Extractive Distillation of Ethanol/Water with 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium Bromide Ionic Liquid as a Separating Agent: Process Simulation

Dhoni Hartanto; Prima Astuti Handayani; Widi Astuti; Ratna Dewi Kusumaningtyas; Yulian Candra Purwana; Maftukhaturrizqiyah; Reni Titis Wijayanti; Durroti Zuhriah Wulansari; Ria Wulansarie; Irene Nindita Pradnya; Danang Subarkah Hadikawuryan; Agung Ari Wibowo; Riza Mazidu Sholihin; Achmad Chafidz; Ianatul Khoiroh

Dhoni Hartanto Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang, 50229, Indonesia
Prima Astuti Handayani Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Widi Astuti Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Ratna Dewi Kusumaningtyas Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Yulian Candra Purwana Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Maftukhaturrizqiyah Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Reni Titis Wijayanti Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Durroti Zuhriah Wulansari Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Ria Wulansarie Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Irene Nindita Pradnya Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Danang Subarkah Hadikawuryan Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang 50229, Indonesia
Agung Ari Wibowo Department of Chemical Engineering, Politeknik Negeri Malang, Jl. Soekarno-Hatta No. 9, 64415, Indonesia
Riza Mazidu Sholihin RSUD Dr. Harjono, Pakunden, Ponorogo, 63419, Indonesia; Akafarma Sunan Giri Ponorogo, Jalan Batoro Katong, Ponorogo 63411, Indonesia
Achmad Chafidz Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, 55584, Indonesia; Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
Ianatul Khoiroh Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, Semenyih, 43500 Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Keywords: Dehydration, Ethanol, Extractive Distillation, [BMIM] [Br] Ionic Liquid, Process Simulation

Abstract

Ethanol purification has become of great interest recently because ethanol can be used as renewable energy, solvent in many industries, and for medicinal purposes. The separation of ethanol from water is challenging because the azeotropic point has appeared in this binary mixture. Extractive distillation technology is one of the most interesting methods to separate ethanol from water due to the competitiveness of its energy consumption and capital investment costs. Ionic liquids such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [BMIM] [Br], categorized as a green solvent, produce a significant salting-out effect in the ethanol-water system. This makes ionic liquid a promising solvent in ethanol-water separation. This study simulated the extractive distillation of an ethanol-water system with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide as a solvent. The simulation and sensitivity analysis were performed on the Aspen Plus Process Simulator to obtain the optimum configuration. The NRTL thermodynamic model was used in this study. The effects of the number of stages (NS), binary feed stage (BFS), entrainer feed stage (EFS), and reflux ratio (RR) on the ethanol concentration with minimum energy requirements were studied. The most optimal configurations to produce a high ethanol concentration with less energy are NS 28, BFS 22, EFS 4, and RR 1.5.

References

Arifin, S., and Chien, I.-L., 2008). “Design and control of an isopropyl alcohol dehydration process via extractive distillation using dimethyl sulfoxide as an entrainer.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 47(3), 790–803.

Cheung, D. C., Millman, A. L., Lenardis, M., and Elterman, D., 2018). Chapter 21 - Ethanol Injection of the Prostate in Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (B. B. T.-A. C. G. to the P. Chughtai, Ed.; pp. 189–195. Academic Press.

Dagle, R. A., Winkelman, A. D., Ramasamy, K. K., Lebarbier Dagle, V., and Weber, R. S., 2020. “Ethanol as a renewable building block for fuels and chemicals.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 59(11), 4843–4853.

Ekeyi, Y., Uchendu, N. O., Anaduaka, E. G., and Ezeanyika, L. U. S., 2021. “Ethanol extract of Cassia sieberiana leaves ameliorates deviances associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia in rats.” All Life, 14(1), 473–483.

Gil, I. D., Uyazán, A. M., Aguilar, J. L., Rodríguez, G., and Caicedo, L. A., 2008. “Separation of ethanol and water by extractive distillation with salt and solvent as entrainer: Process Simulation.” Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 25(1), 207–215.

Gómez, P., and Gil, I., 2007. Simulation of the tetrahydrofuran dehydration process by extractive distillation in Aspen Plus. Proceedings of European Congress of Chemical Engineering (ECCE-6), 1–19.

Grinshpun, S. A., Yermakov, M., and Khodoun, M., 2020. “Autoclave sterilization and ethanol treatment of re-used surgical masks and N95 respirators during COVID-19: impact on their performance and integrity.” Journal of Hospital Infection, 105(4), 608–614.

Hartanto, D., Fardhyanti, D. S., Laela, N., Wulansarie, R., Harianingsih, Imani, N. A. C., Chafidz, A., Kusumaningtyas, R. D., and Khoiroh, I., 2021. “Anhydrous tert-butanol production via extractive distillation using glycerol as an entrainer: technical performances simulation.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 700(1), 12029.

Kiss, A. A., and Suszwalak, D. J.-. P. C., 2012. “Enhanced bioethanol dehydration by extractive and azeotropic distillation in dividing-wall columns.” Separation and Purification Technology, 86, 70–78.

Manochio, C., Andrade, B. R., Rodriguez, R. P., and Moraes, B. S., 2017. “Ethanol from biomass: A comparative overview.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 80, 743–755.

Pan, Q., Shang, X., Li, J., Ma, S., Li, L., and Sun, L., 2019. “Energy-efficient separation process and control scheme for extractive distillation of ethanol-water using deep eutectic solvent.” Separation and Purification Technology, 219, 113–126.

