Title : Analysis of the Ethanol and Benzene extractive distillation using p-Xylene as solvent in a Cape-Open Simulator
Abstract:
An analysis of the extractive distillation and solvent recovery processes for the separation of ethanol and benzene from its azeotropic mixture using p-xylene as a solvent through Cape-Open steady-state simulation is presented. A case study is conducted using a two-column distillation system, where the first column was used for the extraction of ethanol, while the second column was used to recover pure benzene and the solvent. This recovered solvent is then reinjected into the first column. The results indicated that p-xylene is a reliable solvent for the separation ethanol-benzene azeotrope and can distill pure benzene with a high recovery of the solvent during the process.
Keywords – extractive distillation, ethanol, benzene, p-xylene, cape-open simulator
Audience take-away:
- Simple distillation methods cannot separate azeotropic mixtures. These components are separated using extractive distillation. A diagram illustrating a T-xy plot of ethanol and benzene is presented which explains why the components cannot be separated by conventional techniques.
- The mathematical model used for extractive distillation is based on equilibrium stage models and represents all the material and energy balances (MESH) used in the simulated model.
- An extractive distillation and solvent recovery case study is analyzed, the simulation is completed using an open-source Cape-Open Simulator to give accurate results. Temperature profile and concentration profiles across the extraction column and the solvent recovery column are plotted and analyzed.
