Study On Synthesis Of Methyl Propionate By Catalytic Distillation

In view of the increasing market demand in recent years for the methyl propionate,the traditional process in production capacity,product quality and other aspects of the existence defects,so introduce reaction distillation technology to transform the traditional production process to achieve continuous production,with the lower cost of materials,produce consistent quality methyl propionate while reducing investment in equipment and operating difficulty,achieve better conomic and social benefits.This paper aimed at optimizing the production process of methyl propionate and providing theoretical guidance for it.The process of methyl propionate synthesis was experimentally studied in a batch stirred tank reactor after C100 FLH catalyst was screened as the optimum catalyst.The factors of the stirring speed,the reaction temperature,the amount of catalyst and the ratio of reactants were determined to acquire appropriate reaction condition.The experiment data were fitted for the synthesis dynamics equation.On the basis of results above,the chemical process simulation software Aspen Plus was used to simulate the catalytic distillation process of methyl propionate synthesis.Based on the analysis of the basic physical properties of the system,a suitable process was established.The effects of the number of theoretical plates were investigated,and optimization results were obtained.The oretical plate number of distillation section is 4,reaction section is 12,and reflux ratio of origanic phase is 1.6,the concentration of propionic acid at the bottom is controlled at 30%-60%.The mass fraction of methyl propionate in the top product reach to 92.21%,and reach to 99.53% after purification,the mass fraction of propionic acid meet the industrial standard.A set of continuous catalytic distillation lab test tower was built,in which the reaction section loaded C100 FLH,the rectifying section and distillation section were full of 3×3 mm 316 L stainless steel helices.Based on the simulation results,experimental research about the feed position of propionic acid,the concentration of propionic acid,reflux ratio of organic phase were carried on.The results showed that the appropriate feed stage for propionic acid is 1/4 from the top of tower,and methanol feed location is kettle.the organic phase reflux ratio is 1.6,the concentration of propionic acid at the bottom is controlled at 33%-65%..Under these operate conditions,the conversion of methanol reach to 98.40%,the mass fraction of methyl propioniate in the top tower is 92.02%.The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation results,which verifies the reliability of the simulation.