HYSYS Simulation of Isopropanol Production Process
HYSYS Simulation of Isopropanol Production Process
HYSYS Simulation of Isopropanol Production Process
Sabratha University
Faculty of Engineering - Sabratha
Chemical Engineering Department
By
Ahmed Masoud Jmea
Mohammed Emhemmed Alssyh
Supervised by
Dr. Ruqaia A. Sheliq
Spring 2022
إهداء
ى
المصطف عليه أفضل صالة الحمد هلل والصالة والسالم عىل الحبيب
وسالم أما بعد:
إىل من وضعتننا عىل طريق الحياة إىل من وضع الموىل -سبحانه وتعاىل -
َّ
الجنة تحت قدميها ،و وقرها ى يف كتابه العزيز (أمهاتنا الحبيبات).
إىل أعوام قضيناها ى يف رحاب الجامعة مع أساتذتنا الكرام الذين قدموا لنا
نقدم أسىم آيات الشكر واالمتنان والتقدير والمحبة إىل الذين حملوا
أقدس رسالة ى يف الحياة إىل الذين أناروا لنا طريق العلم والمعرفة إىل جميع
صياتة.
أساتذتنا األفاضل بكلية الهندسة بجامعة ر
Abstract
Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) has been called the first modern synthetic petrochemical.
Because IPA has physical characteristics compatible with those of alcohol, water, and
hydrocarbons, it is a versatile and inexpensive solvent used widely in the chemical and
cosmetics industries. Unlike ethanol, IPA is subject to few government regulations, and
no special taxes are levied on consumption of IPA. IPA is used as feedstock for the
manufacture of acetone and other compounds. IPA is used widely as an antiseptic and
disinfectant for home, hospital, and industry application.
Several methods are available for manufacture of IPA. The methods used most widely
are direct hydration and indirect hydration of propylene. Both processes use propylene
and water as raw materials. There are three propylene direct hydration processes in
commercial operation: vapor phase hydration over a fixed-bed catalyst, mixed vapor
liquid phase hydration using strongly acidic proton -exchange resin catalyst, and liquid
phase hydration in the presence of a homogeneous catalyst.
Direct hydration of propylene is the preferred process for production of IPA because it
avoids some corrosion and environment problems.
In this work, the process design of almost pure IPA with a capacity of 25.000 tone/year
is performed, where a direct hydration process of pure propylene as feedstock is
considered. The work was divided parts, where in the first part a thermodynamic
analysis of the synthesis section was performed to estimate the equilibrium conversion
of propylene to IPA, moreover, the effect of some key parameters was investigated.
I
Table of Content
Abstract I
Table of content II
List of Tables IV
List of Figures V
Acronyms VI
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Chemical and Physical Properties of Isopropyl Alcohol 2
1.2 Manufacturing Processes 3
1.3 Uses and Application of IPA 3
1.4 Problem Statement and Methodology 4
1.5 Objectives 5
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Conventional Method for Isopropanol Production 6
2.1.1 indirect hydration of Propylene 6
2.1.2 Direct Hydration of Propylene 9
2.1.3 Acetone Hydrogenation 11
2.2 Catalytic Distillation for Isopropanol Production 12
2.2.1 Application of Catalytic Distillation 12
2.2.2 Catalytic Distillation Column 14
2.3 Azeotrope Phenomena 16
2.3.1 Distillation 16
2.32 Azeotrope Definition 16
2.3.3 IPA-Water Binary System 16
2.3.4 Phase diagram 17
2.4 Separation of Azeotropic Mixture 18
2.4.1 Azeotropic Distillation 18
2.4.2 Extractive Distillation 19
2.4.3 Salted-out Distillation 20
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Introduction 21
3.2 Synthesis section 21
3.2.1 Thermodynamic analysis 22
3.3 Material balance 27
3.3.1 Material Balance around Reactor 27
3.3.2 Energy balance a round the reactor 29
3.4 Separation section 32
3.4.1 Thermodynamic analysis 32
3.4.2 Simulation setup 33
3.4.3 Material and energy balance 34
II
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Project evaluation 38
4.1.1 Evaluation methodology 38
4.2 Result of cost estimation 39
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Conclusion 40
5.2 Recommendation 41
References
Appendix
III
List of Tables
Table 1.1: Chemical and physical properties of isopropyl alcohol 2
Table 3.1: Free Gibbs Energy of Formation. 22
Table 3.2: Equilibrium constant at different temperatures 23
Table 3.2: Equilibrium conversion at different temperatures 24
Table 3.3: Equilibrium conversion at different pressures 25
Table 3.4: Equilibrium conversion at different feed ratio 25
Table 3.5: Operating condition of the reactor 27
Table 3.6: result of mole balance around the reactor 29
Table 3.7: Heat of formation data 30
Table 3.8: Feed specification for the separation section 34
Table 3.9: Column specification 34
Table 3.10: Result of mass balance for column T-100 35
Table 3.11: Result of energy balance for column T-100 35
Table 3.12: Result of mass balance for column T-101 35
