Pervaporation - sorption enhanced reaction for butyl acrylate production

Abstract

In this work, a new strategy to improve the synthesis of butyl acrylate was investigated. It comprises the integration of different separation processes with reaction in the same equipment aiming to increase the reaction equilibrium conversion. In this framework, commercial hydrophilic membranes packed with Amberlyst-15 ion exchange resin together with the simulated moving bed technology were considered, in a technology also known as simulated moving bed membrane reactor (PermSMBR). A mathematical model able to predict the PermSMBR performance was developed taking into account the reaction, adsorption and pervaporation fundamental data available in the literature. The results revealed that the PermSMBR can be one of the most effective processes for the synthesis of butyl acrylate achieving better performance than that reached in a simulated moving bed reactor, reducing by 98 % the SMBR desorbent requirement and significantly improving its productivity.