基于代码矩阵的精馏序列合成

提出了一种基于代码矩阵的精馏序列合成方法及其算法实现。该方法包括混合物组群划分、减塔配置基本搜索空间的创建、代码矩阵的生成和使用分离限制条件筛选4个步骤。由于代码矩阵衍生自矩阵法的0-1矩阵,且其元素代码包含了精馏塔分离编号和产品流股的采出位置等信息,因此,该合成法不仅能提供完整的精馏配置搜索空间,而且便于根据分离限制要求进行分离序列的筛选。文中给出该方法在乙二醇粗产品体系的应用,由VB计算共获得了8个三塔分离方案。结合Aspen模拟,得到总再沸器热负荷最小的三塔分离方案。     

Global optimization of multicomponent distillation configurations: 2. Enumeration based global minimization algorithm

We present a general Global Minimization Algorithm (GMA) to identify basic or thermally coupled distillation configurations that require the least vapor duty under minimum reflux conditions for separating any ideal or near‐ideal multicomponent mixture into a desired number of product streams. In this algorithm, global optimality is guaranteed by modeling the system using Underwood equations and reformulating the resulting constraints to bilinear inequalities. The speed of convergence to the globally optimal solution is increased by using appropriate feasibility and optimality based variable‐range reduction techniques and by developing valid inequalities. The GMA can be coupled with already developed techniques that enumerate basic and thermally coupled distillation configurations, to provide for the first time, a global optimization based rank‐list of distillation configurations. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2071–2086, 2016     

Global optimization of multicomponent distillation configurations: 1. Need for a reliable global optimization algorithm

Nonazeotropic multicomponent mixtures are often separated into products by distillation configurations containing multiple distillation columns. One method of calculating the minimum vapor duty of a configuration is to sequentially calculate the minimum vapor duty of each mixture as it is split into two streams within a given column starting from the feed column. The other method simultaneously manipulates all the splits to yield the overall minimum vapor duty of the entire configuration. Of these two methods, the sequential minimization is attractive as it can be analytically solved. However, through extensive computations, we find that the sequential minimization method is not a valid substitute for the simultaneous minimization method. As the number of components in the feed increases, the fraction of the basic configurations for which sequential method yields a reasonable estimate decreases rapidly, thereby emphasizing the need for a more robust and reliable global optimization algorithm. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 971–981, 2013     

Modified basic distillation configurations with intermediate sections for energy savings

Basic distillation configurations have been well studied, comprising of energy efficient (n ? 1)‐column configurations that can be used to separate an n‐component nonazeotropic feed mixture into its components. In this article, we present new (n ? 1)‐column configurations which differ from the conventional basic configurations due to the introduction of extra intermediate sections and the additional transfer‐streams associated with submixtures of these sections. We demonstrate using four‐component examples that these small differences lead to some interesting nonintuitive physical effects in the new configurations, resulting in large energy savings compared to the basic configurations. The proposed configurations offer more operable and energy efficient options for onsite implementation than the corresponding optimally operated basic configurations. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1091–1097, 2014     

Analysis of Ternary Distillation Column Sequences

Abstract

Eight complex distillation column configurations for a ternary feed mixture are modeled and studied. A modified complex method is used to minimize the cost of the configurations. Optimum regions for each configuration depending on the feed composition are derived. The result provides guidelines for the synthesis of distillation column configurations.     

A novel stochastic optimization method to efficiently synthesize large-scale nonsharp distillation systems

This study presents a novel stochastic optimization method for the efficient synthesis of large-scale nonsharp distillation systems, where heat integration and thermal coupling can be involved simultaneously. A new binary tree encoding method was developed to represent distillation sequences with no limits on the number of middle components in nonsharp splits to ensure a complete solution space. Thermally coupled structures were defined by 0–1 binary variables. Evolutionary rules were developed to generate neighboring distillation configurations randomly. Finally, an optimization framework was proposed, where simulated annealing (SA) algorithm was used to optimize distillation configurations; for a certain distillation configuration randomly generated by SA, its continuous variables were optimized using particle swarm optimization algorithm. Four cases—including the synthesis of six- and seven-component nonsharp heat integrated and thermally coupled distillation sequences—were studied to demonstrate that the proposed method was efficient and could obtain optimal and valuable suboptimal solutions with high probabilities.     