Table 3.13: Result of energy balance for column T-101 36
Table 3.14: Result of energy balance for cooler E-100 36
Table 3.15: Result of energy balance for pump P-100 37
Table 4.2 Shown the assumptions of the equipments 38
Table 4.3: Shown the assumptions to estimate the NPC 39
Table 4.4: Result of cost estimation for each equipment 39
Table 4.5: Economic results of entire process 39
IV
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Uses of isopropanol 4
Figure 2.1: Isopropanol production routs. 6
Figure 2.2: Flowsheet of indirect hydration of propylene to isopropanol. 8
Figure 2.3: Flowsheet of direct hydration of propylene to isopropanol. 10
Figure 2.4: Flowsheet of acetone hydrogenation to isopropanol. 11
Figure 2.5: Flow diagram of CD isopropyl alcohol process 15
Figure 2.6: Phase diagram of IPA/Water/Entrainer mixture. 17
Figure 2.7: Azeotropic distillation process. [15] 19
Figure 2.8: Extractive distillation process. [16] 20
Figure 3.1: effect of temperature on the equilibrium constant 23
Figure 3.2: effect of temperature on the equilibrium conversion 24
Figure 3.3: effect of pressure on the equilibrium conversion 25
Figure 3.4: effect of feed molar ratio on the equilibrium conversion 26
Figure 3.5: Txy diagram for IPA / water mixture 32
Figure 3.6: Txy diagram for IPA / DIPE mixture 32
Figure 4.1: Describe the project evaluation methodology 38
V
ACRONYMS
VI
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
IPA is one of the most important chemicals for solvent applications, chemical derivatives
and cosmetics. Most of them are produced by hydration reaction using propylene and water
as raw materials. There are two representative processes for the synthesis of IPA. The first
method consists of indirect hydration, in which propylene reacts with highly concentrated
sulfuric acid to form sulfuric ester, followed by hydrolysis to form IPA. [1]
The second method involves direct hydration of propylene with an acid catalyst, such as
acidic ion-exchange resin or solid phosphorous acid. Although the bulk of IPA is
manufactured by indirect processes, direct processes are simpler and technically newer,
and have become of much interest in chemical industry. [1]
Since the first commercial production of isopropanol in 1920, most methods for hydrating
propylene to isopropanol have been based on the use of concentrated sulfuric acid in a two
stage esterification-hydrolysis process. This process, although resulting in substantial
conversion of propylene, has the problems of severe corrosion and disposal or re-
concentration of dilute spent acid. [2]
Many processes of direct hydration of propylene in one step in the presence of catalyst
have been studied in order to avoid the disadvantages of the sulfuric acid process and to
obtain the rapid conversion of propylene to isopropanol with the lowest possible amount
of by-products. It is quite lately, however, that some economical direct hydration processes
for commercial isopropanol production have been developed. Now, with the rising market
of isopropanol, the economic importance of isopropanol production by direct hydration has
been well recognized. [3]
1
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Properties of isopropyl alcohol are shown in table 1.1 including physical and chemical
properties. [3]
2
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Isopropyl alcohol has been called the first petrochemical (IARC, 1992). It can be prepared
via three different methods: indirect hydration of propylene, direct hydration of propylene,
and catalytic hydrogenation of acetone. Indirect hydration, also called the sulfuric-acid
process, was the only method used to produce isopropanol worldwide until the first
commercial direct-hydration process was introduced in 1951. Each method has its
advantages and disadvantages. For example, direct hydration is less corrosive than indirect
hydration mediated by sulfuric acid. However, the direct method requires a pure propylene
feed, in contrast to the indirect process, which can use a dilute, refinery stream In the
indirect-hydration process, propylene is reacted with sulfuric acid to produce mono- and
di-isopropyl sulfates, which are then hydrolysed to isopropanol. In the two-step strong-acid
process, separate reactors are used for the propylene-absorption phase and the hydrolysis
of the sulfate esters. The reaction occurs at high sulfuric acid concentration (> 80% wt)
and low temperature (e.g. 20–30 °C). The weak-acid process is conducted in a single step
at lower acid concentration (60–80% wt) and higher temperature (60–65 °C). [4]
3
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
4
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.5 Objectives
1. Perform an intensive literature review and screening the IPA production and
purification routs.
