16th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering

and 9th International Symposium on Process Systems Engineering

W. Marquardt, C. Pantelides (Editors) 1009
© 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Process Intensification for Systematic Synthesis of New

Distillation Systems with Less Than N-1 Columns
Ben-Guang Rong* and Ilkka Turunen
Department of Chemical Technology, Lappeenranta University of Technology,
P.O. Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. *Email: benguang.rong@lut.fi

Abstract
In this paper, a method of process intensification for systematic synthesis of new
distillation systems with less than N-1 columns for an n-component mixture is
presented. The method is based on the simultaneous thermal coupling and heat
integration principles. First, the heat-integrated thermally coupled configurations
(HITC) are produced. Then, a prefractionator without any pure products in each of the
HITC configurations is incorporated into another column with dividing-wall. This
produces the intensified new distillation systems with less than N-1 columns. The
intensified new distillation systems have the potential to further significantly reduce the
capital investment than the HITCs. The method is illustrated for quaternary distillations
and can be extended to any n-component mixture.

Keywords: process intensification, process synthesis, distillation system, thermal

coupling, heat integration

1. Introduction
Process Intensification is defined as a strategy for achieving dramatic reductions in the
size of a chemical plant at a given production volume (Ramshaw, 1983). Process
intensification has also been claimed to bring other benefits, such as lower capital costs,
reduced energy consumption, increased safety and improved product quality
(Stankiewicz and Moulijn, 2000). One major approach in process intensification is to
reduce the number of equipment units by innovative design of multifunctional
equipment which leads to reduced investment costs and significant energy savings.
Distillation is the widely used separation method in process industry, whereas it is the
largest energy consumer among process units and simultaneously needs a large capital
investment. New distillation systems with the potential to significantly reduce both
energy consumption and capital investment are desired. For an n-component distillation,
the traditional designs of simple column configurations use n-1 columns and 2(n-l)
condensers and reboilers. Each column implements one of the n-1 sharp splits. Such
simple column configurations have the intrinsic separation inefficiency and suffer from
both high energy consumption and large capital investment. It is known that the number
of columns and the number of heat exchangers in a distillation system represent not
only the final equipment costs but also the installation costs in the final plant
construction. The sizes of columns and heat exchangers in a distillation system are
directly related to the energy amount consumed for the specified separation which
attribute to the energy efficiency of the separation process.
1010 B.-G. Rong

In this work, we take advantage of simultaneous thermal coupling and heat integration
as a process intensification strategy for the systematic synthesis of intensified new
distillation systems for a multicomponent distillation. First, the number of condensers
and reboilers are reduced by the thermal coupling and heat integration techniques. This
produces the heat-integrated thermally coupled configurations (HITC). Then, the
prefractionation column without pure product in the HITCs is incorporated into another
column with dividing-wall. This produces the intensified new distillation systems with a
reduced number of columns than that of the HITCs. There were few works in the
literature reported on a few specific distillation systems with dividing walls (Kaibel
1987; Christiansen et al.1997a,b; Lestak and Collins 1997; Agrawal 2001). However, a
method of process intensification that can systematically synthesize the possible
intensified new distillation systems for an n-component distillation is not available yet.

2. Heat-Integrated Thermally Coupled Configurations for

Quaternary Distillations
In order to create the heat-integrated thermally coupled configurations, it is necessary
first to consider the distinct separations sequences for quaternary mixtures. In an earlier
work, it was shown that all of the possible distinct separation sequences for a
multicomponent mixture can be formulated by considering both sharp and sloppy splits
(Rong et al. 2003). For a quaternary mixture, there were identified 22 functionally
distinct separation sequences. Each of the distinct separation sequences contains at least
three individual splits. When considering simultaneous thermal coupling and heat
integration techniques to synergize the mass and heat transfers among the individual
splits, it is identified that there are 18 distinct separation sequences in which their
condensers and reboilers can be dealt with thermal coupling and heat integration
simultaneously. Figure 1 presents the heat-integrated thermally coupled configurations
from the 18 distinct separation sequences for a quaternary mixture.

