Even though the RD column with a separation unit (Figure 2) represents process integration and<br>intensification compared to the conventional set-up (Figure 1), there is still a place for improvement such<br>as the reduction of the large flow of the recycled stream to the decanter or reduction of equipment number.<br>As the reaction in the RD process has overcome the distillation boundary, it is possible to remove the<br>decanter and to solve azeotropic mixture regeneration via distillation. Also, the ethanol-water mixture<br>from the RD column (W11 in Figure 2) can be easily separated into pure water (high boiling point) and<br>ethanol-water mixture at high ethanol concentrations. Therefore, the flowsheet of the RD column with<br>a separation unit (Figure 2) was modified: C2 column is integrated into the bottom part of the RD<br>column; decanter and heat exchangers EX1 and EX2 are removed; C1 column condenser is removed<br>and overheated vapors from C1 are recirculated back to the RD column (Figure 3). Thus, the process<br>scheme in Figure 3 contains two columns and three heat exchangers less than the process scheme<br>shown in Figure 2
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