2. Perform a thermodynamic analysis (hand calculation) of the reactor to estimate the
equilibrium constant, extent of reaction, and conversion.
3. Perform sensitivity analysis using MS excel to study the effect of some key
parameters on the reactor performance.
4. Generate a VLE data for the system to find the azeotrope point and select
appropriate purification method.
5. Perform a process simulation of the separation / purification section based on the
extractive distillation process to achieve high IPA purity.
5
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Propylene gas (70 wt% propylene, 30 wt% propane) is fed to the bottom of the absorber
reactor to mix with weak sulfuric acid (80 wt% H2SO4) from the top of the absorber
reactor. In the absorber reactor, propylene is absorbed by the weak sulfuric acid and
forms sulfate solution by esterification at the condition of P = 6 bar and T = 363 K.
While spent gas is vented out of the process from the top of the absorber reactor, the
sulfate mixture from the bottom of the absorber reactor is depressurized and heated
before entering the top of the stripper reactor. To form a hydration reaction at streamed
pressure with T = 407 K, water and low-pressure stream (LP stream) are supplied to the
lower section of the stripper reactor. Unreacted sulfuric acid is removed from the
bottom of the stripper reactor and recycled back to the absorber reactor for a further
esterification reaction. Product from the top of the stripper reactor is fed to the scrubber
to neutralize the residual acid with caustic. While spent soda is discharged from the
6
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
bottom of the scrubber, neutral product leaves the top of the scrubber as vapor stream.
The vapor stream is condensed and sent to the drum to separate propylene and propane
gases from product stream. The liquid product stream from the drum is pressurized and
fed to the first distillation column. The first distillation column operates with the partial
condenser. This column separates DIPE and the remaining gas from the product stream.
The distillate is sold as fuel. The product stream then enters the isopropanol-water
distillation column. As it is an azeotrope distillation, DMSO is used to separate
isopropanol from water. Isopropanol with a purity of 99 wt% concentrates in this
distillation column as the product stream. The heavy stream from the isopropanol-water
distillation column is sent to the last column for separation of water and DMSO. While
DMSO is recycled back to the azeotropic distillation column, water is removed from
the process as a wastewater. A flowsheet of the indirect hydration process is presented
in Figure 2.2. [6]
7
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
8
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Liquid propylene (95 wt% propylene, 5 wt% propane) is fed to the process and mixed
with recycled propylene. The combined propylene stream is pressurized to 15 bar and
preheated to 395 K before entering the reactor. Process water is pressurized to 15 bar
and preheated to 543 K. Then, propylene and process water react in the liquid phase.
The liquid effluent is cooled so that propylene and propane vaporize in a flash drum.
The vapor stream from the flash drum is condensed and sent to the propylene-propane
distillation column to purify unconverted propylene before recycling it back to the
process. Liquid from the flash drum is sent to the separation section to purify the
isopropanol product. The separation section consists of three distillation columns. The
first column is a partial distillation column, which separates DIPE from isopropanol.
