project

1. GROUP 1
AU2040064 Naisargi Thakkar
AU2040042 Aditi Thaker
AU2040054 Aashonee Shah
Aspen Plus simulation of
Separation of Dimethyl sulphoxide from
Water, Methanol and K2CO3 solution

2. Introduction
This simulation aims at separating DMSO from a mixture of DMSO,
water, methanol and potassium carbonate. We have mainly designed
this simulation based on properties like phases of the components
and their boiling points. The process is carried out at different
temperatures according to the boiling points and the components are
separated accordingly.

3. Some general information about some components
• Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a colorless liquid solvent derived
from wood pulp. Known for its unique properties, it is utilized in
various industries and research for its ability to penetrate
biological membranes. Its boiling point is 189 °C.
• Methanol is a colorless, flammable liquid with a boiling point of
64.7°C. It is used as a solvent, fuel, and chemical feedstock.
Methanol's low boiling point facilitates efficient separation
processes.
• Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is an inorganic salt, white
crystalline substance, commonly used in industry and
laboratories. It has a high boiling point of approximately 1,425
degrees Celsius.

4. Project Data and Objective of the simulation
Our main objective is to separate as much DMSO as possible from
the rest of the mixture. The table below shows the given data of the
solution.

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6. Results
%mass fraction in the final product = 98.86 %
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7. Energy Analysis - Heat Exchanger Network
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8. Alternate Design
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9. Energy Analysis
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10. Energy Analysis
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11. Discussions and Conclusions
• Since K2CO3 is in solid form, we decided to filter it out using a
rotary filter. Then, we observed that out of all the components,
methanol had the lowest boiling point. So we targeted to remove
that component first. Then the next higher boiling point is of water,
thus we removed that as the distillate in the second column. This
way, DMSO is the only residue product left at the end of the
process.
• Conclusion: The mass fraction in the final product(DMSO) =
98.86% and the number of stages that both the columns required
= 4. In addition to that, the reflux ratio was calculated to be 1.3 and
we are saving energy which is 5680.00 cal/sec.
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12. References
1. https://www.gaylordchemical.com/process-safety-and-technology/dmso-recovery-
engineering-
environmental/#:~:text=Unlike%20many%20polar%20solvents%2C%20DMSO,dist
illation%20in%20substantially%20pure%20form
2. National Center for Biotechnology Information (2024). PubChem Compound
Summary for CID 679, Dimethyl Sulfoxide. Retrieved January 2, 2024 from
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Dimethyl-Sulfoxide.
3. Graczová, E., Šulgan, B., Barabas, S. et al. Methyl acetate–methanol mixture
separation by extractive distillation: Economic aspects. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 12,
670–682 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-018-1769-9
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043135409002
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