Industrial-scale fabrication of mordenite membranes by dual heating method for production of ethyl acetate in an industrial VP-esterification plant

High-performance industrial-scale mordenite membranes were successfully prepared on 100-cm-long tubular macroporous mullite supports using a large autoclave containing 50 pieces (membrane area: 1.88 m2) by a dual heating method. The effects of different heating methods on temperature and concentration distribution in the industrial autoclave were discussed in detail. Mordenite membranes prepared using a dual heating method by eliminating the temperature and concentration gradients showed excellent reproducibility, with an average flux of more than 2 kg m−2 h−1 for separation of a 90 wt% HAc/H2O mixture at 90 °C. The qualification rate of industrial-scale membranes produced in a single autoclave was more than 90%. Additionally, 345 pieces of industrial-scale mordenite membranes with a total membrane area of ca. 12.6 m2 were assembled into 3 membrane modules in an industrial vapor permeation (VP) plant to intensify esterification of acetic acid and ethanol by rapid dehydration. The industrial VP-esterification plant produced 99.5 wt% ethyl acetate with a product flow rate of about 140 kg h−1 and the annual output exceeded 1000 tons. Importantly, the industrial plant showed an excellent stability for operating over 100 d, illustrating that the industrial-scale mordenite membranes had a high stability in industrial application of esterification of acetic acid and ethanol to produce ethyl acetate.