Semicontinuous distillation for ethyl lactate production

✍ Scribed by Thomas A. Adams II; Warren D. Seider

• Publisher: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 661 KB
• Volume: 54
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0001-1541
• DOI: 10.1002/aic.11585

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A novel semicontinuous process for the production of ethyl lactate from ethanol and lactic acid is studied. The process utilizes a middle vessel integrated with a distillation column to perform a ternary separation of the reaction mixture. A pervaporation unit separates ethanol from water. This new form of process intensification is shown to be economically superior to traditional batch and continuous alternatives for a wide range of production rates. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2008