News & Insights

Introduction: the chemical industry’s shift to continuous processes For decades, many chemical reactions - including esterification, hydrolysis, and acetalization were predominantly performed in batch reactors. This approach, while flexible, limits productivity, impacts product quality, and often incurs high energy and maintenance costs. Today, reactive distillation (RD) emerges as a superior alternative by combining reaction and separation in one integrated continuous proces

Introduction Esterification and hydrolysis are cornerstone reactions in the chemical and specialty esters industries. Traditionally, these reactions require multi-step batch processes first carrying out the reaction, then separating the products using energy-intensive distillation. This not only increases operational complexity and waste but also limits product purity and selectivity. Sulzer’s reactive distillation technology, however, redefines industry standards by combinin