Synthesis of n-propyl propionate in a pilot-plant reactive distillation column: Experimental study and simulation

The catalytic esterification of n-propyl propionate using propionic acid and n-propyl alcohol as reactants via a conventional pilot plant reactive distillation column was carried-out. The strongly acidic ion-exchange resin Amberlyst46™ was used as the solid acid catalyst. The influence of the reflux ratio (from 2.0 to 2.5), the molar feed ratio (from 2.0 to 2.5), and total feed (from 3.0 to 4.0kg/h) on the purity and conversion of the species and on the composition and temperature profiles along the column was analyzed. A 23 experimental design with six actual and two simulated experiments was carried-out. With the experimental conditions obtained from the simulation results, the experiments showed that a reflux ratio of 2.0, a molar feed ratio of 2.0 and a total feed of 4kg/h, yielded the largest propyl propionate production (1.60kg/h). The simulated experiments were carried out using a non-equilibrium model implemented into the simulation environment Aspen Custom Modeler™.