Numerically optimized performance of diabatic distillation columns

Recently, the concept of equal thermodynamic distance (ETD) has been proposed to minimize entropy production in a distillation process using a diabatic column. ETD gives the optimal temperature profile to first-order in N⁻¹, where N is the number of trays. ETD, however, does not generally give the true minimum for distillation columns with few trays. We therefore apply a fully numerical, multidimensional optimization routine to determine minimum entropy production. Since this method does not depend on an underlying theory, we expect a true minimum to be revealed. We then compare the performance of ETD and numerical optimization by varying the number of trays and the purity requirements. Our results show a surprisingly good agreement between the ETD results and those obtained numerically.     

19万t/a醋酸乙烯精馏装置的技术改造

应用计算机模拟了进料热状况对醋酸乙烯精馏系统的影响,并计算了不同回流比下的塔板数、能耗、冷却负荷等参数值,通过改变进料热状况消除塔内恒浓区,优选出最佳精馏方案,即进料气化率20％、同流比为2、理论板数为63。应用复合斜孔塔板代替筛板塔板,对醋酸乙烯精馏塔进行了技术改造。改造后装置生产能力提高至19万t／a,节能20％,产品质量稳定,醋酸乙烯精馏塔运行周期延长至4年。     

基于传热/传质的乙烯裂解过程脱甲烷塔进料瓶颈识别及流程重构策略

精馏塔进料的组成与温度会影响塔内质量交换和能量利用,不恰当的进料会导致全塔的分离及用能效果变差。针对多进料精馏塔的组合进料问题提出一种识别不合适进料位置的方法,基于塔板的传热温差和传热量、传质浓度差和传质量计算方法提出应用传热/传质复合曲线识别精馏塔进料瓶颈的方法,并将其应用于裂解装置脱甲烷塔进料瓶颈的识别,采用调整进料位置的流程重构策略实现去瓶颈的操作。流程模拟及瓶颈分析结果表明所提出的方法能识别出脱甲烷塔的进料瓶颈,重构流程的方法能实现去瓶颈的操作,并使全塔的传质传热特性、分离效果变好,能耗降低。     

Overall efficiency evaluation of commercial distillation columns with valve and dualflow trays

The main objective of this work is to establish appropriated ways for estimating the overall efficiencies of industrial distillation columns with valve trays with downcomer and dualflow trays. The knowledge of efficiencies has fundamental importance in the design and performance evaluation of distillation columns. Searching in the literature, a tree of alternatives was identified to compose the tray efficiency model, depending on the mass transfer models, the liquid distribution and vapor flow models on the tray, the liquid entrainment model, the multicomponent mixture equilibrium model, the physical properties models, the height of froth on the tray model and the efficiency definition. In this work, different methods to predict the overall efficiency of distillation columns with valve and dualflow trays were composed and compared with data from three commercial distillation columns under different operating conditions. The models were inserted in the Aspen Plus 12.1 simulator, in Fortran language, together with tray geometrical data, fluid properties and operating data of the distillation columns. For each column, the best thermodynamic package was chosen by checking the temperature profile and overhead and bottom compositions obtained via simulation against the corresponding actual data of industrial columns. A modification in the fraction of holes evaluation that is jetting parameter of the Garcia's hydraulic model of dispersion above the tray was proposed. This modification produced better results than the original model to predict the fraction of holes that are jetting and in the efficiency of dualflow trays and similar results to Garcia model in the efficiency evaluation of valve trays. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

带有侧线采出回流的部分透热精馏的节能优化

以正丙醇-异丙醇体系为例，研究了带有侧线采出回流的部分透热精馏操作。在该操作中，精馏段侧线采出气相，经塔外冷凝后回流至塔内采出板上方；提馏段某塔板被同轴的夹套式中间再沸器环绕，侧线采出该板处的气相回流至塔内采出板上方。通过单因素分析和响应面法对精馏段和提馏段操作的相关工艺参数分别进行了模拟优化，并对相应操作的热力学性能和分离性能的变化进行了分析。最终优化结果表明：达到规定的分离效果，带有侧线采出回流的部分透热精馏相较于绝热精馏有效能损失降低了26.5%。带有侧线采出回流的部分透热精馏操作通过合理分配能量、降低对热剂和冷剂的品位要求和提高能量利用率，最终达到节能目的。     

