Transacetalization of Glycerol with Methylal by Reactive Distillation

The applicability of reactive distillation (RD) for the transacetalization of glycerol with methylal in the presence of Amberlyst-15 is studied by experiments and simulation. On the basis of the batch kinetic runs a pseudohomogeneous kinetic model is proposed. The experiments are performed on a continuous reactive distillation column and are compared with the predictions of the equilibrium stage model. Various feasible configurations of reactive distillation are identified and the experimentally validated simulator is used to investigate the effect of different design and operating parameters such as number of rectifying stages, stripping stages, feed mole ratio, reboiler duty, etc. on the performance in each case. The RD process alternatives and the conventional process of reaction followed by distillation are compared.