Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis
Dimethyl carbonate is an important green chemical that has been widely used in the chemical industry. In the production of dimethyl carbonate, methanol oxidative carbonylation has been studied, but the conversion ratio of dimethyl carbonate using this method is too low, and the subsequent separation...
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Entropy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/24/10/1438 |
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| author | Shuxing Zhang Xiaoshu Ding Helen Shang Yucong Song Yanji Wang |
| author_facet | Shuxing Zhang Xiaoshu Ding Helen Shang Yucong Song Yanji Wang |
| author_sort | Shuxing Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dimethyl carbonate is an important green chemical that has been widely used in the chemical industry. In the production of dimethyl carbonate, methanol oxidative carbonylation has been studied, but the conversion ratio of dimethyl carbonate using this method is too low, and the subsequent separation requires a large amount of energy due to methanol and dimethyl carbonate being azeotrope. In this paper, the strategy of “reaction instead of separation” is proposed. Based on this strategy, a novel process is developed to combine the production of DMC with that of dimethoxymethane (DMM) and dimethyl ether (DME). The co-production process was simulated using Aspen Plus software, and the product purity was up to 99.9%. The exergy analysis of the co-production process and the existing process was carried out. The exergy destruction and exergy efficiency were compared with those of the existing production processes. The results show that the exergy destruction of the co-production process is about 276% less than that of the single-production processes, and the exergy efficiencies in the developed co-production process are significantly improved. The utility loads of the co-production process are significantly lower than that of the single-production process. The developed co-production process increases the methanol conversion ratio to 95%, with a reduced energy requirement. It is proved that the developed co-production process can provide an advantageous option over the existing processes with improved energy efficiency and material savings. The strategy of “reaction instead of separation” is feasible. A new strategy is proposed for azeotrope separation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:15:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f20d3eb053c1408d92928cac5493eed4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1099-4300 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:15:04Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Entropy |
| spelling | doaj.art-f20d3eb053c1408d92928cac5493eed42023-11-24T00:03:48ZengMDPI AGEntropy1099-43002022-10-012410143810.3390/e24101438Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy AnalysisShuxing Zhang0Xiaoshu Ding1Helen Shang2Yucong Song3Yanji Wang4School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaSchool of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaBharti School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, CanadaSchool of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaSchool of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaDimethyl carbonate is an important green chemical that has been widely used in the chemical industry. In the production of dimethyl carbonate, methanol oxidative carbonylation has been studied, but the conversion ratio of dimethyl carbonate using this method is too low, and the subsequent separation requires a large amount of energy due to methanol and dimethyl carbonate being azeotrope. In this paper, the strategy of “reaction instead of separation” is proposed. Based on this strategy, a novel process is developed to combine the production of DMC with that of dimethoxymethane (DMM) and dimethyl ether (DME). The co-production process was simulated using Aspen Plus software, and the product purity was up to 99.9%. The exergy analysis of the co-production process and the existing process was carried out. The exergy destruction and exergy efficiency were compared with those of the existing production processes. The results show that the exergy destruction of the co-production process is about 276% less than that of the single-production processes, and the exergy efficiencies in the developed co-production process are significantly improved. The utility loads of the co-production process are significantly lower than that of the single-production process. The developed co-production process increases the methanol conversion ratio to 95%, with a reduced energy requirement. It is proved that the developed co-production process can provide an advantageous option over the existing processes with improved energy efficiency and material savings. The strategy of “reaction instead of separation” is feasible. A new strategy is proposed for azeotrope separation.https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/24/10/1438dimethyl carbonateAspen Plusco-production processexergy analysis |
| spellingShingle | Shuxing Zhang Xiaoshu Ding Helen Shang Yucong Song Yanji Wang Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis Entropy dimethyl carbonate Aspen Plus co-production process exergy analysis |
| title | Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis |
| title_full | Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis |
| title_short | Co-Production of Dimethyl Carbonate, Dimethoxymethane and Dimethyl Ether from Methanol: Process Design and Exergy Analysis |
| title_sort | co production of dimethyl carbonate dimethoxymethane and dimethyl ether from methanol process design and exergy analysis |
| topic | dimethyl carbonate Aspen Plus co-production process exergy analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/24/10/1438 |
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