Computer-aided ionic liquid design for alkane/cycloalkane extractive distillation process

Zhen Song; Xinxin Li; He Chao; Fan Mo; Teng Zhou; Hongye Cheng; Lifang Chen; Zhiwen Qi

Green Energy & Environment (Apr 2019)

Computer-aided ionic liquid design for alkane/cycloalkane extractive distillation process

Zhen Song,
Xinxin Li,
He Chao,
Fan Mo,
Teng Zhou,
Hongye Cheng,
Lifang Chen,
Zhiwen Qi

Affiliations

Zhen Song: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China; Process Systems Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Sandtorstr. 1, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Xinxin Li: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
He Chao: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
Fan Mo: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
Teng Zhou: Process Systems Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Sandtorstr. 1, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
Hongye Cheng: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
Lifang Chen: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China; Corresponding authors.
Zhiwen Qi: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China; Corresponding authors.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 2
pp. 154 – 165

Abstract

Read online

A computer-aided ionic liquid design (CAILD) study is presented for the frequently encountered alkane/cycloalkane separations in petrochemical industry. Exhaustive experimental data are first collected to extend the UNIFAC-IL model for this system, where the proximity effect in alkanes and cycloalkanes is considered specifically by defining distinct groups. The thermodynamic performances of a large number of ILs for 4 different alkane/cycloalkane systems are then compared to select a representative example of such separations. By applying n-heptane/methylcyclohexane extractive distillation as a case study, the CAILD task is cast as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem based on the obtained task-specific UNIFAC-IL model and two semi-empirical models for IL physical properties. The top 5 IL candidates determined by solving the MINLP problem are subsequently introduced into Aspen Plus for process simulation and economic analysis, which finally identify 1-hexadecyl-methylpiperidinium tricyanomethane ([C16MPip][C(CN)3]) as the best entrainer for this separation. Keywords: CAILD, Alkane/cycloalkane extractive distillation, UNIFAC-IL, MINLP, Process performance and economics

Published in Green Energy & Environment

ISSN: 2468-0257 (Online)
Publisher: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Country of publisher: China
LCC subjects: Technology: Mechanical engineering and machinery: Renewable energy sources; Science: Biology (General): Ecology
Website: https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/green-energy-and-environment/

About the journal