The possibility of superheated methanol vapor carrying water in the stripping tower
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I would like to ask everyone: If a stripping tower is used as a reaction tower, with feed entering at the top of the tower and water being produced upon completion of the reaction at the bottom, and if superheated methanol vapor is used at the bottom to strip the water generated by the reaction, with the methanol-water mixture then being discharged from the top of the tower, is this process feasible? Since the reaction takes place inside the tower, little water is produced at the top of the tower, while more water is generated as one moves downward. The purpose of adding water to methanol is to reduce the amount of water in the reaction mixture, thereby shifting the equilibrium to the right. Should the reaction liquid at the bottom of the tower not be fed back into the stripping tower, in order to enable the methanol vapor to perform the function of stripping water? Thank you all!
What specific reaction? It should be theoretically possible to carry water along with the superheated methanol vapor, but it is necessary to determine from the data whether the water composition inside the tower can reach a level lower than the reaction equilibrium composition desired. Calculating complex systems that involve both reaction equilibrium and vapor-liquid equilibrium is inherently a challenge in chemical engineering.
It’s theoretically possible. For industrialization, it is recommended to conduct pilot tests
Esterification reaction (methanol solution): the process is similar to desorption, but more complex than resolution. The moisture content of the feed liquid is 3%, while that of the output liquid is 6% if superheated steam is not used to remove water from it. The goal now is to reduce the moisture content to below 1%; only a small amount of methanol-water mixture exits at the top of the tower. It seems that this goal cannot be achieved if the feed liquid is not fed back into the tower once again. There are also calculations; it’s frustrating, I’m not very good at them, I forget them… I need to learn how to do them. Do anyone have any good suggestions?
What specific reactions are they?
In the esterification reaction, water is one of the products; here, water is removed as the reaction proceeds, causing the reaction to shift to the right and increasing the conversion rate!
If the moisture content can be reduced to below 1%, trying to use a membrane might work