Distillate stream from this column is discharged from the process as fuel. The second
column is an azeotropic distillation column, which separates water from isopropanol by
using DMSO as an extractive solvent. This column purifies the isopropanol product to
have 99 wt% purity. The last column is a water-DMSO distillation column, which
separates water from solvent in order to recycle water to the feed preparation section
and DMSO to the azeotropic distillation column. A flowsheet of the direct hydration
process is shown in Figure 2.3. [3,6]
9
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
10
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Hydrogen is fed to the process and pressurized to a pressure of 30 bar. Then, it is mixed
with recycled hydrogen and heated to a temperature of 373 K. Acetone is also
pressurized and preheated to a pressure of 30 bar and temperature of 373 K. Then,
hydrogen gas reacts with liquid acetone in the reactor and gives the vapor-liquid phase
product. The mixed-phase effluent is sent to drum to separate vapor from the liquid
product. The vapor mixture then enters a cooler to condense all the chemicals but
hydrogen. This condensed mixture enters the second drum in order to separate
unreacted hydrogen from the mixture. As the liquid mixture from this second drum
contains 98.5 wt% of isopropanol, it combines with the liquid product from the first
drum in the mixer and leaves the process as a 98.5 wt% isopropanol product. Unreacted
hydrogen that leaves the second drum is recycled back to the feed preparation section.
Figure 2.4 presents a flowsheet of the acetone hydrogenation process. [6]
11
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept of reactive distillation is not new. It was first applied to eaterification
process using homogeneous catalysts in 1920’s. The use of solid heterogeneous catalyst
for reactive distillation is a more recent development, first described by Sennewald et
al. (1971). The advantages of using solid catalysts over homogeneous catalysts are
obvious: they are easy to separate from reaction mixtures, easy to handle and less waste.
Solid catalysts also offer the potential for superior effectiveness and environmental
integrity. However the column internals are more complicated when using solid
catalysts.
Bubble-cap or sieve trays are common equipment used for homogenous reactive
distillation processes. With high weirs, they provide the necessary liquid hold up and
residence time needed for the reaction. Equipment for heterogeneous reactive
distillation consists primarily of catalyst containing packing, which allows for
simultaneous reaction and mass transfer between vapor and liquid phases. The
heterogeneous catalyst acts as distillation packing as well as catalyst, therefore,
heterogeneous reactive distillation is often termed as catalytic distillation (CD) to
differentiate between the two processes (homogeneous and heterogeneous).
CD is a viable option when the temperature and pressure of a process are such that the
rate of reaction is sufficiently high under conditions for separation of products by
distillation. The catalyst life must be long in order to avoid frequent start-up and shut-
down. Equilibrium-limited reactions are excellent candidates for catalytic distillation;
by continuously separating products from reactants while the reaction is in progress,
the reaction can proceed to a much higher level of conversion than is attainable using a
conventional process.
12
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
2. Takes place in the liquid phase; catalyst pellets remain completely wetted.
3. The reaction occurs at a temperature and pressure equivalent to the boiling point
of the liquid product; thus distillation and reaction can be carried out
commercially available
equilibrium limitations will be overcome, and the product stream will have a
reduction in capital investment. In addition, operating costs for production of IPA are
reduced, as there is essentially no need to cool or heat the reactor. We will show that
consumption of water and improved selectivity to IPA. Safety and catalyst performance
are also enhanced by use of CD technology, as the risk of formation of hot spots is
13
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
The core of the CD process is the catalytic distillation column (Figure 2.1). A column
in which propylene hydration is to be performed has three major sections. The reaction
occurs over one or more catalyst beds mounted in the middle section of the column.
Rectification of the volatile components of the reaction mixture occurs in the top
section. Liquid product is recovered from the bottom of a lower stripping section. We
and IPA etherification to DIPE proceed over the catalyst simultaneously with
distillation on the separation plates of the column. Unreacted volatiles rise from the
reaction zone to the rectifying section where they are separated from heavier
components before being removed from the top of the column. Condensed materials
fall as liquid from the reaction zone into the stripping section. In the present model, an
azeotropic mixture of IPA, DIPE and water is concentrated at the top of the stripping
section, and enriched IPA having a very low water content is gathered at the bottom of
the stripping section. The azeotrope vapor works as a carrier to lift water and DIPE back
to the reaction zone for water to be further reacted with propylene and for DIPE to
equilibrate with IPA. The IPA concentration in the product stream thereby exceeds the
14
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
15
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
16
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Figure 2.5 shows the residual diagram for tertiary mixture of IPA/water/entrainer.
