Exergy, economic and environmental assessment of sec-butyl acetate hydrolysis to sec-butyl alcohol using a combined reaction and extractive distillation system

Sec-butyl alcohol (SBA), an important chemical intermediate, is widely used in the synthesis of methyl ethyl ketone, herbicides and other products. However, there are some problems, such as high energy consumption and high equipment investment, in the traditional method of SBA production. With the mature application of the synthesis method of sec-butyl acetate (SBAC) in industry, the excess capacity of SBAC gradually appears. The synthesis of SBA from SBAC has become a research hotspot. SBA synthesized via the hydrolysis of SBAC has the advantages of fewer byproducts and wide sources of raw materials, but it has the limitation of a low degree of hydrolysis. In this study, based on Douglas's economic optimization model, taking the total annual cost (TAC) as the objective function, the influencing factors and suitable operating conditions of the SBAC hydrolysis reactive extractive distillation process were explored, and TAC was obtained under the optimal operating conditions. The environmental performance of the process was studied according to life cycle analysis. The exergy efficiency was obtained based on thermodynamic analysis. The process was analyzed from the aspects of exergy, environment and economy, which provided theoretical guidance for the industrial design of the new SBA process.