ABi,~),
-,5 A
ABCD~]I'----'-> B > ~ ~ 6 ABC3f
ABCD~" 4 ~ '
"[ BC
D C
(a) (b)

AB~ > A ~,.A AB(C)>5F~~"a

1< ~ >B
ABC~~< ~ B --' ABCD~< 16~ 171 ABCD BC

(d) (e) (f)

Process Intensificationfor Systematic Synthesis of New Distillation Systems 1011

SA
~ o j q - ~ N ~-'; ~~~

(g), D (h) g""

A
ABC ¢ ~ B ABC~ ~ - ~

A~DFI" '--l~ ~tl~~ F1 ~

BCD BCDq ~ C BCDL6..~__.~U
~o ~~o- "~D~~_~
g) (k) '~A (1) D

ABC " ~ ABC

~ ~ A < 18
,, I B
> Ao~o~~H C5-~,~
ABCD : A~C~-I1[" [41~ 19[ "' ~

(m) , - ~ ~ (o1 - ~ ~
A A
7 B~ ~ ~A AB AB 7" >
A~cA "~ I~l ~ A~c~ ABC~ B
ABCD~<'-~~i 9i " ABC ~--'~')'D~~ ABCD~~..~ 10 C
'~t9 "
;CD [~::~l'~ BCDL~~ BCD~ C D 11 >

"-~ D
(P) (q) (r)

Figure 1. Heat-integrated thermally coupled configurationsfor quaternary mixtures

In each of the HITC configurations in Figure 1, thermal coupling and heat integration
have been simultaneously used to coordinate the individual splits in their separation
sequences. In Figure 1a, three individual splits are coordinated. In each of the parts b-e,
g-h, and k in Figure 1, four individual splits are coordinated. In each of the parts f, i-j, l-
m, o and q in Figure 1, five individual splits are coordinated. Finally, in each of the
parts n, p and r in Figure 1, six individual splits are coordinated. Note that in each
1012 B.-G. Rong

configuration in Figure 1, the number of column sections is twice the number of the
individual splits in its separation sequence. In each of the HITC configurations in Figure
1, a column with more than two sections is obtained by combining the individual
columns through heat integration. As such, the submixture BC transferring between
intermediate locations of two columns is a one-way liquid flow. At the same time, the
condensers and reboilers associated with submixtures involving the two extreme
volatility components are eliminated, and the two-way vapour and liquid flows are
introduced through thermal couplings. In Figure 1a, there are two columns with two heat
exchangers, while each of the remaining configurations contains three columns (i.e. n-l)
with the number of heat exchangers be two, or three or four (i.e. less than 2(n-l)). In
each of the configurations in Figure 1, the first column with only two sections is for the
first split of the feed mixture, while among the remaining columns, there is at least one
column with more than two sections (four or six sections).
It is significant to note that, in each configuration in Figure 1, there is at least one
column that does not produce any pure products. In other words, its two ends are
connected with the other columns by thermal couplings. Such a column without any
products serves as the prefractionation to a submixture and is usually called a
prefractionator. In the following section, we will show that it is the prefractionator that
the intensified new distillation system with less than N-1 columns is achieved for each
of the HITC configurations in Figure 1.

3. Intensified New Distillation Systems with Less Than N-1 Columns

Before considering the intensified new distillations systems, let us first consider the
connections of the prefractionator with a combined column. Originally, when
considering only thermal couplings, the two submixtures of the prefractionator can
communicate with either one same column or two different columns (Rong et al. 2003).
However, in order to achieve intensified new distillation systems with less than N-1
columns, we determine the interconnections of the columns in the HITC configurations
in such a way that first a combined column with more than two sections is obtained
through heat integration(s) and is selected as the main column for further equipment
intensification. Then, a prefractionator with only two sections is connected with the
main column. The top end of the prefractionator is thermally linked with the upper part
of the main column, while the bottom end of the prefractionator is thermally linked with
the lower part of the main column. Notice that each of the HITC configurations in parts
a-i, and k in Figure 1 has only one combined column which serves as the only main
column, while each of the remaining configurations in Figure 1 has two combined
columns of which the one connected with the prefractionator serves as the main column.
The simultaneous thermal coupling and heat integration in the HITC configurations in
Figure 1 produce the opportunities for equipment integration and intensification. It was
practical that a prefractionator could be incorporated into another column to share one
same column shell (Wright 1949; Petlyuk et al. 1965; Kaibel 1987; Christiansen et al.
1997a,b). One simple way of such incorporation is through a dividing wall (Wright
1949; Kaibel 1987; Christiansen et al. 1997b). Therefore, by the same principle, the
prefractionator in each of the HITC configurations in Figure 1 can be incorporated into
the main column as a dividing wall. By doing so, each of the HITC configurations in
Figure 1 can achieve an intensified new distillation system with less than N-1 columns,
which are shown in Figure 2, respectively. In each of the configurations in Figure 2,
there is one intensified column equipment which performs at least three individual splits
within the column shell, and it is in this sense that we call it a multifunctional
Process Intensification for Systematic Synthesbs of New Dbxtillation Systems 1013