Points A, B and C are the binary azeotrope compositions. Azeotropes A and B are
usually homogenous, single liquid phase, whereas azeotrope C, between one
component and the entrainer, is heterogeneous and splits into two liquid phases. Point
D is the ternary heterogeneous azeotrope with a boiling point lower than A, B or C (at
the same pressure). Curves AD, BD, and CD divide the composition diagram into three
regions, numbered with the Roman numerals I, II and III. The significance of these
regions is:
that any mixture within region I can be separated by simple distillation into pure
entrainer as a bottom product and the ternary azeotrope as a top product
a mixture in region III will separate into pure water and the ternary azeotrope
only mixtures in region II will give the desired products of pure IPA and the
ternary azeotrope.
The problem is that a typical feed to the column is in region III. If, however, sufficient
entrainer can be added to move the overall feed composition to some point G, within
region II, then the column can be operated to give pure IPA as the bottom product.
Moreover, if the overhead vapour composition, V, when condensed is the two liquid
phase region, bounded by the boiling surface and portions of the curves AD and BD,
the resulting entrainer rich phase, R, can be used as a reflux to the column and to create
the overall feed composition, G, on the line linking F and R. Point G must be at the
intersection of line FR and the line linking pure IPA, P and point V. Unfortunately,
17
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
point V cannot be arbitrarily fixed. Its location depends on the combination of stages,
reflux and feed location in the column. The key to setting up and solving this type of
column is accurately determining the feasible region for the overhead composition, V,
by locating curves AD and BD. [12]
18
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
distillation. In particular, the case of heterogeneous mixtures without decanter at the top of
azeotropic distillation column can be looked upon as the one of homogeneous mixtures, and at
the same time the liquid composition on a tray or a section of packing is replaced by the overall
liquid composition. [15]
19
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Lower energy consumption since salts are nonvolatile and do not evaporate or
condense in the distillation process
Purity of the overhead product from the extracting agent is high since the salts
are non-volatile.
Sometime a small amount of salt will facilitate required separation.
20
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIAL & ENERGY BALANCE
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
3.1 Introduction
The selected process for IPA production was a direct hydration of propylene, where the
calculation has been divided into two parts. The first part was focusing on the synthesis
section namely, the reactor, where thermodynamic analysis of the reaction was
performed followed by material and energy balance, while the second part was focusing
on the separation and purification section, where the firstly, the thermodynamic analysis
of the mixture was performed to investigate the solution behaviour, and then the
material and energy balance for the separation equipment were performed.
21
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
Using equation (3.1) and the values in Table 3.1 it is possible to calculate the free energy
change for the following reaction:
Using these values for the free energy change of the reaction, and the following relation:
= (-41,49)-(-54.64 + 14.99)
= -1.84 kcal/mole
∆𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑥𝑛
log kP =
2.303·1.987 cal/mole/°K·298°K
kp = 22.36
The other values of the ∆𝐺𝑟𝑥𝑛 and kp were calculated in the same manner using MS
excel, where the results are shown in table 3.2
22
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
The effect of temperature on the equilibrium constant has been investigated and shown
in the figure 3.1
It is noted in figure 3.1, that the equilibrium constant kp decreases rapidly as the
temperature increases to reach the equilibrium at about 400 K. These values of kP can
be used to calculate the equilibrium yield (conversion) of isopropanol at various
temperatures as follows:
𝑃𝐶3 𝐻8 𝑂
𝑘𝑃 = (3.3)
𝑃𝐶3 𝐻6 𝑃𝐻2 𝑂
𝑛𝐶3 𝐻8 𝑂
𝑘𝑛 = (3.4)
𝑛𝐶3 𝐻6 𝑛𝐻2 𝑂
𝑃
𝑘𝑃 = 𝑘𝑛 𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 ∗ ∆𝑣 (3.5)
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
At 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 1 atm
𝑛𝐶3 𝐻8 𝑂 1
𝑘𝑃 = ∗ (𝑛 )−1 (3.6)
𝑛𝐶3 𝐻6 𝑛𝐻2 𝑂 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
23
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
assuming an initial charge of 1 mole C3H5 and 1 mole H2O forming x moles of C3H8O
at 298°K
𝑥 2−𝑥
22.36 = ∗
(1−𝑥)(1−𝑥) 1
24
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
From the above result it can be seen clearly that the operating pressure has a positive
effect on the conversion.
atm, and the results are tabulated in table 3.4, and shown in figure 3.4.
