Intensification for the Silane Production Involving Economic and Safety Objectives

• Published in: Industrial & engineering chemistry research 2017-01, Vol.56 (1), p.261-269
• Main Authors: Martinez-Gomez, Juan, Ramírez-Márquez, César, Alcántara-Ávila, J. Rafael, Segovia-Hernández, Juan Gabriel, Ponce-Ortega, José María
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0888-5885; 1520-5045
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.6b02882

The use of conventional reactive distillation columns for silane production has the disadvantage of large consumption of refrigerant because the silane is produced in the dome of the column and this must be condensed at about −78 °C. The incorporation of intercondensers may improve the cost and safety of the system; however, a proper study for the system is needed to determine the associated effects. Therefore, in this paper is presented an optimization approach for the silane production accounting simultaneously for economic and safety issues incorporating intercondensers. The presented approach is based on a software link between Microsoft Excel (for implementing the optimization algorithm based on differential evolution), Aspen Plus (for simulating the process), and SCRI (for quantifying the associated risk). The results show that the addition of intercondensers minimizes the total annual cost, because the amount of needed refrigerant is reduced. The safety analysis also shows that the use of intercondensers improves the risk of the system.