110th Anniversary: Modeling and Optimization of a Butyl Glycol Ether Plant Based on an Experimental Kinetic Study

Abstract

A simulation model is developed to estimate the production of four products (butyl monoethylene glycol ether, butyl diethylene glycol ether, butyl triethylene glycol ether, and butyl polyethylene glycol ether) in a glycol ether plant and to predict the amount of utilities consumed by the manufacturing units. To ensure the broad applicability of the developed model, a reaction kinetics model is required. As appropriate data for the kinetic modeling are not available in the literature, experiments are conducted to generate data needed. A thorough comparison between simulation results and operating data of the actual process obtained under various conditions shows that the model is reliable and accurate enough to be used to establish an operating strategy to maximize the overall profit. Major parameters affecting the economic feasibility of the plant are investigated, and their contributions to the cost are expressed as a formula. In addition, their effective ranges are decided in consideration of various constraints. On the basis of the results, several cost functions are derived to form an adjustable objective function. To demonstrate the usefulness of the simulation and economic models, a case study is conducted to find the most economically feasible retrofitting design based on the conditions that maximize the objective function.