Effect of the chemical equilibrium constant on the design of reactive distillation columns

This paper explores how the chemical equilibrium constant, K_EQ, affects the design of reactive distillation columns for exothermic reversible reactions. The steady-state optimum economic design of the column involves tradeoffs between the number of trays, column operating pressure, and energy consumption. The design objective is to minimize the total annual cost of capital and energy. As the value of K_EQ is reduced, the optimum design has more reactive stages and higher energy consumption. The column operates at lower pressure to lessen the effect of the lower equilibrium constant.