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Problem: O H Ether Diethyl Ethanol 2 Ethanol O H Ethylene

The document describes the production of ethanol from ethylene through hydration reactions. A feed containing ethylene, ethane, and methane is heated and sent to a reactor where ethylene converts to ethanol. The products are separated and unconverted materials are recycled along with diethyl ether byproduct. Distillation columns separate the ethanol azeotrope from water and diethyl ether, which is also recycled.

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Vaibhav Sharma
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38 views

Problem: O H Ether Diethyl Ethanol 2 Ethanol O H Ethylene

The document describes the production of ethanol from ethylene through hydration reactions. A feed containing ethylene, ethane, and methane is heated and sent to a reactor where ethylene converts to ethanol. The products are separated and unconverted materials are recycled along with diethyl ether byproduct. Distillation columns separate the ethanol azeotrope from water and diethyl ether, which is also recycled.

Uploaded by

Vaibhav Sharma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHE F314 Process Design Principles I

Problem
• Ethanol is produced by the hydration of ethylene. The primary reactions for ethanol synthesis are given
below:
Ethylene  H 2 O  Ethanol
2 Ethanol  Diethylether  H 2 O
• Initially, the feed (90% ethylene, 8% ethane, and 2% methane) and water are heated by passing
through the primary heater. This heated feed is sent to the reactor. The reaction takes place at 560 K
and 69 bar. The fractional conversion of ethylene in the reactor is 0.07. The reactants and products are
sent to the separator where gaseous and liquid products and reactants are separated. All gaseous
products and reactants are scrubbed in a scrubber. Unconverted ethylene and inert gases (ethane and
methane) are recycled back. To avoid the accumulation of inert components, some amount of recycled
stream is purged. The liquid products and the bottom products of scrubber are sent to the series of
distillation columns where side product diethyl ether and water are separated out. The diethyl ether is
recycled back and mixed with the feed stream. Ethanol-water azeotrope is produced from the final
distillation column.

1 BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus


CHE F314 Process Design Principles I

Problem

• Draw the following:


• General structure of the flow sheet
• Recycle structure of the flow sheet
• Input-output structure of the flow sheet

2 BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus


CHE F314 Process Design Principles I

Solution: General Structure

Ethylene + Ethane + Methane


Purge
(Ethylene + Ethane + Methane)

Vapor
Recovery
System

Ethylene, Methane,
Ethane Ethylene, H2O, DEE,
Ethane, Methane, Ethanol, DEE, H2O
Ethanol Phase
Process
H2O Split

Ethanol-H2O azeotrope
Liquid
Recovery
H2O
System

Diethyl Ether (DEE)

3 BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus


CHE F314 Process Design Principles I

Recycle Structure

Ethylene + Ethane + Methane


Purge
(Ethylene + Ethane + Methane)

Ethylene, Methane,
Ethane Ethylene, H2O, DEE, Ethanol-H2O azeotrope
Ethane, Methane,
Process Ethanol Separation
H2O System H2O

Diethyl Ether (DEE)

4 BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus


CHE F314 Process Design Principles I

Input-Output Structure

Ethylene + Ethane +
Methane
Purge
(Ethylene + Ethane + Methane)

Ethylene, Methane,
Ethane Ethanol-H2O azeotrope

Process H2O
H2O

5 BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus

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