A Short Note About Energy‐Efficiency Performance of Thermally Coupled Distillation Sequences

In this work, we present a comparative study of the energy‐efficiency performance between conventional distillation sequences and thermally coupled distillation arrangements (TCDS) for the separation of ternary mixtures of hydrocarbons under the action of feedback control loops. The influence of the relative ease of separation of the feed mixture and its composition was analyzed. The feedback analysis was conducted through servo tests with individual changes in the set points for each of the three product streams. Standard PI controllers were used for each loop. The results show an apparent trend regarding the sequence with a better dynamic performance. Generally, TCDS options performed better for the control of the extreme components of the ternary mixture (A and C), while the conventional sequences offered a better dynamic behaviour for the control of the intermediate component (B). The only case in which there was a dominant structure for all control loops was when the feed contained low amounts of the intermediate component and the mixture had similar relative volatilities. The Petlyuk column provided the optimal choice in such case, which contradicts the general expectations regarding its control behaviour. In addition, the energy demands during the dynamic responses were significantly lower than those observed for the other distillation sequences. TCDS options, therefore, are not only more energy efficient than the conventional sequences, but there are cases in which they also offer better feedback control properties.     

Reducing total annualized cost and CO2 emissions in batch distillation: Dynamics and control

In this contribution, the direct vapor recompression approach is introduced in a batch distillation operated at an unsteady state condition. This vapor recompressed batch distillation (VRBD) accompanies an isentropic compressor that runs at a fixed as well as variable speed. Aiming to ensure the optimal use of internal heat source, an open‐loop control policy is proposed for the VRBD that adjusts either the overhead vapor splitting or the external heat supply to the reboiler. Again, the variable speed VRBD additionally involves the manipulation of compression ratio. Developing two alternative configurations of VRBD column, the best heat integrated scheme is attempted to identify in the aspects of energy efficiency and total annualized cost for further advancement. A closed‐loop control algorithm for the best performing variable speed VRBD aiming to meet the end objective of relatively high‐purity product discharged at a constant composition is developed. The separation of a reactive system is considered to illustrate these results and demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel VRBD scheme. Performing simulation tests, it is investigated that the closed‐loop control operation substantially improves not only the distillate purity but also the total amount of product. Achieving significant improvement in thermodynamic efficiency and cost by the controlled heat integrated scheme over its conventional counterpart, finally the attractiveness of the VRBD column by investigating its potential to reduce the greenhouse gas (i.e., CO₂) emissions is shown. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2821–2832, 2013     

Adaptive Robust Generic Model Control of High‐Purity Internal Thermally Coupled Distillation Column

The internal thermally coupled distillation column (ITCDIC) is a frontier in energy‐saving distillation research. The process inside a high‐purity ITCDIC is of great nonlinear dynamics, which trouble the conventional control schemes. A multivariable adaptive robust generic model control (ARGMC) is presented to solve the difficulties, where an ARX model is derived and a recursive least squares estimation (RLSE) method is introduced. The benzene/toluene system is studied as an illustrative example. The results of ARGMC are compared with the robust generic model control (RGMC) and traditional PID control in detail. The performances in both servo control and regulatory control confirm the accuracy and validity of ARGMC for the high‐purity ITCDIC process.     

Generalized generic model control of high‐purity internal thermally coupled distillation column based on nonlinear wave theory

A new model‐based control strategy for the internal thermally coupled distillation column (ITCDIC) is presented. Based on the nonlinear wave theory that describes the nonlinear dynamics in the separation processes, a simplified nonlinear wave model is established that concerns both the wave propagation and the profile shape. An advanced controller (WGGMC) is formulated by combining the nonlinear wave model with a generalized generic model control (GGMC). Compared with a conventional generic model controller based on a data‐driven model (TGMC), and another wave‐model based generic model controller (WGMC) developed in our previous work, WGGMC exhibits the best performances in both servo control and regulatory control. Furthermore, WGGMC can handle a very‐high‐purity system of ITCDIC with top product composition of 0.99999, while the other two controllers fail to work. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 4133–4141, 2013     

Introducing vapor recompression mechanism in heat‐integrated distillation column: Impact of internal energy driven intermediate and bottom reboiler

A novel combination of internally heat‐integrated distillation column (HIDiC) and vapor recompression column (VRC) with intermediate reboiler (IR) is proposed. Supplying heat at the highest temperature point (i.e., column bottom) of the VRC scheme is not thermodynamically favorable and, therefore, we aim to install the IR for better distribution of heat along the column length, thereby reducing the compressor work. Introducing IR in the combined HIDiC‐VRC system formulates an open‐loop variable manipulation policy to evaluate the comparative impact of internal and external heat sources on bottom liquid reboiling. With internal energy driven bottom reboiler, we further investigate the hybrid HIDiC‐VRCIR column with proposing the two modes of compressor arrangement, namely parallel and series. Finally, a multicomponent distillation system is exampled to show the promising potential of the proposed HIDiC‐VRCIR configurations in improving the energetic and economic performance over the HIDiC‐alone and HIDiC‐VRC schemes with reference to a conventional standalone column. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 118–131, 2015     

