Superior Performance in Reactive Distillation Method for Industrial Application: A Case Study of Ethyl Lactate Production
Keywords:
Reactive distillation, Ethyl Lactate, Green Solvent, Process intensification, Aspen Plus.
Abstract
Ethyl lactate, a biodegradable and environmentally friendly solvent, offers a sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-based solvents. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of ethyl lactate production through both conventional and intensified process designs using rigorous process simulation. The reactive distillation column (RDC) was identified as the most efficient configuration, achieving notable reductions in total capital cost (57.3%) and total operating cost (40.2%) compared to traditional setups. The NRTL thermodynamic model was employed to accurately capture non-ideal behavior among reactive components, and kinetic parameters were validated against experimental data. The results demonstrate that RDC-based process intensification significantly enhances economic performance while promoting sustainable chemical manufacturing, positioning it as a promising approach for future green solvent production.
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References
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[16] S. B. Dai, H. Y. Lee, and C. L. Chen, “Design and Economic Evaluation for the Production of Ethyl Lactate via Reactive Distillation Combined with Various Separation Configurations,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 58, no. 15, pp. 6121–6132, 2019, doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b03343.
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[18] W. Luyben and C. C. Yu, Reactive distillation design and control. John Wiley & Sons Inc. : Hoboken, New Jersey, 2008.
[19] M. I. Taipabu, F. J. Novita, H. Y. Lee, and R. Handogo, “Improvement of Cyclohexene/Cyclohexane separation process design via chemical looping technology using reactive distillation and thermally coupled configurations,” Chem. Eng. Process. - Process Intensif., vol. 168, no. August, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.cep.2021.108587.
[20] A. A. Kiss, M. Jobson, and X. Gao, “Reactive Distillation: Stepping Up to the Next Level of Process Intensification,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 58, no. 15, pp. 5909–5918, 2019, doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b05450.
[2] P. Delgado, M. T. Sanz, S. Beltrán, and L. A. Núñez, “Ethyl lactate production via esterification of lactic acid with ethanol combined with pervaporation,” Chem. Eng. J., vol. 165, no. 2, pp. 693–700, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2010.10.009.
[3] Industy_ARC, “Ethyl Lactate Market Size And Forecast,” Analytics Research Consylting, 2023. https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/ethyl-lactate-market/ (accessed May 06, 2023).
[4] H. G. Nam, G. W. Lim, and S. Mun, “Separation of acetic acid, formic acid, succinic acid, and lactic acid using adsorbent resin,” J. Chem. Eng. Data, vol. 57, no. 8, pp. 2102–2108, 2012, doi: 10.1021/je201065u.
[5] A. Komesu, P. F. M. Martinez, B. H. Lunelli, R. M. Filho, and M. R. W. Maciel, “Lactic acid purification by reactive distillation system using design of experiments,” Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif., vol. 95, pp. 26–30, 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.cep.2015.05.005.
[6] M. I. Taipabu, K. Viswanathan, H. T. Chen, and W. Wu, “Green solvent production of ethyl lactate via process intensification,” J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng., vol. 146, no. March, p. 104876, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.jtice.2023.104876.
[7] C. S. M. Pereira, S. P. Pinho, V. M. T. M. Silva, and A. E. Rodrigues, “Thermodynamic equilibrium and reaction kinetics for the esterification of lactic acid with ethanol catalyzed by acid ion-exchange resin,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 1453–1463, 2008, doi: 10.1021/ie071220p.
[8] B. Daengpradab and P. Rattanaphanee, “Process Intensification for Production of Ethyl Lactate from Fermentation-Derived Magnesium Lactate: A Preliminary Design,” Int. J. Chem. React. Eng., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 407–412, 2015, doi: 10.1515/ijcre-2014-0133.
[9] T. A. Adams and W. D. Seider, “Semicontinuous Distillation for Ethyl Lactate Production,” AIChE J., vol. 54, no. 10, pp. 2539–2552, 2008, doi: 10.1002/aic.
[10] S. Pena-Tejedor, R. Murga, M. T. Sanz, and S. Beltr´an, “Vapor–liquid equilibria and excess volumes of the binary systems ethanol + ethyl lactate, isopropanol + isopropyl lactate and n-butanol + n-butyl lactate at 101.325 kPa,” Fluid Phase Equilib., vol. 230, pp. 197–203, 2005, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fluid.2005.02.015.
[11] H. S. Lai, Y. F. Lin, and C. H. Tu, “Isobaric (vapor + liquid) equilibria for the ternary system of (ethanol + water + 1,3-propanediol) and three constituent binary systems at P = 101.3 kPa,” J. Chem. Thermodyn., vol. 68, pp. 13–19, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.jct.2013.08.020.
[12] C. Puentes, X. Joulia, P. Paricaud, P. Giampaoli, V. Athès, and M. Esteban-Decloux, “Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium of Ethyl Lactate Highly Diluted in Ethanol-Water Mixtures at 101.3 kPa. Experimental Measurements and Thermodynamic Modeling Using Semiempirical Models,” J. Chem. Eng. Data, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 365–379, 2018, doi: 10.1021/acs.jced.7b00770.
[13] Y. Tavan and S. H. Hosseini, “Design and simulation of a reactive distillation process to produce high-purity ethyl acetate,” J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng., vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 577–585, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.jtice.2012.12.023.
[14] N. S. Asthana, A. K. Kolah, D. T. Vu, C. T. Lira, and D. J. Miller, “A kinetic model for the esterification of lactic acid and its oligomers,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 45, no. 15, pp. 5251–5257, 2006, doi: 10.1021/ie0513604.
[15] Miller et al, “( 12 ) United States Patent Date of Patent :,” US 7652167B2, 2010.
[16] S. B. Dai, H. Y. Lee, and C. L. Chen, “Design and Economic Evaluation for the Production of Ethyl Lactate via Reactive Distillation Combined with Various Separation Configurations,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 58, no. 15, pp. 6121–6132, 2019, doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b03343.
[17] Y. Ma et al., “Effect of entrainers with different boiling point sequences on the design and performance for side-stream extractive distillation processes,” J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng., vol. 143, no. January, p. 104698, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.jtice.2023.104698.
[18] W. Luyben and C. C. Yu, Reactive distillation design and control. John Wiley & Sons Inc. : Hoboken, New Jersey, 2008.
[19] M. I. Taipabu, F. J. Novita, H. Y. Lee, and R. Handogo, “Improvement of Cyclohexene/Cyclohexane separation process design via chemical looping technology using reactive distillation and thermally coupled configurations,” Chem. Eng. Process. - Process Intensif., vol. 168, no. August, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.cep.2021.108587.
[20] A. A. Kiss, M. Jobson, and X. Gao, “Reactive Distillation: Stepping Up to the Next Level of Process Intensification,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 58, no. 15, pp. 5909–5918, 2019, doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.8b05450.
Published
2025-09-18
How to Cite
Taipabu, M. I., Rahanra, G., Rachmah, A. N. L., Badaruddin, S., Trisnantaria, T. C., & Tan, C. (2025). Superior Performance in Reactive Distillation Method for Industrial Application: A Case Study of Ethyl Lactate Production. ALE Proceeding, 7, 97-104. https://doi.org/10.30598/ale.7.2025.97-104
Section
Articles
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Ikhsan Taipabu, Geraldi Rahanra, Alif Nur Laili Rachmah, Sabrianah Badaruddin, Tamaratritania C. Trisnantaria, Clarissa Tan
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