Modeling and Simulation of Production Process on Dimethyl Ether Synthesized from Coal-based Syngas by One-step Method

As a result of shortage supply of oil resources, the process for the alternative coal-based fuel, dimethyl ether (DME), has emerged as an important process in chemical engineering field. With the laboratory experiment data about DME synthesis and separation, the production process for DME with high purity is proposed when one-step synthesis of DME in slurry bed reactor from syngas is adopted. On the basis of experimental research and process analysis, the proper unit modules and thermophysical calculation methods for the simulation process are selected. Incorporated the experimentally determined parameters of reaction dynamic model for DME synthesis, regression constants of parameters in non-random two-liquid equation (NRTL) model for binary component in DME separation system with built-in properties model, the process flowsheet is developed and simulated on the Aspen Plus platform. The simulation results coincide well with data obtained in laboratory experiment. Accordingly, the accurate simulation results offer useful references to similar equipment design and process operation optimization.