导向浮阀塔板在醋酸生产中的应用

导向浮阀塔板是在F1型浮阀塔板的基础上开发成功的，较早应用于炼油装置的常减压蒸馏塔，在提高轻油的收率上获得了较大的经济效益，在化工产品的分离中应用较少。该项目在醋酸装置的精馏工序中，采用先进的导向浮阀塔板改造原有的F1型浮阀塔板，达到节能降耗，提高醋酸收率，增加醋酸产量，提高经济效益的目的。     

Hydrodynamic model for controlled cycling in tray columns

The paper describes a model for controlled cycling in tray columns. Gas phase dynamics and hydrodynamic relations are included in the proposed model. The model has been simulated on a digital computer.Gas phase dynamics is found to play an important role for cyclic operation of distillation columns, while as the effect of gas phase dynamics can be ignored for absorption columns.In a 5-tray distillation column reasonable separation between liquid and vapour flow periods can be achieved, but with increasing number of trays the switch-over from one period to another becomes less ideal. For a ten tray column the flow situation is unacceptable.The simulations also show that the plug flow condition in the liquid flow period is most difficult to satisfy in the top and bottom of the column. The risk of flooding on some trays and other trays running dry increases when the numbers of trays increases.Finally it is shown that the hydrodynamic behaviour may be improved by changing the geometry of some of the trays.     

Exergy analysis of distillation processes

Distillation is a unit operation in which two main processes are involved: heat transfer for vaporizing and condensing and mass transfer for the separation of the mixture. A distillation unit can be described as an exergy converter: that is a unit which converts thermal exergy into chemical exergy. To obtain a complete graphical representation of mass, enthalpy and exergy balances in a fractional distillation, we propose the use of a diagram: the specific enthalpy (in KJ/ Kg of mixture) is plotted against the Carnot factor θ to show the heat and mass transfer effects simultaneously. The application of the methodology to the distillation of an ammonia-water mixture is presented. Conventional fractional distillation consumes a lot of exergy. We propose a new type of distillation in which the reboiler and the condenser normally located at the bottom and at the top of distillation column, are replaced by two heat exchangers integrated in the column itself. The exchanger integrated in the bottom of the column inputs heat to the column, and the other exchanger located in the upper part of the column removes heat. This arrangement minimizes the creation of entropy in the column and therefore maximizes the exegetic effectiveness. This new process, called:“diabatic” or “quasi-reversible” distillation should bring important improvement to conventional distillation, not only from the point of view of energy use (large reduction in the consumption of heat carriers fluids for heating and cooling), but also in terms of capital investment as the cost of fitting a heat exchanger in the destillation column will probably be less than the cost of reboiler or condenser and reflux head.     

筛板精馏塔的板效率研究

在直径为0.75 m,塔高4m的不锈钢热模塔内,以正庚烷—环己烷为物系、在常压、全回流条件下,进行筛板塔传质效率的研究,选取孔径为13mm和6 mm,开孔率为3.9％和6.4％的塔板,测试了这些塔板的气液相默弗里板效率,通过排列组合,考察了孔径、不同塔板位置和出口堰高对传质效率的影响,并进行了传质效果对比.此外还运用A...     

简化外部热耦合双精馏塔的控制与优化

针对具有3个换热器结构的外部热耦合双精馏塔(S-EHIDDiC),提出了一种新型的控制与优化策略。顶部与底部换热器的热负荷能够改变高压精馏塔的回流量和低压精馏塔的上升汽量,因而可以用来控制高压精馏塔塔顶和低压精馏塔塔底的产品质量。这种控制方法与常规精馏塔的LV控制结构相似。S-EHIDDiC还有多余的决策变量(如进料分流比,高压精馏塔塔压和中间换热器的热负荷),可以对稳态操作进行优化。闭环仿真证明了这种控制结构的可行性,稳态优化也提高了系统的热力学效率。     

