Design and Optimization of a Process for the Production of Methyl Methacrylate via Direct Methylation

• Main Authors: Taotao Liang, Xiaogang Guo, Abdulmoseen Segun Giwa, Jianwei Shi, Yujin Li, Yan Wei, Xiaojuan Wang, Xuansong Cao, Xiaofeng Tang, Jialun Du
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-06-01
• Series: Processes
• Subjects: MMA; double-effect distillation; energy conservation; MAL; purity
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/7/6/377
• ISSN: 2227-9717

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) plays a vital role in national productions with broad application. Herein, the production of MMA is realized by the improved eco-friendly direct methylation method using Aspen Plus software. Three novel kinds of energy-saving measures were proposed in this study, including the recycle streams of an aqueous solution, methacrolein (MAL), and methanol, the deployment of double-effect distillation instead of a normal one, and the design of a promising heat-exchange network. Moreover, MMA with a purity of 99.9% is obtained via the design of a MAL absorber column with an optimal stage number of 11 and a facile chloroform recovery process by using the RadFrac model. Thus, the proposed green process with energy-conservation superiority is the vital clue for developing MMA, and provides a reference for the production of MMA-ramifications with excellent prospects.