25
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
26
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
The general conservation equation for any process can be written as:
For a steady state process, the accumulation term is zero. If a chemical reaction is taking
place a particular chemical species may be formed or consumed, the steady state
balance reduces to:
In case of the is no chemical reaction taking place, the generation and consumption
terms are omitted, and the balance equation is reduced to the simplest form:
Based on the thermodynamic analysis that have been made, the operating condition is
selected to have the maximum conversion at low temperature, high pressure, and high
molar ratio of water to propylene. The reactor operating condition will be as in table
3.5.
27
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
S7
S5
S8
Mole balance around the reactor is performed using the extent of reaction method to
estimate the outlet flow of each component and the stream composition.
Extent of reaction for the main reaction R1, and side reaction R2 are calculated using
as following:
𝐹𝑖𝑛 − 𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑡
Conversion Conv. = 𝐹𝑖𝑛
0.67∗100
ξ1 = = 67 kmol
1
0.05∗67
ξ2 = = 1.675 kmol
2
the outlet flowrate of each component from the reactor is calculated using the following
equation:
𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐹𝑖𝑛 + ∑ 𝑣𝑖 ∗ 𝜉
28
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
The mole fraction of each component is calculated using the following equation
𝑁𝑜. 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖
𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
All calculations are made using MS excel, the results are shown in table 3.6.
Table 3.6: result of mole balance around the reactor
Component Input (S5 + S7) kmol/hr Output (S8) kmol/hr
C3H6 100 FC3H6=100 - (100*0.67) = 33
H2O 1000 FH2O= 1000-(100*0.67)+(0.05*67)/2 = 931.325
IPA 0 FIPA= 67- (2*0.05*67) = 63.65
DIPA 0 FDIPA= (0.05*67)/2 = 1.675
Total 1100 1029.65
Energy balance around the reactor is made to find the outlet stream temperatura, sice
the reactor is operated adiabatically, where the Q = 0.
Hout,Hin: are the enthalpy of exit and feed stream respectively in kj /hr
𝑇
Hout = 𝑆₈ ∫298𝐾 𝐶𝑝 𝑑𝑡
473𝐾
Hin = 𝑆₇ ∫298𝐾 𝐶𝑝₇ 𝑑𝑡 , S7 = S6 + S5
473 473
Hin = 𝑆₆ ∫298 𝐶𝑝₆ 𝑑𝑡 + S₅ ∫298 𝐶𝑝₅ 𝑑𝑡
29
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
Reaction: R1
Reaction: R2
Substituting into the reactor energy balance equation to estimate the output stream
temperature. If the temperature is a reasonable value, then the adiabatic operation will
be considered, otherwise (very high output temperature), a cooling stream must be
considered.
𝑇
Hout = 𝑆₈ ∫298 𝐶𝑝8 𝑑𝑡
473 473
Hin = 𝑆₆ ∫298 𝐶𝑝₆ 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑆₅ ∫298 𝐶𝑝₅ 𝑑𝑡
0 = 146583.63 T – 70242571.23
30
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
70242571.23 = 146583.63 T
70242571.23
T = 146583.63 T = 479 K
Output reactor stream temperature is a reasonable value, then the adiabatic operation
(Q = 0) will be accepted.
31
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
The idea here is to separate the desired product based on the difference in the boiling
point, where the distillation column was used. To ensure the smooth operation and easy
separation is possible, the VLE data was generated using aspen properties software and
shown in the figures 3.5 and 3.6.
From figure 3.5 it can be seen clearly that the IPA /water system exhibits an azeotrope
which limiting the separation process at maximum purity of 60% IPA.
T-xy diagram for ISOPR-01/WATER
102.5
x 1.0132 bar
100.0 y 1.0132 bar
97.5
95.0
Temperature, C
92.5
90.0
87.5
85.0
82.5
80.0
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
From figure 3.6 it can be seen clearly that the mixture of IPA/DIPE has an azeotrope
point at 66 oC which liming the IPA purity to no more than 20%.
80
78
Temperature, C
76
74
72
70
68
66
64
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
32
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
From the VLE analysis of the IPA/WATER/DIPE system it is clearly that the separation and
purification process will be compacted due to the azeotrope issue, means that the hand
calculation will be difficult to be perfumed. Aspen HYSYS process simulation software has
been used to model the separation and purification section.