A disjunctive programming approach for the optimal design of reactive distillation columns

A generalized disjunctive programming formulation is presented for the optimal design of reactive distillation columns using tray-by-tray, phase equilibrium and kinetic based models. The proposed formulation uses disjunctions for conditional trays to apply the MESH and reaction kinetics equations for only the selected trays in order to reduce the size of the nonlinear programming subproblems. Solution of the model yields the optimal feed tray locations, number of trays, reaction zones, and operating and design parameters. The disjunctive program is solved using a logic-based outer-approximation algorithm where the MILP master problem is based on the big-M formulation of disjunctions, and where a special initialization scheme is used to reduce the number of initial NLP subproblems that need to be solved. Two examples are presented that include reactive distillation for the metathesis reaction of 2-pentene and for the production of ethylene glycol. The results show that the proposed method can effectively handle these difficult nonlinear optimization problems.     

间歇精馏塔启动过程的模型化

引　言在以往的研究中 ,间歇精馏塔的模型大部分建立在平衡模型的基础上[1] ,系统初值的选取基于伪热初始状态 ,即每层塔板上有足够的积液量 ,塔板温度在泡点温度以上的汽液平衡状态 .多数间歇精馏过程的仿真模拟软件中使用伪热状态作为初始状态[2 ] ,例如 ,ＨＹＳＹＳ Ｒ○ (Ｈｙｐｒｏｔｅｃｈ )、ＢＡＴＣＨＦＲＡＣＴＭ (Ａｓｐｅｎｔｅｃｈ )和ＣＣ -ＢＡＴＣＨ Ｒ○(ＣＨＥＭＣＡＤ) .它们都是通过稳态和平衡计算为微分代数方程组提供了满足一致性要求的初始值 .间歇精馏过程的一个特点就是精馏塔频繁地从冷状态启动 ,初始状态会因再…     

多效反应精馏过程生产氯化苄的能量集成

以甲苯氯化生产氯化苄为研究对象,对带侧反应器的反应精馏与精制塔串联工艺(CSRRT)进行研究及能量分析,建立了分段反应精馏与精制塔串联生产氯化苄的新工艺。利用精制塔塔顶蒸汽潜热加热第一段反应精馏塔的塔釜,建立了多效反应精馏(MERD);进一步利用侧反应器的甲苯氯化反应热加热第一段反应精馏塔的塔板物料,建立了多效透热反应精馏(MEDRD)。在相同生产要求下,对3种工艺的能耗进行比较。结果表明,MERD和MEDRD过程实现了能量的优化利用,与CSRRT过程相比,塔釜总再沸器热负荷分别降低16.8%和33.7%。     

外部热耦合复合精馏塔的经济性与可控性评价

外部热耦合复合精馏塔系统是一种新型的精馏塔系统,通过操作在不同压力下的两个精馏塔的精馏段和提馏段之间的热传递来提高热力学效率。根据精馏段和提馏段热耦合的相对位置不同,外部热耦合复合精馏塔系统可分为对称型和非对称型两种结构。为便于设计和实现,可用外部换热器替代外部热耦合得到简化的结构。本文以乙烯乙烷物系分离过程为对象,通过对外部热耦合复合精馏塔系统建立了静动态模型,采用四点控制的方法,对三种结构的外部热耦合复合精馏塔的经济性和可控性两方面做了分析,证明了非对称型优于对称型外部热耦合复合精馏塔。同时,对使用外部换热器简化外部热耦合结构的方法提供了理论依据和参考。     

Hydraulic,mass transfer and heat transfer performance comparison between ordered bed packing and sieve trays

The Girdler–Sulfide (GS) heavy water production process has traditionally used tray columns because of their large size. In recent years, the chemical industry has extended the use of packing to larger columns because of economic and performance advantages. A pilot scale study was thus initiated to compare the hydraulic, mass transfer and heat transfer performance of an ordered bed packing (Mellapak) with sieve trays operating under GS process conditions. Mellapak offered lower pressure drops, higher throughputs and improved heat transfer over sieve trays. However, benefits to deuterium mass transfer were only marginal in large diameter columns.     

