INFLUENCE OF THE REFLUX RATIO IN A DISTILLATION COLUMN IN THE UNSATURATED POLYESTER RESINS PROCESS

Mexican chemical industry is facing new standards of ecological protec tion regulated by SEMARNAP (Department of Social Development) and norm s imposed by SE (Department of Energy) that require the industry to ad just their processes to use the minimum amount of energy. In particula r, the industries that create polyester resins from glycols generate s treams of polluted liquids, which are causing plant closures because t heir standards don't match the official standards. On the other hand, those industries that comply with the norms are unable to sell their p roducts at a competitive price because they can't afford the cost of t he technological developments. This paper focuses on the study of the distillation column operation that separates the glycol from the water used in the process. This technology as applied to the production has remained unchanged since 1955,(1-3) but now the new standards are dri ving the search for new treatments. A simulation programme has been de veloped to study the sensitivity and dependency of the variables that govern the distillation column operation for the manufacture of unsatu rated polyester resins. Four cases that compare different schemes of c olumn operation are described.