Due to the azeotrope problem in the system of IPA/water, the separation and
purification of the IPA using the traditional distillation will be impossible, to solve this
problem the extractive distillation is used where the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is used
as entrainer to break the azeotrope point. Due to the complicity of the system, material
and energy balance for the separation section is performed using Aspen HYSYS V11.
The component list was selected directly from databank which including IPA, water,
water, and DMSO.
NRTL fluid package was selected due to its high capability of modelling the high
pressure system, and it can handle any combination of polar and non-polar compounds,
up to very strong non ideality.
33
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
Flowsheet construction
The column configuration is shown in Figure 3.7. There are two feed streams entering
this column: a fresh feed (mixture of IPA and water) is fed in 35th stage, and a solvent
entrainer stream (dimethyl sulfoxide) is fed in 7th stage. The column has total of 41
stages (including total condenser and reboiler). Other operating conditions are shown
in table 3.8 and 3.9.
34
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
The energy balance around the column T-100 is performed to estimate the condenser
and reboiler duties, and streams properties such as enthalpy, heat flow, and and
temperature. Table 3.11 show the energy balance results.
35
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
The energy balance around the column T-101 is performed to estimate the condenser
and reboiler duties, and streams properties such as enthalpy, heat flow, and and
temperature. Table 3.13 show the energy balance results.
Auxiliary equipment
The auxiliary equipment including pump P-100 and cooler E-100. Since the process is
steady state, so the mass enter is equal to mass exit the pump and cooler.
Energy balance around the cooler E-100 is performed to estimate the energy required
to cool down the DMSO comes out of column T-101 before recycled. Result is shown
in table 3.14.
Energy balance around pump P-100 is performed to estimate the power required to
pump the recycled DMSO out of the cooler to the column T-100, where the result is
shown in table 3.15
36
CHAPTER THREE PROCESS CALCULATION
37
CHAPTER FOUR
PROJECT EVALUATION
CHAPTER FOUR PROJECT EVALUATION
First step is the flow sheet conversion (material and energy balance) which is already
performed and discussed in the preceding section, second step is the equipment
mapping which means the choose of the design criteria and the assumptions that can be
implemented to simplify the design and sizing procedure, where the mapping options
and assumptions applied are shown in the table 4.2.
Once we have the results of material and energy balance along with a mapping criterion,
an auto-design and equipment sizing is performed as a following
Exchanger design and rating software (EDR) is used for a design of all heat
transfer equipment, including coolers, heaters, heat exchangers, reboiler and
condenser
Vessel sizing tool is used for a design of pressurize vessels, separators and
reactors
Tray sizing tool is used for a design of the tray section and column internals for
the absorber and regeneration columns
38
CHAPTER FOUR PROJECT EVALUATION
Based on the results of equipment design and sizing, economic analysis and cost
estimation are performed using Aspen process economic analyser software (APEA)
where the capital, installation, and operating costs are calculated, moreover, for more
precise and reliability, the NPC is evaluated based on the assumptions shown in table
Using information from Table 4.3, the economic results of individual equipment in the
process are shown in Table 4.4.
The overall result of cost estimation for the entire plant is shown in table 4.5, where it
found that the total installed cost of the project is about 3.25E+06 with total operating cost
of 88.03 USD/HR.
39
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion
The research was aimed for study the production of IPA through the direct hydration
of propylene, where the study was divided into two sections. in the first section,
thermodynamic analysis was performed manually using principles that have been
learned and application of MS excel, to estimate the equilibrium conversion, extent of
reaction, and conversion under different operating conditions such as, temperature,
pressure, water to propylene ratio, where the result show that the reaction is favored at
low temperature due to the exothermic nature of the reaction, and high pressure until
around 20 bar where further increase will have no significant effect on the conversion,
moreover, the increase in the water to propylene ratio will have a positive effect on the
equilibrium conversion.
The second part of the study was to investigate the best option for IPA purification,
where it forms an azeotropic mixture with water, which make the purification process
extremely complicated, for this reason the extractive distillation using DMSO as an
entrainment was recommended.
40
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION
5.2 Recommendation
By the end of this research, one can propose some recommendation to be taken as a
starting point for future work as following:
41
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39