Process Intensification of Dimethyl Ether using Aspen HYSYS

Abstract

Dimethyl Ether (DME) is a precursor to many organic compounds and is currently used as an aerosol propellant. Its market growth rate has been about 19.65% annually up to 2020 and the presence of production facilities of DME in India have been non-existent till 2016 and the situation has remained quite same even today.  With the process intensification changes proposed, DME production can be easily sustained. First, the proposed process makes use of natural gas, which is abundant in India (reserves equivalent to 22.1 times its annual consumption) to produce synthesis gas through unit processes and operations, in turn leading to cost effectiveness. Next, the proposed process makes use of process lines as utilities (thereby reducing energy consumption to almost nil). Also, the process has successfully conducted dehydration of methanol at relatively lower temperatures using Aspen HYSYS. All these suggested alterations prove to be a game changer for DME production in India, which is expected to have a humongous demand domestically as a clean fuel in the future.