Separation Intensification of Isopropyl Acetate/Isopropanol Using Ionic Liquids: Mechanism Analysis and Process Design
Chao Pan, Jiahui zhang, Qiang Liu, Liping Zhang, Gaohaili Xia, Yufeng Hu, Zhichang LiuAbstract
To address the separation challenges of the isopropyl acetate/isopropanol azeotrope, this study screened 4 conventional entrainers and 280 ionic liquids (ILs). Quantum chemical and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that ILs exhibit superior separation performance compared to conventional solvents. Based on the optimal IL, an extractive distillation process (EDP) was established and further intensified through the synergistic integration of heat integration (HI), heat pump (HP), and intermediate reboiler (IR). The IR-HP-EDP configuration was identified as the optimal scheme. Compared to the base EDP, the intensified process reduces the total annual cost by 12.74%, energy consumption by 17.56%, acid gas emissions by 21.06%, and global warming potential by 16.10%, while boosting thermodynamic efficiency by 50.75%. Offering significant economic and environmental advantages, this study presents a highly efficient, green strategy for chemical process intensification.