Chemical Process Design

L2
Last Class
Lecture schedule and course overview
A business scenario
Position of CPD in Chemical Engineering
Flowsheet for a Hypothetical reaction
Course evaluation
 2A → B
Purge (g)
(l)

Recycl
Gas
e
Vapor A
A(B) Recove
ry unit
Vapor-
React
A or A, B Liquid
Separat
or

B(A)
Liquid
Recove
ry unit

B
Case Study-1 (Biegler et al,
1997)
Manufacture of ethanol from ethylene
CH2CH2 + H2O = C2H5OH
Side Reaction: 2C2H5OH=C2H5-O-C2H5 + H2O
Given: Ethylene: 96%; propylene: 3%; methane:
1%

Information Available in literature:

Reaction temperature: 535-575 K
Pressure: 68 atm
Conversion: 5-7%
Ratio of water to ethylene = 4:1 for full conversion
= 0.6:1 for 5-7% conversion
Ethylene may come from cracker (cracking of
natural or associated gas)
We don’t get pure ethanol !
If needed azeotrope can be broken using
benzene

Advice from Chemistry Dept.

keep methane < 10%
Any side reaction?
Propylene hydration
Components in reactor feed and
products

Methane (waste)

Ethylene (recycle)
Ethylene
Propylene Propylene (waste)
methane Diethyl ether (biproduct)
Reactor Ethanol (Product)
Water Iso-propanol (waste)

Water (recycle)

Chrotonaldehyde (waste)
 Ethylene + waste

water

Absorption aAs

Di ethyl ether
ethanol
water

reactor

ethylene

Waste + water
Physical Property Data
What did we learn today?
Flowsheet for a hypothetical reaction
Flowsheet of ethanol from pure ethylene