAD + PSD with ED) and Method IV (EHAD + PSD with D + HPV). The different alternatives are rigorously modelled in ChemCAD simulator and optimized with the dynamic programming optimization method first in the literature. In the case of distillation operations, heat integration is also considered, the feed is preheated with its bottom stream. Such ternary pervaporation separation with new semi-empirical model has not been published in this professional flowsheet environment yet. The distillation and pervaporation models are experimentally verified. Separation factor values are compared to those of other published membranes in the recent literature and it is found that PERVAP™ 1510 has the highest separation factor value. It can be determined that every method is capable for the separation of ethyl acetate-ethanol-water ternary mixture. The methods are optimized by economic evaluation based on the total annual cost (TAC) and the EHAD + PSD with D + HPV is found the optimum, because it has the lowest heat duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A four-column extractive distillation system using natural gas liquid as heavy solvent is used to separate CO 2 –C 2 H 6 azeotrope. • Fixed reflux ratio and reflux/feed ratio control structure are used to investigate the controllability of four-column extractive distillation. • The reflux/feed ratio controller of four columns can adjust the reflux ratio in real time according to the disturbance of feed flow and composition, which greatly improves the stability of the top distillation products purity. The existence of heterogeneous azeotrope of CO 2 –C 2 H 6 makes it difficult to separate CO 2 from the hydrocarbons in the associated gas by cryogenic extractive distillation process. A four-column extractive distillation system using natural gas liquid as heavy solvent is used to separate CO 2 –C 2 H 6 azeotrope. Carbon dioxide, ethane, propane and butane are recovered from the top of the extractive distillation column, deethanizer, depropanizer and debutanizer respectively. The C3+ hydrocarbon mixture called natural gas liquid is recovered at the bottom of the debutanizer, one part of which is transported as NGL product and the other part is pumped back near the top of the extractive distillation column as solvent. The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective plant wide control structure for this four-column extractive distillation system. Fixed reflux ratio and reflux/feed ratio control structure are used to investigate the controllability of four-column extractive distillation. Results show that both control structures have successfully realize the dynamic simulation of the extractive distillation process. However, under the disturbance of feed flow rate and composition, the controllability of reflux/feed ratio control structure on purity of top distillation products is better than that of fixed reflux ratio control structure. The reflux/feed ratio controller of four columns can adjust the reflux ratio in real time according to the disturbance of feed flow and composition, which greatly improves the stability of the top distillation products purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]