Thermal coupling links to liquid‐only transfer streams: A path for new dividing wall columns

We propose new dividing wall columns (DWCs) that are equivalent to the fully thermally coupled (FTC) configurations. While our method can draw such configurations for any given n‐component mixture (n ≥ 3), we discuss in detail the DWCs for ternary and quaternary feed mixtures. A special feature of all the new DWCs is that during operation, they allow independent control of the vapor flow rate in each partitioned zone of the DWC by means that are external to the column. Because of this feature, we believe that the new arrangements presented in this work will enable the FTC configuration to be successfully implemented and optimally operated as a DWC in an industrial setting for any number of components. Also, interesting column arrangements result when a new DWC drawn for an n‐component mixture is adapted for the distillation of a mixture containing more than n components. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2949–2961, 2014     

On Measuring Closed‐Loop Non‐Linearity: A Topological Approach

The focal point of this paper is to develop a measure of closed‐loop non‐linearity. In this work, the Vinnicombe metric and the Quasi‐Linear Parameter Varying representation of a non‐linear system are exploited for this purpose. It is expected that the proposed measure can serve as a decision making tool for control engineers when considering whether a linear or a non‐linear control strategy should be employed to close the loop for a non‐linear system operating in a prescribed range.     

Higher energy saving with new heat integration arrangement in heat‐integrated distillation column

In conventional heat‐integrated distillation columns (HIDiCs), the internal heat exchange is executed between the pressurized rectifying section and the stripping section, which are located at the same elevation. In such a structure, the amount of heat exchanged between two sections depends on the temperature profile of both sections. The resulting enthalpy profile inside the column departs from that in reversible distillation, which is the ideal distillation operation in view of energy conservation. More energy saving may be achieved by providing appropriate arrangement of heat exchanges between sections. The interactive graphical design method to determine the appropriate heat exchange arrangement in a previous paper was developed for a binary system. The design method was extended and applied to a multicomponent system by adopting the idea of a quasi‐binary system. Also, a new HIDiC structure that can realize the outcomes of the proposed design method was developed. The economics of the proposed structure was precisely evaluated through a case study of a commercial scale column. It demonstrated that the proposed structure has attractive economics. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 3479–3488, 2015     

Advantage of Low‐Cost Predictive Control: Study Case on a Train of Distillation Columns

The process of enriching the ¹³C isotope, performed in trains of cryogenic distillation columns, exhibits large settling times, nonlinearities, large dead‐times, and are difficult to model precisely. Such equipment has been developed in Romania, with concentration increasing up to 70 %. A control analysis for a single unit has already been done including a decentralized multivariable PI controller and two decoupling control algorithms based on the internal model control (IMC) approach. Here, a multivariable predictive controller, the extended prediction self‐adaptive controller is proposed. The simulation results, considering significant modeling errors, demonstrate that this represents a more suitable choice than the previously designed strategies. Comparisons are included to support this idea.     

Multi‐Objective Optimization in Distillation Unit: A Case Study

Increasing social pressure and strict legislations have resulted in changing the approach of traditional design practices to incorporate multiple objectives in the design of process plants. Distillation is one of the major operations in the chemical process industry that is widely used for purifying products or recovering solvents or separation of valuable reactants from waste stream. In this paper, a procedure for multi‐objective optimization is discussed with the help of a distillation unit from hydrocarbon recovery plant of a distillate fraction process. The procedure developed here consists of four stages and is based on current design tools. The aim is to support decisions during design phase and optimize the process variables in order to generate a process with improved economics along with satisfaction of environmental objectives. Total potential environment impact and total annualized cost are used as indicator for environmental and economic objectives, respectively.     