Optimal operation of extractive distillation in different batch configurations

Optimal operations of extractive distillation for regular and middle-vase1 batch columns are presented based on a profit function. Detailed models are used for the rigorous dynamic optimization considering all operational decision variables, including reflux ratio, solvent feed rate, heat duties, and possible product withdrawals during the process. Optimal feed distribution and stream configuration at the middle section of the middle-vessel column are investigated. Separation of a minimum boiling azeotropic binary mixture (acetone and methanol using water as solvent) involving different separation duties and feed compositions is presented as a case study. The pereformanance of the middle-vessel column is signicantly influenced by the middle-section stream configuration, with the best profit when the stream configuration is allowed to vary during the operation. The optimal operating policy for the middle-vessel column involved the feed being charged mainly to the reboiler still with low holdup in the middle vessel during the operation.     

Effect of two-pass trays on distillation efficiencies

Two important structural factors that affect distillation efficiencies, the outlet weir heigh and the liquid flowpath length, are investigated. Performance and efficiency data of an industrial scale i-butane/n-butane distillation column equipped with two-pass trays are used as a basis for the calculations. A mathematical development for a new method for predicting the numbers of vapor and liquid phase transfer units is given. This method together with some other NTU calculation methods is used to assess the effect of the outlet weir height on efficiencies. The effect of outlet weir height on the Murphree tray efficiencies is investigated using the observed point efficiencies and different point efficiency to the Murphree tray efficiency relation methods. The effect of varying liquid flowpath lengths on efficiencies is studied by calculating the Murphree tray efficiencies for one-pass and two-pass trays. The results obtained using the NTU calculation method presented in this study show that a certain outlet weir height point efficiency reaches its maximum. Most of the other methods give opposite results giving a minimum for point efficiency at a certain outlet weir length. The results also show that the Murphree tray efficiencies for one-pass trays are higher than for two-pass trays. Obviously, this is caused by the longer liquid flowpath length of one-pass trays. The Murphree tray efficiencies are also calculated for an industrial-scale MTBE purification column. The column is equipped with two-pass trays in the stripping section and with one-pass trays in the rectifying section. The Murphree tray efficiencies of one-pass trays are considerably higher than the two-pass tray Murphree tray efficiencies.     

Understanding process intensification in cyclic distillation systems

The most effective separation possible in distillation columns takes place in the hydrodynamic regime where there is perfect displacement of the liquid and vapor streams. This can be achieved in distillation equipment with separate phase movement (SPM). Such an innovative route for process intensification in distillation is called cyclic distillation. The required process conditions are the lack of liquid outflow from the tray during vapor admission and the lack of liquid mixing in adjacent trays upon outflow of liquid. Remarkably, the throughput of such a column that operates in a controlled cycle mode is two or more times higher than the throughput reachable with conventional operation, at equivalent separation performance.In this study, a theoretical stage model with perfect displacement is proposed and the theory of the process working lines is developed. An adequate mass transfer model is also described along with the mode of calculation of tray columns operating in the cyclic operation mode. Sensitivity analysis was used to determine the effect of the key model parameters. The theoretical developments were implemented at industrial scale and subsequent testing showed an increase in the separation efficiency of 2-3 times as compared to the standard process.     

Predicting valve tray efficiency

Existing literature models for predicting the mass transfer efficiencies of binary hydrocarbon, distillation columns employing moving valve trays are evaluated. Only four models for predicting valve tray efficiencies exist in the open literature. All of these models use data from valve trays. The last theoretical model was published in 1972, 42 years ago. By comparison, sieve tray efficiency models are numerous and recent. Sieve tray models were developed from large databases. There are no valve tray equivalents to the fundamental mechanistic models available for sieve trays. Despite the differences between valve and sieve trays, many of the phenomena on sieve and valve trays are similar. Consequently, sieve tray models can be employed to provide estimates for valve trays. In this work, using public FRI data on round moving valves, the performance of the Chen and Chuang sieve tray mechanistic model is compared to the performance of four valve tray models. It appears that, in the absence of fundamental (and qualified) valve tray models, the sieve tray models present a potential alternative for valve tray efficiency predictions.