Journal of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Technology

Journal of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Technology

The Investigation of Purity Improvement for the Production of Methyl Propionate in Different Types of Batch Distillation Systems

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Dhia Y. Aqar 1
Hassan H. Al Alak 2
N. Rahmanian 3
I.M. Mujtaba 3
1 Ministry of Oil, South Refineries Company, Basra, Iraq
2 Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
3 Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
10.22034/jogpt.2019.85647
Abstract
Methyl propionate, also known as methyl propanoate, is a clear colourless liquid with a characteristic odour (fruity smell and taste). In this study, the formation of methyl propionate through the esterification of propionic acid and methanol was investigated in the reactive distillation system using a conventional (CBD), single feed (SF-SBD), and double feed semi-batch distillation (DF-SBD) columns for the first time. The performances measure of these distillation systems were evaluated in terms of minimum batch time for a given separation task. The optimization results clearly showed that the DF-SBD system is a more attractive operation in terms of reaction conversion, and maximum achievable purity as compared to the SF-SBD, and CBD processes.
Journal of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Technology
Volume 5, Number 1
December 2018
Pages 63-75