Improvements in the Design of the Cyclohexane Production Process Implementing Mass Exchange with a Counter Current Gas Permeation Membrane

In this paper, we propose changes in the design of a
cyclohexane
production process, following a mass exchange design heuristic developed
in a previous work (Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2011, 50 (11), 6849–6859). In the study case
considered, an optimal design was obtained which exhibits a significant
40.08% reduction in the power of the compressor that recycles unreacted
reagents, and a respectable 3.59% reduction of the hydrogen consumption,
resulting in an increase of the plant Net Annual Income of a 1.31%.
These results highlight the importance of considering a mass exchange
between the input and output streams from the reactor, at the time
of synthesizing a new process.