Comparison of Selective Agents in the Distillation of a Methanol–Ethanol–Water Mixture

Abstract

The paper presents the results of simulation schemes of different structures for the distillation separation of a methanol–ethanol–water mixture with agents exhibiting different selective effect: monoethanolamine, morpholine, N-methylpyrrolidone, and pyrrolidine. The working pressure of the columns in the schemes is 101.32 kPa. For pyrrolidine, the options for introducing the agent above and below the feed level of the methanol–ethanol–water mixture are considered. According to the criterion of total energy costs for separation, it is recommended to use extractive distillation with monoethanolamine.