Feasibility of reactive pressure swing batch distillation in a double column configuration

Ethyl-acetate is generally produced by the esterification reaction of ethanol with acetic acid. Since the reaction is equilibrium-limited, the use of reactive distillation is an attractive option. A new double column system is suggested for ethyl-acetate production application of reactive pressure swing batch distillation. The system is investigated by feasibility study based on the analysis of reactive and non-reactive residue curve maps and by rigorous simulation using a professional dynamic simulator.