A comparison of steady-state equilibrium and rate-based models for packed reactive distillation columns

A steady-state equilibrium model and a rate-based model were developed and compared for packed reactive distillation columns for the production of tert-amyl methyl ether TAME) and methyl acetate. For the methyl acetate system, both models yield good agreement with experimental data. The results predicted by the equilibrium and rate-based models are similar with very few differences found under all simulation conditions. However, the rate-based model is much more complicated than the equilibrium model and also more difficult to converge. The influence of the reflux ratio, the operating pressure, the catalyst amount, and the heat loss was studied. It was found that reactive distillation behaves very differently from ordinary distillation. The existence of an optimal reflux ratio and an optimal pressure is predicted by both models.