Thermodynamic fundamentals of reactive distillation

Abstract

One of the classic tasks of Chemical Engineering is the downstream processing of products from a chemical synthesis. As most chemical reactions are reversible, and hence do not achieve complete conversion, the reactor effluent consists of both reactants and products. The separation of reactor effluent, mainly through distillation, is often more complicated than the reaction itself, especially if an azeotrope is present. This process combination can be substantially simplified through the implementation of a counter-current column, in which both the reaction and distillation occur.