2-methylpropylacetate synthesis in a system of equilibrium reactor and reactive distillation column

Synthesis of 2-methylpropylacetate from 2-methylpropanol and acetic acid by reactive distillation has been the subject of this study. A pilot plant un it consisting of a reactive distillation column has been used to perform th e experiments. Reaction section of this column packed with KATAPAK(R) packi ng with a strongly acidic ion exchanger fixed inside the packing has been u sed in the experiments. Numerical simulation of the process using ASPEN PLU S(R) software has also been performed, good agreement between experimental data and the simulation results being achieved. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.