(150b) Dynamic Design of a Ethylamine Production Plant

The ethylamine production facility
documented in this process design produces on average 98 tons/day of
triethylamine and 186 tons/day of diethylamine. Fresh ammonia and fresh ethanol
are fed into the process with the presence of hydrogen to produce mono, di-,
and tri- ethylamine with a byproduct of water. The products are produced in a
series of three reactions. Ammonia and ethanol react to produce
mono-ethylamine. Diethylamine is produced from monoethylamine and ethanol and
triethylamine by diethylamine and ethanol. The unreacted ethanol and ammonia,
the monoethylamine and a portion of diethylamine and triethalmine are recycled
back into the reactor. This production facility produces a return on investment
(ROI) of 42% and will make a profit after four years. The steady state plant
design was created from optimizing cost and efficiency and consists of a
compressor train, cooled plug flow reactor and a series of six distillation
columns. The dynamic simulation of the process focuses on maintaining the
product purities and controlling the temperatures due to safety concerns at
high process temperatures. A HAZOP review was performed on the reactor
temperatures since this is a critical safety concern. The safety of the plant
and its operators is also discussed. Issues of flammability, auto ignition
temperatures, and construction materials are addressed.

Figure
1.
Optimized steady state design of the ethylamine
production plant.

Figure
2. Control scheme for plant wide control
(PWC).

Figure
3. Dynamic design of the ethylamine
production plant.