Environmental assessment of the monochlorobenzene separation process using the vapor recompression strategy

Environmental assessment of the monochlorobenzene separation process using the vapor recompression strategyChlorobenzene is an important chemical intermediate in the production of commodities, such as herbicides, dyes and rubber. In this work, a vapor recompression intensification strategy was proposed to retool a monochlorobenzene separation process into real operation. The conventional process and the intensification proposal were designed and simulated in the UniSim Design Suite software. A utility plant, including cooling water and steam generation sections, was also realized for more realistic estimates of water and energy consumption as well as CO2 emissions. The results revealed that the vapor recompression technique was able to reduce total energy input, water consumption and CO2 emissions by 59.06%, 56.33% and 67.23%, respectively. These findings indicate promising sustainability gains.