Ultra-high-purity
propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA)
is required as an electronic-grade solvent to meet the stringent requirements
of the rapidly developing semiconductor industry. The high demand
for ultra-high-purity PGMEA has created the need for an efficient
sustainable process for reducing energy consumption as well as satisfying
tight waste management regulations. Here, a potentially sustainable
and novel process for efficient continuous electronic-grade PGMEA
manufacturing is presented. This study covers the extensive design
of the novel PGMEA manufacturing
process and its intensification from the conceptual level to rigorous
simulation. The base case of the proposed PGMEA manufacturing process
highlights the feasibility of renewable resource use, single ultra-high-purity
PGMEA, nonrequirement of an additional solvent, less waste generation,
and reduction in the usage of raw materials. The advanced intensification
of PGMEA manufacturing by exploiting reactive pressure-swing distillation
achieves total reduction in energy, cost, and CO2 emissions
of approximately 38.65, 35.05, and 36.25%, respectively, compared
to the base case with rigorous optimal reactive distillation and pressure-swing
distillation. Furthermore, heat integration of intensified case reduced
the total heat utility by 47.27%.
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