Process design and optimization of extractive distillation for butanol-isobutanol separation by Aspen Plus

The process of extractive distillation is simulated based on Aspen Plus. A series of parameters are explored. The orthogonal experiment and the confirmatory experiment are carried out and the optimal operating conditions are obtained. The purity and the recovery ratio of isobutanol can reach 99. 80% and 89. 38%,respectively,under the following conditions: 49 of the number of theoretical plate( N),29 of the feed-in place of raw material( NF),8 of the feed-in place of solvent,17kg / h of the distillate rate( D),11∶ 1 of the ratio of solvent( S∶ F) and 6 of the reflux ratio( R). Meanwhile,the purity and the recovery ratio of butanol can achieve 97. 53% and 99. 96%,respectively. The simulation result is compared with the experimental data,and the relative error is less than 1%.