Design and economic evaluation of separation process for novel production of cyclopentyl methyl ether

BACKGROUND

Cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) is a solvent with several applications and many advantages compared to similar solvents. The main problem with this solvent is its production. The current process for its production uses oil-derived cyclopentene, which is problematic from an environmental standpoint. A newer, currently unused method can produce CPME using renewable reactants; however, it also produces multiple side products, separation of which has proven to be very energy intensive.

RESULTS

Using the ASPEN + V12 model of the separation process, we evaluated the energy consumption of the process for a production capacity of 100 000 t/year. This process then underwent optimization, energy integration, and several process changes which managed to lower required energy consumption by over 50%. In addition, a basic economic evaluation of the process was done, consisting of CAPEX and OPEX estimation, as well as calculation of basic economic indicators. The results of which suggest that the price of product must be 2.5× higher than the main reactant for the process to be economically feasible. Finally, a basic environmental evaluation shows that CO₂ produced by this separation train is comparable to CO₂ produced by the entire production process of comparable solvents.

CONCLUSION

Despite the substantial savings achieved by the process optimization and heat integration, the economic and environmental assessment revealed that the process remains unfeasible, especially from an economic standpoint. This is caused by a combination of poor reactor selectivity as well as substantial amount of excess methanol required in the reactor. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).