Abstract: In this paper, the simulation analysis of separation of isopropyl alcohol (IPA)–water via extractive distillation by using dimethyl sulphoxide as an entrainer is presented. The steady-state simulation for this process was done using Aspen Plus simulator. The aim of this work is to study the effect of various operating parameters such as number of stages, molar reflux ratio, binary feed stage number, entrainer feed stage number, temperature of entrainer feed and entrainer to feed molar ratio on the purity and energy consumption. The sensitivity of these parameters serves as a basis to choose the optimum operating conditions to maximize the IPA purity and minimize the energy requirement. In this analysis, among various operating parameters, those which directly affect the IPA purity and the parameters which affect the reboiler duty, for the given separation task, are identified. Simulation results with optimum operating conditions and their economic analysis are also presented.

Indian