equipment. It is interesting to note that there are similar structures among some of the
intensified new distillation systems in Figure 2. However, each of the intensified new
systems has a distinct separation sequence with a certain number of intended individual
splits. The specifications of the intended individual splits can cope with the separation
problems with various feed conditions in terms of relative volatilities and feed
compositions of the feed components.

-. >.A -,
A
> ., >B .. >A 5
-,, >A
3 ABCD 1 5 5
4 > 3 6 ABCD 1 6
ABCD '~
,! I.-i ? t___,._. 11 I ,~ r-->-~ I ! ; B "121~g-"
121,~c ~CD[4171 ~ ABCD~ [4171 I ~o/~i'' ;C
/6 I Is I "l2L I s L l
(a)[~ D (b)~@ D ~~..~~C)~~ c
C D %
(d) D

>A
--. >A 5 '" >A A ( . AB<..__.~5)
5 AB ..... | 3
B 6 ., >B /
ABCD 1 6 B ABCD >B BC 5 1I 4 B
._ ), ABCD ABCD I
2 BC
] 2 4 ~ ~ C
[~~318
BCD4]
91419
c
12~[
2 C
~C~ 2 "2712! "C
~ D k--~ ~ D % D Q--~ ~---~ D
(e) ¢-" (f) (g) (h) V "

>A 3 " >A -.

3
ABC~~ 4 ABCD B ABCD
2 B 9 )
CD [_

(k) . (1)
.. ~A ~.~~A
AB AB> - 7 F ~ > A 3 B 3 A'~B> 7

ABCD 1 4 > ABcD[li4 B~C'~9~

ABCDI215 [ ~C>ll0k >[2!5 ].. >ji~i >C 2 B C "2 -C

I ~ I-~->l--I t- J~, "1,,,I

~--J<CD 1 0 ~ , CD ~ _ ] /

(m) (n) (o) (p)

1014 B.-G. Rong

AB7~~ >A AB, ~ S >A

"2 >C
CD~ D
(q) (r)
Figure 2. Intensified new distillation systems with less than N-1 columns for quaternary
mixtures from Figure 1

It is important to indicate that the dividing wall column for ternary separations has been
widely used in many industrial applications, where typically 30% savings on both
energy and capital costs were achieved (Kaibel and Schoenmakers 2002; Becker et al.
2001). Moreover, both the steady-state and dynamic performance were confirmed by
the practical applications. Therefore, the intensified new distillation systems in Figure 2
are also expected to be promising in industrial applications for quaternary separations.

4. Conclusion

A method of process intensification on the basis of simultaneous thermal coupling and

heat integration achieves the intensified new distillation systems systematically. The
heat-integrated thermally coupled configurations are first generated. Then, the thermally
linked prefractionator in the HITCs is incorporated into a combined column with
dividing wall. The intensified new distillation systems are expected to have the similar
energy savings, but reduced capital investment than that of the HITCs. It is significant
to accentuate that it is the synergism of the mass and heat transfers by simultaneous
thermal coupling and heat integration that gives the opportunities for equipment
integration and intensification. It is the equipment integration and intensification that
ultimately produces the intensified new distillation systems with less than N-1 columns
for an n-component mixture. The concepts and ideas presented in the method for
quaternary mixtures can be extended to any n-component mixtures (n_~>4).

References
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