Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK) Process System Optimization

This paper studies the chemical technology optimization of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) through analyzing the effect of temperature, pressure and inlet location on the entire production progress.Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) is an excellent chemical intermediate and medium boiling solvent, which is a fine petrochemical intermediate in short supply in domestic market. Methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) is a colorless, transparent and stable liquid, MIBK is chemical of slightly soluble in water while completely soluble in common organic solvents. MIBK is widely used in many fields, for instance, producing as organic chemical material and derivatives, producing fine chemical such as C18H24N2, special surfactant, 2,2’-Azobisisoheptonitrile, epoxy resin, MIBC and spice, etc. At present, the most competitive and promising synthetic method of MIBE is hydrogenation of acetone, an one-step process. In domestic this process is widely applied gradually, so an exploration of the way to optimize distillation process have important value and significance.In this paper, the whole reactive process was stimulated by software PRO Ⅱ. MIBK distillation system was in-depth study by equilibrium stage model, and analyzed a series of changed parameter and data. The result demonstrated the coincidence degree between simulated result and actual progress.The purity of MIBK was 99.9% at first. Then the process of MIBK distillation column was simulated by PRO Ⅱ software and analyzed the impact of reflux ratio R and inlet locations on reaction. The optimum condition:the reflux ratio is 0.45 and the inlet location is the 17th column plate. The effect of the ratio of H2 and acetone, temperature and pressure on the reaction of MIBK was studied in experiment. The result shows that the MIBK reactor was under best performance when conditions were as follows:ratio of H2 and acetone of 600, the reactor reaction temperature of 115℃-140℃ and the reactor pressure of 3.5MPa.