A novel method for generating distillation configurations

Abstract

An improved matrix method for generating distillation configurations with (N−1) and less than (N−1) columns was proposed for the separation of an N-component mixture into essentially pure product streams based on the concepts of streams matrix and 0–1 matrixes proposed by Agrawal. In contrast with the matrix method developed by Agrawal, the present method removes the intermediate process centered on the splits, and complex column configurations, allowing the direct generation of multi-feeds and multi-product streams. Furthermore, certain configurations that cannot be generated directly and that are missing in the matrix method are obtained. Through rigorous simulations and optimization, we have demonstrated that these configurations have the potential to outperform certain existing configurations.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

non-sharp separation / multicomponent distillation / distillation configurations

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21978203 and 21676183).

Electronic Supplementary Material

ƒSupplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-019-1855-7 and is accessible for authorized users.

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