Semicontinuous distillation for ethyl lactate production

A novel semicontinuous process for the production of ethyl lactate from ethanol and lactic acid is studied. The process utilizes a middle vessel integrated with a distillation column to perform a ternary separation of the reaction mixture. A pervaporation unit separates ethanol from water. This new form of process intensification is shown to be economically superior to traditional batch and continuous alternatives for a wide range of production rates. (C) 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.