Economic Recovery of Pyridine and 3-Methylpyridine
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Senior Design Reports (CBE) Engineering 4-2010 ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF PYRIDINE AND 3-METHYLPYRIDINE Rita Cheng University of Pennsylvania Chi-Ho Cho University of Pennsylvania Stephanie Kirby University of Pennsylvania Bomyi Lim University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr Cheng, Rita; Cho, Chi-Ho; Kirby, Stephanie; and Lim, Bomyi, "ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF PYRIDINE AND 3-METHYLPYRIDINE" (2010). Senior Design Reports (CBE). 19. https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/19 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/19 For more information, please contact [email protected]. ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF PYRIDINE AND 3-METHYLPYRIDINE Abstract The goal of this design project was to find the most cost effective way of recovering pyridine and 3-methylpyridine from a given impurity stream with a specific finished goods quality. Due to the multiple azeotropes that the organic components in the feed had with water, we had to first explore different methods of removing water. We explored two different approaches in depth – pervaporation and azeotropic distillation. Both processes allowed us to break the azeotropes with water by removing at least 98 wt% of the water and recover at least 88 wt% of pyridine. To get a 15% return on investments (ROI) by the third year of production, we found that the pervaporation method allowed us to pay up to $0.71/lb for the necessary feed stream, while the azeotropic distillation method gave us a flexibility of up ot $0.82/lb. Using a feed value of $0.71/lb for both processes, the total capital investment (TCI) for the pervaporation process is $10.7 million with a net present value (NPV) of $1.8 million, while the TCI for azeotropic distillation is $7.0 million with a NPV of $6.4 million. Taking both the finished goods quality specifications and economic ofitabilitypr into account for our design project, we would recommend the azeotropic distillation process in recovering the most purified product. This working paper is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/19 ~~ring School ofEngineering and Applied Science Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering 311A Towrte Building 220 South 33rd Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-6393 Tei215.898.8351 Fax 215.573.2093 April 14, 2010 Dear Professor Fabiano and Dr. Holleran, This project seeks to find the most cost effective method of recovering pyridine and 3 methylpyridine from a stream of impurities. We explored two different processes pervaporation and azeotropic distillation with a benzene solvent - that were able to separate out water first to resolve the azeotropes the organic components in the feed had with water before continuing to recover the products. Following a detailed analysis of both processes, we believe that using an azeotropic distillation is the most economically profitable method of recovering pyridine and 3MP. We are able to pay up to $0.82/Ib for the feed stream and still get at least 15% on our return on investments (ROI) when using azeotropic distillation, while we can pay up to $0 .71/Ib for the feed for the same ROI when using pervaporation. Not only did we find azeotropic < distillation to be the most cost effective method of recovering the products of interest, but we were also able to work around the azeotropes with water. Enclosed are our findings and analysis of the two aforementioned processes and reasoning as to why we would recommend the a~ eotrop i c distillation process over the use ofpervaporation. Sincerely, R}ta Cheng Chi-~~~Ho Cho Stephanie Kirby Bomyi Lim UNIVERSITY ofPENNSYLVANIA ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF PYRIDINE AND 3-METHYLPYRIDINE Rita Cheng Chi-Ho Cho Stephanie Kirby Bomyi Lim Senior Design Report Spring 2010 Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Pennsylvania Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sean P. Holleran, University of Pennsylvania Recommended by: Professor Leonard A. Fabiano, U. Penn Economic Recovery of Pyridine Cheng, Cho, Kirby, Lim TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 2 CONCEPT STAGE ....................................................................................................... 4 Market and Competitive Analysis ......................................................................... 4 Existing Methods for Separation ........................................................................... 4 Customer Requirements ........................................................................................ 5 Innovation Map ................................................................................................... 7 Property Database ............................................................................................... 8 Preliminary Process Evaluations ......................................................................... 9 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM ..................................................................................... 14 Flow Diagram for Process 1: Pervaporation ....................................................... 14 Flow Diagram for Process 2: Azeotropic Distillation .......................................... 17 Process Descriptions, Overview .......................................................................... 20 Process Descriptions, Detailed ............................................................................ 21 UNIT DESCRIPTIONS ................................................................................................ 33 Unit Descriptions, Process 1 ............................................................................... 33 Unit Descriptions, Process 2 ............................................................................... 36 SPECIFICATION SHEETS ......................................................................................... 44 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 103 Equipment Cost .................................................................................................. 103 Total Capital Investment Summary ..................................................................... 106 Annual Costs ...................................................................................................... 107 Profitability Analysis .......................................................................................... 112 OTHER CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................... 114 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................................................... 116 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... 118 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 119 APPENDIX A: PROBLEM STATEMENT ................................................................ 121 APPENDIX B: DETAILED DESIGN CALCULATIONS ......................................... 127 APPENDIX C: ASPEN PLUS PROPERTIES .......................................................... 133 APPENDIX D: PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS WORKSHEET ............................... 137 APPENDIX E: MSDS .................................................................................................. 148 0 Economic Recovery of Pyridine Cheng, Cho, Kirby, Lim ABSTRACT The goal of this design project was to find the most cost effective way of recovering pyridine and 3-methylpyridine from a given impurity stream with a specific finished goods quality. Due to the multiple azeotropes that the organic components in the feed had with water, we had to first explore different methods of removing water. We explored two different approaches in depth – pervaporation and azeotropic distillation. Both processes allowed us to break the azeotropes with water by removing at least 98 wt% of the water and recover at least 88 wt% of pyridine. To get a 15% return on investments (ROI) by the third year of production, we found that the pervaporation method allowed us to pay up to $0.71/lb for the necessary feed stream, while the azeotropic distillation method gave us a flexibility of up to $0.82/lb. Using a feed value of $0.71/lb for both processes, the total capital investment (TCI) for the pervaporation process is $10.7 million with a net present value (NPV) of $1.8 million, while the TCI for azeotropic distillation is $7.0 million with a NPV of $6.4 million. Taking both the finished goods quality specifications and economic profitability into account for our design project, we would recommend the azeotropic distillation process in recovering the most purified product. 1 Economic Recovery of Pyridine Cheng, Cho, Kirby, Lim INTRODUCTION Pyridine is an aromatic compound that exists as a colorless liquid with a distinctive fish- like odor. As seen in Figure 1, the compound is structurally related to benzene, but one of the – CH groups in the six-member ring is replaced by a nitrogen atom. There are various industrial applications for pyridine, where some of its more popular uses include roles as a chemical solvent and denaturant. As a polar but aprotic solvent, pyridine is miscible in multiple Figure 1. Molecular solvents