Dynamic control analysis for manufacturing ethanol fuel via reactive distillation

Reactive distillation process for removing water from bio-ethanol by the hydration using C4 olefin cut in the present of the β molecular sieve catalyst is proposed and described in this work. Simulation based on the MESH equations is developed using the simulation package Aspen Plus 10.2. The sensitivity analysis for steady states of this process is performed to obtain the optimal column operation conditions and the most sensitive operation parameters. The dynamic open-loop transient responses are investigated with Aspen Dynamics 10.2 to find the manipulated variables that might have significant effects on the control object. The control system of reactive distillation column is established and evaluated with Aspen Dynamics 10.2 to make sure that the process runs well. With the proposed control system, the final product is composed of ethanol (43.3%), ethyl tert-butyl ether (48.2%), tert-butyl alcohol (8.3%) and water (0.2%) in mass percentage.