Reactive chromatography (RC) is a promising technology, wherein equilibrium limitations are overcome by simultaneous reaction and adsorptive separation in a single unit. This operation, on a large scale, can be performed conveniently in a simulated moving bed reactor (SMBR) in continuous mode. In this work, we demonstrate the use of an SMBR for the synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl acetate through experiments and simulations. The kinetic model and Langmuir adsorption isotherm, which serve as inputs to the simulator, were taken from an earlier study Mahajani Sep. Sci. Technol. 2008, 43, 2245). A parametric study was performed using the experimentally validated simulator by varying one of the parameters at a time, to yield desired performance in terms of conversion, purity, productivity, and desorbent consumption. The trends in the results are explained with the help of variations in the solid and liquid concentrations. The simulation results indicate that an SMBR unit containing eight columns is able to offer almost quantitative conversion and purity with a typical desorbent requirement of 46.35 mol of acetic acid per mole of product and a productivity of 32.01 mol of product per kilogram of adsorbent per day. Further optimization of the performance and application of a systematic design algorithm are developed and presented in part II of this work.

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