Response surface optimization of bioethanol production based on process simulation of distillation

Distillation is the most widely used separation operation in chemical industries. The great consumption of energy is the major disadvantage of this process that is unable to reach a high level of purity of bioethanol. The objective of this study is to optimize the distillation column. A sensitivity studies were performed by response surface methodology (RSM) according to the principles of central composite design (CCD) to examine the effects of reflux ratio and feeding tray of distillation column on the production of bioethanol and consumption energy. The results of this study show that the optimum production of ethanol predicted by model is 90%, for a reflux rate of 6.9, and the feeding tray number of the column is rounded to 15.