A systematic method to synthesize all dividing wall columns for n‐component separation: Part II

We present a simple rule that, for the first time, enables exhaustive enumeration of dividing wall columns (DWCs) corresponding to any given thermally coupled distillation column‐configuration. With the successive application of our rule, every partition in a DWC can be extended all the way to the top and/or to the bottom of a column without losing thermodynamic equivalence to the original thermally coupled configuration. This leads to easy‐to‐operate DWCs with possible control/regulation of each and every vapor split by external means. As a result, we conclude that any given DWC can be transformed into a thermodynamically equivalent form that is easy‐to‐operate, and hence, there always exists at least one easy‐to‐operate DWC for any given thermally coupled distillation. Our method of enumerating and identifying easy‐to‐operate DWCs for an attractive thermally coupled configuration will contribute toward process intensification by providing ways to implement efficient and low‐cost multicomponent distillations. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 660–672, 2018     

A method for determination of time‐ and temperature‐dependences of stress threshold of linear–nonlinear viscoelastic transition: Energy‐Based Approach

A methodology for determination of time‐ and temperature‐dependences of stress threshold of linear–nonlinear viscoelastic transition is proposed and validated by example of uniaxial creep of epoxy resin. Energy approach is applied for characterization of the region of linear viscoelasticity (LVE) and the threshold of LVE is given in the stress–strain representation as the master curve independent of time and temperature. Time‐ and temperature‐dependences of the stress threshold are calculated by extending LVE theory and time–temperature superposition principles (TTSP) to the energy relations. Reasonable agreement between experimental data and calculations is obtained. It is shown that number of tests required for characterization of LVE region in a wide range of test time and temperatures can be considerably reduced by applying the proposed methodology. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis of oxazolidines as latent curing agents for single‐component polyurethane adhesive and its properties study

Four oxazolidine compounds OX₁–OX₄ were prepared. Their structures were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectra, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and ESI‐MS. The hydrolysis kinetics research of oxazolidines suggested that the hydrolysis of oxazolidine followed the first‐order reaction. The gap of the ground energies between the open‐ and closed‐ring was calculated using Gaussian software, which indicated that the stability of the open‐ring system of OX₁ was the best. Then, the obtained oxazolidines were applied to single‐component polyurethane (SPU) and filler CaCO₃ was added to investigate the effect of the two above on the properties of SPU. The results show that the pore size and the number of bubbles produced in the SPU decreased with the increase of the rate of hydrolysis of the added oxazolidine, and the bondability of the polyurethane was better. With the increase of CaCO₃ content, the polyurethane surface became smoother and the bond strength was stronger. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45722.     

Thermal coupling links to liquid‐only transfer streams: An enumeration method for new FTC dividing wall columns

Novel dividing wall columns (DWCs) can be obtained by converting thermal couplings to liquid‐only transfer streams. Here, we develop a simple four‐step method to generate a complete set of DWCs containing n ? 2 dividing walls, for a given n‐component fully thermally coupled (FTC) distillation. Among the novel DWCs, some easy‐to‐operate DWCs possess the property that the vapor flow in every section of the DWC can be controlled during operation by means that are external to the column. We develop a simple method to enumerate all such easy‐to‐operate DWCs. We expect that the easy‐to‐operate DWCs can be operated close‐to‐optimality; leading to a successful industrial implementation of the n‐component (n ≥ 3) FTC distillation in the form of a DWC. As an illustration, we show figures of all easy‐to‐operate DWCs with two dividing walls for the four‐component FTC distillation. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 1200–1211, 2016     

Feasibility analysis,synthesis, and design of reactive distillation processes: A focus on double‐feed processes

A new approach for the feasibility analysis of reactive distillation processes based on the reactive extractive curve maps (rExCM) concept is introduced. A method dedicated to reactive distillation feasibility analysis, and design has been developed in our team since 1999. From minimal information concerning the physicochemical properties of the system, three steps lead to the design of the unit and the specification of its operating conditions. Currently, the procedure permits the conceptual design of hybrid reactive column configuration with one or two feed plates, for any number of equilibrium reactions (provided that the degree of freedom of the system is equal to 2) occurring in liquid or vapor phase. This contribution focuses on the most recent developments: the generalization of the feasibility analysis step to double‐feed processes thanks to the introduction of the rExCM concept. This methodology is illustrated through two examples: the emblematic methyl acetate example and the production of dimethyl methyl glutarate. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 2346–2356, 2012     

Molecular and thermodynamic basis for EGCG‐Keratin interaction‐part I: Molecular dynamics simulations

Nonspecific binding of small molecules to proteins influences transdermal permeation and intestinal absorption, yet understanding of the molecular and thermodynamic basis is still limited. In this study, we report all‐atom, fully solvated molecular dynamics simulations of the thermodynamic characteristics of epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) binding keratin. Experimental validation is reported in Part II. Herein, 18 µs of simulation sampling was calculated. We show that the binding process is a combination of hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bonding and aromatic interaction. The umbrella sampling technique was used to calculate the binding free energy of EGCG with keratin segments. By extracting EGCG from the keratin‐EGCG complex using steered molecular dynamics, the rupture force was observed to be linearly related to the binding free energy. Multilayer binding of EGCG clusters to keratin has been shown. The binding free energy of ?6.2 kcal mol^?1 obtained from the simulations was in excellent agreement with the experimental Part II. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 4816–4823, 2013