Heat Integration of

Distillation System

Prepared by: Tadelle Nigusu

Department of Chemical
Engineering
University of Gondar
Heat Integration of Distillation System

General Learning outcome

The students be able to analysis the role of heat integration in distillation
system and develop the appropriate placement
Specific learning outcome
 Identify the approaches to conserve energy in any unit operation (e.g.
distillation system)
 Analysis the Thermodynamic nature of distillation column
 Identify the appropriate placement of distillation system
 Assess (source and sink) capacities of the background process for heat
integration of distillation using grand composite curve
 Heat Integration of Distillation System

Motivation
~ 3% of total energy consumption in the world are used in distillation
units
 Petrochemical complexes
 Chemical industries are major energy consumers as fuel, steam and
electricity.
The reducing of energy consumption in the distillation process can be
very effective in product cost reduction.

Source: Masoumi et al. “Optimization of Energy Consumption in Sequential Distillation

Column”
Heat Integration of Distillation System
Approaches for conserving energy in distillation

1. Pinch Point Analysis for heat exchanger networking

2. The optimal behavior of a unit operation in the context of a
process can be formalized by means of the concept of
Appropriate Placement.
3. This concept consists of some rules regarding the position of a
unit operation with respect to Pinch.
 Heat Integration of Distillation System
Approaches for conserving energy in distillation
Distillation remains the most used separation method.
It is the most expensive unit of the amount of energy consumption.
Therefore, energy saving in distillation is a priority topic in
integrated process design.

1. Reduce the amount of energy input for each distillation column by

selecting the optimal design parameters such as reflux ratio, q
value…..
2. Reduce the total amount of energy input to the entire system by
heat integration
3. Change the temperature level of heat sinks and sources, one or both
required in the distillations, such as temperature or pressure
Heat Integration of Distillation System

Reflux ratio (R)

q-value
Feed temperature is a major factor
influencing the overall heat balance of a
distillation column system. Increments in
the feed enthalpy can help reduce the
required energy input from the reboiler at
the same degree of separation
Heat Integration of Distillation System
Thermodynamic analysis of distillation
column
Column
internal
subsystem
Heat source

Heat
Heat sink exchanger
Heat Integration of Distillation System

Thermodynamic analysis of distillation column

Heat Integration of Distillation System

a) Initial setting up
(no heat recovery b) Heat recovery
Heat Integration of Distillation System

With out integration With integration

Heat Integration of Distillation System
THE HEAT INTEGRATION CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTILLATION

• The dominant heating and cooling duties associated with a

distillation column are the reboiler and condenser duties.
• However, there will be other duties associated with
heating and cooling of feed and product streams.

• These sensible heat duties usually will be small in comparison

with the latent heat changes in reboiler and condensers.
Heat Integration of Distillation System
Cont…
• Hence, in preliminary design at least, both
reboiling and condensing can be assumed to
take place at constant temperatures.
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

THE APPROPRIATE PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

• Consider now the consequences of placing simple distillation

columns (single column) (i.e. one feed, two products, one reboiler
and one condenser) in different locations relative to the heat
recovery pinch.
• The separator/distillation takes heat QREB into the reboiler at
temperature TREB and rejects heat QCOND at a lower temperature
TCOND.
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

Discussion
Identify the appropriate placement of distillation
column relative to the pinch
Heat Integration : PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

• There are two possible ways in which the column can be heat
integrated with the rest of the process.
• The reboiler and condenser can be integrated either across, or not
across, the heat recovery pinch.

• The reboiler and condenser can be integrated either above or

below heat recovery pinch.
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

Across the pinch Sink

The background process (with out reboiler and COND)

represented simply as a heat sink and heat source divided by the
pinch.
Heat (QREB) is taken into the reboiler above pinch temperature
and heat (QCOND) rejected from the condenser below pinch
temperature.
Above the pinch
Source
Because the process sink above the pinch requires at least
QHmin to satisfy its enthalpy balance, the QREB must be No savings available from the
integration of a separator across the
compensated by introducing an extra QREB from hot utility.
pinch (instead increase the utility
Below the pinch requirement)
HOW?
Below the pinch, the process needs to reject QCmin anyway, and
an extra heat load QCOND from the condenser has been introduced.
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

Above the pinch

The distillation column is entirely above the pinch
The distillation column takes heat QREB from the
process and returns QCOND at a temperature above
the pinch.
The hot utility consumption changes by (QREB –
QCOND).
The cold utility consumption is unchanged.
Usually, QREB and QCOND have a similar
magnitude.
If QREB≈QCOND, then the hot utility
consumption is QHmin, and there is no additional
hot utility required to run the column.

It takes a “free ride” from the process!!!

Remark! Above pinch no cold utility requirments ( so only hot utility consumption
will change)
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

Below the pinch

 Now the hot utility is unchanged, but the cold
utility consumption changes by (QCOND–
QREB).
 Again, given that QREB and QCOND usually
have similar magnitudes, the result is similar to
heat integration above the pinch.

All these arguments can be summarized by a simple statement: the appropriate

placement for separators is not across the pinch. Although the principle was
originally stated with regard to distillation columns, it clearly applies
to any separator that takes in heat at higher temperature and rejects
heat at lower temperature

Remark! Below pinch no hot utility requirments ( so only cold utility consumption will
change)
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

Use of the Grand Composite Curve for Heat Integration of

Distillation
The appropriate placement principle can only be applied if the
process has the capacity to provide or accept the required heat duties
A quantitative tool is needed to assess the source and sink capacities
of any given background process. For this purpose, the grand
composite curve can be used.
The grand composite curve would include:-
•All heating and cooling duties for the process,
•Separator feed and product heating and cooling,
•But excluding reboiler and condenser loads.
The grand composite curve displays the net heat-flow characteristics of a process versus its
temperature.
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION
Utility
requirments
for hot and
cold

The energy
capacity for
integration

(a) An inappropriately placed distillation column. b) A distillation column that can only be
partially integrated.

The reboiler and condenser duties are
on opposite sides of the heat recovery
pinch and the column does not fit.
The reboiler and condenser duties are both above
the pinch, the heat duties prevent a fit.
Part of the duties can be accommodated, and if
heat integrated, that would be a saving, but less than
the full reboiler and condenser duties.
Heat Integration of Distillation System: PLACEMENT OF DISTILLATION

It include all heating and

box” representing the
cooling duties for the
reboiler and condenser
process, including those
loads
associated
with separator feed and
product heating and
cooling

(a) A column appropriately placed above the (b) A column appropriately placed below
pinch. the pinch.

The reboiler duty can be supplied by
hot utility. The condenser duty must
be integrated with the rest of the
process.
(No need of cold utility for
condenser)
The reboiler duty must be supplied by integration
with the process. Part of the condenser duty must
also be integrated, while the remainder of the
condenser duty can be rejected to cold utility.
(no need of hot utility for reboiler, it should be
compensated from process)
 Quiz 5% (15min)
1. How we can identify the source and sink capacities
of any given background process before a
placement of a distillation column??
2. Explain the drawback of integrating distillation
column across a pinch??