Reactive Distillation (RD) is a combination of reaction and distillation in a single vessel owing to which it enjoys a number

Reactive distillation Reactive Distillation (RD) is a combination of reaction and distillation in a single vessel owing to which it enjoys a number of specific advantages over conventional sequential approach of reaction followed by distillation or other separation techniques. Improved selectivity, increased conversion, better heat control, effective utilization of reaction heat, scope for difficult separations and the avoidance of azeotropes are a few of the advantages that are offered by RD. The introduction of an in situ separation process in the reaction zone or vice versa leads to complex interactions between vapor–liquid equilibrium, mass transfer rates, diffusion and chemical kinetics, which poses a great challenge for design and synthesis of these systems. RD being a relatively new field, research on various aspects such as modeling and simulation, process synthesis, column hardware design, non-linear dynamics and control is in progress. The suitability of RD for a particular reaction depends on various factors such as volatilities of reactants and products along with the feasible reaction and distillation temperature. Hence, the use of RD for every reaction may not be feasible. Exploring the candidate reactions for RD, itself is an area that needs considerable attention to expand the domain of RD processes. Although invented in 1921, the industrial application of reactive distillation did not take place before the 1980’s.