PROCESS APPLICATION

As an introduction, ethyl acetate is an ester of reaction between

ethanol and acetic acid. Typically it is used as a solvent for varnishes,
lacquers, dry cleaning, stains, fats, nitrocellulose, nail polish, nail polish
remover, base coats and other manicuring products. During the production
of artificial silk and leather, and during the preparation of photographic
films and plates, ethyl acetate become the by-products of the process.
Plus, it is also terminated during the manufacture of linoleum, and 'plastic'
wood, dyes, pharmaceuticals, drug intermediates, acetic acid, artificial fruit
flavorings and essences, and perfumes and fragrances.
The

main

method

to

manufacture ethyl

acetate involves

the

esterification of ethanol with acetic acid through reactive distillation (RD).

Reactive

distillation

is

state-of-the-art

technology

that

combines

distillation and the chemical reaction in one single operating step. It is

highly valuable for equilibrium-limited reactions such as esterification and
ester

hydrolysis,

also

for

few

other

reactions

e.g.

etherification,

hydrogenation, hydrodesulphurization and polymerization. Since there are

complex interactions between chemical reaction and separation, the
performance of a reactive distillation column is influenced by several
parameters e.g. size and location of reactive and non-reactive column
sections, reflux ratio, feed location, or throughput.
Reactive distillation promotes benefits in terms of improved selectivity,
increased conversion and better heat control, effective utilization of
reaction heat, scope for difficult separations and the avoidance of
azeotropes. Not only that, it is consequently enabling lower capital,
investment and operational benefits. Reactive distillation may not always
be a feasible option since it has its own limitations, somehow it is supposed
that some areas need considerable attention to expand the domain of RD
processes.

In a nutshell, reactive distillation seems to be a promising technology

in the profitable business of chiral chemicals and to some extent also in the
production of organosilicon derivatives.

References
1. Hiwale, R.S., Bhate, N.S., Mahajan, Y.S., Majahani, S.M. (2004) Industrial
Applications of Reactive Distillation: Recent Trends. Vol (2) Retrieved
November 15, 2015, from
http://chemistry.mdma.ch/hiveboard/picproxie_docs/000535383viewcontent.pdf
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_distillation
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distillation
4. Reactive Distillation. Retrieved November 19, 2015 from
http://www.gmehling.chemie.uni-oldenburg.de/9694.html