Prasanna, V. L., Mamane, H., Vadivel, V. K., and Avisar, D., 2020. “Ethanol-activated granular aerogel as efficient adsorbent for persistent organic pollutants from real leachate and hospital wastewater.” Journal of Hazardous Materials, 384, 121396.

Stewart, M. I., 2014. Chapter Nine - Gas Sweetening. In M. I. Stewart (Ed.), Surface Production Operations (Third Edition) (Vol. 2, pp. 433–539). Gulf Professional Publishing.

Strohm, B., 2014. Ethanol (P. B. T.-E. of T. (Third E. Wexler, Ed.; pp. 488–491). Academic Press.

Tsanas, C., Tzani, A., Papadopoulos, A., Detsi, A., and Voutsas, E., 2014. “Ionic liquids as entrainers for the separation of the ethanol/water system.” Fluid Phase Equilibria, 379, 148–156.

Zhu, Z., Ri, Y., Li, M., Jia, H., Wang, Y., and Wang, Y., 2016a. “Extractive distillation for ethanol dehydration using imidazolium-based ionic liquids as solvents.” Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 109, 190–198.

Fadia, G., Hassiba, B., Weifeng, S., 2022. "Separation of ethanol – water mixture by extractive distillation using pyridinium-based ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium ethylsulfate." Chem. Eng. Process. - Process Intensif., 173, 108815.

Ghorbani, S.M., Housaindokht, M.R., Bozorgmehr, M.R., 2021. "Investigating the effect of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium methyl sulfate ionic liquids on structure and function of Chloroproxidase by molecular dynamics simulation." J. Mol. Liq., 332, 115850.

Graczová, E., Steltenpohl, P., 2022. "VLE measurement of binary systems containing imidazolium ionic liquids and water or ethanol." Fluid Phase Equilib., 556, 113400.

Hartanto, D., Sutrisno, A., Widya, V., Mustain, A., Handayani, P.A., Prasetiawan, H., Chafidz, A., Khoiroh, I., 2020. Simulation of the Extractive Distillation using Ethylene Glycol as an Entrainer in the Bioethanol Dehydration, in: Proceedings of the 7th Engineering International Conference on Education, Concept and Application on Green Technology (EIC 2018. SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, pp. 450–454.

Hernández-Hernández, E. de J., Cabrera-Ruiz, J., Hernández-Escoto, H., Gutiérrez-Antonio, C., Hernández, S., 2022. "Simulation study of the production of high purity ethanol using extractive distillation: Revisiting the use of inorganic salts." Chem. Eng. Process. - Process Intensif., 170, 108670.

Kiss, A.A., Suszwalak, D.J.-. P.C., 2012. "Enhanced bioethanol dehydration by extractive and azeotropic distillation in dividing-wall columns." Sep. Purif. Technol., 86, 70–78.

Leth, P.M., Gregersen, M., 2005. "Ethylene glycol poisoning." Forensic Sci. Int., 155, 179–184.

Li, G., Liu, S., Yu, G., Dai, C., Lei, Z., 2021. "Extractive distillation using ionic liquids-based mixed solvents combined with dividing wall column." Sep. Purif. Technol., 269, 118713.

Luyben, W.L., 2009. "Control of a column/pervaporation process for separating the ethanol/water azeotrope." Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 48, 3484–3495.

Ma, S., Shang, X., Li, L., Song, Y., Pan, Q., Sun, L., 2019. "Energy-saving thermally coupled ternary extractive distillation process using ionic liquids as entrainer for separating ethyl acetate-ethanol-water ternary mixture." Sep. Purif. Technol., 226, 337–349.

Malik, H., Khan, H.W., Hassan Shah, M.U., Ahmad, M.I., Khan, I., Al-Kahtani, A.A., Sillanpää, M., 2023. "Screening of ionic liquids as green entrainers for ethanol water separation by extractive distillation: COSMO-RS prediction and aspen plus simulation." Chemosphere, 311, 136901.

Meireles, I.T., Brazinha, C., Coelhoso, I.M., Crespo, J.G., 2016. 10 - Membranes for ethanol dehydration, in: Figoli, A., Cassano, A., Basile, A.B.T.-M.T. for B. (Eds.), Woodhead Publishing, pp. 241–262.

Momeni, P., Shekaari, H., 2022. "Effect of choline lactate ionic liquid as entrainer on the thermodynamic properties of alcohols + water azeotropic mixtures." J. Mol. Liq., 366, 120138.

Novita, F.J., Lee, H.-Y., Lee, M., 2018. "Energy-efficient and ecologically friendly hybrid extractive distillation using a pervaporation system for azeotropic feed compositions in alcohol dehydration process." J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng., 91, 251–265.

Sudhan, S.P.N., Ahmed, R.N., Kiyani, H., Mansoor, S.S., 2018. "Ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide: A green reaction media for the efficient synthesis of 3-methyl-1,4-diphenyl-1,4,5,7-tetrahydro-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-6-ones/thiones using phthalimide-N-sulfonic acid as catalyst." J. Saudi Chem. Soc. 22, 269–278.

Valderrama, J.O., Rojas, R.E., 2009. "Critical Properties of ionic liquids. Revisited." Ind. Eng. Chem. Res,. 48, 6890–6900.

Vorayos, N., Kiatsiriroat, T., Vorayos, N., 2006. "Performance analysis of solar ethanol distillation." Renew. Energy, 31, 2543–2554.

Zheng, X., Chen, L., Zhang, H., Yao, Z., Yang, Y., Xiang, F., Li, Y., Xiang, S., Zhang, Z., Chen, B., 2023. "Optimized sieving effect for ethanol/water separation by ultramicroporous MOFs." Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 62, e202216710.