SIMULATION OF ETHANOL DISTILLATION USING CHEMCAD

Abstract

Aiming for Sustainable and low-Cost operation of ethanol distillation. The recovery step is usually carried out during the distillation process and is challenging, particularly regarding purity, operating cost issues. This study aimed to evaluate the ethanol distillation from ethanol-methanol and water mixture as a function of the reflux ratio in a process employing a Fractionating column. Test were performed using a standard mixture of ethanol, methanol and water using total reflux. As expected, the best result was obtained with highest reflux ratio, and it was under this condition development analysis and optimization of distillation column. To do so we have taken running parameter as a reference from a distillery which produce 96% purity of ethanol and we concern to increase it 97-98% purity of ethanol. We have carried out the simulation by means of package using commercial software CHEMCAD. The simulation and economic evaluation for the fractionating column using thermodynamic packages, pressure sensitive and reflux ratio. So, extractive distillation can be used to recover ethanol with a simple change of reflux ratio and pressure. In this simulator can play an important role in understanding alcoholic distillation.