Design and Control of a Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Decomposition Reactive Distillation Column

The synthesis, design, and control of a reactive distillation column for decomposing methyl tertiary butyl ether into isobutylene and methanol are reported in this work. Because the reaction is highly endothermic, it is advantageous to consider cautiously internal heat integration between the reaction and separation operations during process synthesis the and design, thereby necessitating deliberate determination of the feed location and judicious distribution of reactive section along the height of the process (Huang et al. AIChE J. 2006, 52, 2518). Through extensive comparison with a simple process design in which the reactive section is located between the rectifying section and the stripping section, it is demonstrated that a substantial reduction of capital investment and energy consumption can be achieved with this strategy of process development. Process dynamics and operation of the resultant process design were further investigated, and a noticeable improvement was gained in process controllability. The major reason for this improvement can be attributed to the fact that a more synergistic relationship has been evolved between the reaction and separation operations in the pursuit of further internal heat integration during process synthesis and design.