Don't Forget Product Recovery in Catalysis Research—Check the Distillation Resistance

When investigating a new catalytic reaction, scientists may wonder if the crude reaction product can be easily separated and purified. We present here a new concept—distillation resistance—to assess the potential of distillation as a purification technique and to guide catalyst formulation or operation at the very early stage of the research. Distillation resistance, which has been developed from the analysis of 15 industrial distillation trains, can be quickly calculated with knowledge of only the product composition and atmospheric boiling points of the components. It can be directly converted into a preliminary distillation cost that considers investment and energy cost. Its application and its potential guidance in catalysis research are illustrated through a few cases studies derived from biorefinery processes.