A matrix method for multicomponent distillation sequences

We describe a simple‐to‐use “matrix” method for obtaining all the basic distillation configurations and additional thermally coupled configurations that separate a zeotropic multicomponent feed into essentially pure product streams. This provides an opportunity to rank‐list the configurations for a given application subject to criteria of interest. The only information needed to generate the configurations is the number of components in the feed. We have successfully enumerated all the configurations for feeds containing up to eight components. The method can also be used to generate nondistillation and hybrid separation configurations, and even easy‐to‐retrofit configurations. We illustrate the use of this method by applying it to the highly energy‐intensive problem of petroleum crude distillation. We have identified more than 70 new configurations that could potentially have lower heat duty than the existing configuration. A significant number of these could reduce the heat demand by nearly 50%. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 56: 1759–1775, 2010     

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.     

Dynamic behavior and operational aspects of heat-integrated distillation processes

Complex configurations of distillation columns have been shown to consume less energy than simple configurations. These complex configurations mainly results from two considerations: either a feed split, where the condensing vapor from the top of the high pressure column is used to heat the reboiler of the low pressure column, or the overheads from a high pressure column in a distillation train used to reboil a column under lower pressure. Industrial experience shows that very often in these configurations there is still incentive for more energy reduction simply because of inefficient control. The energy integration increases the control loop coupling the system, so that the operating strategy for the columns is no longer apparent. Therefore, the dynamic behaviour and the operational constraints of such systems become very important. The use of rigorous dynamic model of the processes is an essential instruments to pursue the goal of good and reliable process control Such models allow the engineer to realistically simulate the process with the desired control system in place and to analyze the effects of equipment sizing, hest integration, and disturbances. Variable pairing proved is used to illustrate that effective control of energy-integrated distillation columns can be achieved by proper selection of manipulated variables and pairing them correctly with control variables. Hints will also be given, when multivariable predictive control schemes should be used.     

Optimal operation of multicomponent batch distillation—multiperiod formulation and solution

A method is proposed to determine optimal multiperiod operation policies for binary and general multicomponent batch distillation of a given feed mixture, with several main products and intermediate off-specification cuts. A two-level optimal control formulation is presented so as to maximize a general profit function for the multiperiod operation, subject to general constraints. The solution of this problem determines the optimal amount of each main and off cut, the optimal duration of each distillation step and the optimal reflux ratio profiles during each production period. The outer level optimization maximizes the profit function by manipulating carefully selected decision variables. These are chosen in such a manner that the need of specifying the mole fractions of all the components in the products, as required by previous methods is avoided. For values of the decision variables fixed by the outer loop, the multiperiod operation is decomposed into a sequence of independent optimal control problems, one for each production step. In the inner loop, a minimum time problem is then solved for each step to generate the optimal reflux ratio values, reflux switching times and duration of the step. The procedure permits the use of very general distillation models described by differential and algebraic equations, including rigorous thermodynamics if desired. The model equations are integrated by using an efficient Gear's type method, the inner loop optimal control problems are solved using a variational method, and all optimisations are solved using a robust and efficient successive quadratic programming code (Chen, Ph.D. Thesis, Imperial College, 1988).

Several example problems (involving binary and multicomponent mixtures) are used to demonstrate the idea and to show the effect of the cost functions used (in particular the value of the main products) on the optimal solutions.     

Synthesis of dividing-wall columns (DWC) for multicomponent distillations—A systematic approach

Dividing-wall columns (DWC) are intensified distillation systems for multicomponent separations. They have the potential to save significantly both energy and capital costs than conventional simple column configurations. In this paper, it is shown that the DWC columns can be systematically generated from the conventional simple column configurations. Because of the simple column sequences with sharp splits are the simple and widely studied conventional schemes for multicomponent distillation, the purpose of this work is to formulate a procedure for systematic synthesis of DWC columns for such simple conventional schemes. A four-step procedure is formulated which systematically generates all the possible DWC columns from the simple column sequences. First, the subspace of the original thermally coupled configurations corresponding to the simple column configurations is generated. Then, the subspace of the thermodynamically equivalent structures corresponding to the original thermally coupled configurations is produced. Finally, the subspace of the DWC columns corresponding to the thermodynamically equivalent structures is achieved. An example of quaternary distillation is used to illustrate the synthesis procedure which is applicable to a mixture with any number of components.     

Analysis of control properties of intensified distillation sequences: Reactive and extractive cases

In this work, we obtain and compare the control properties of thermally coupled reactive distillation sequences and thermally coupled extractive distillation sequences with those of conventional reactive and extractive distillation configurations. All sequences have been designed using a multiobjective genetic algorithm with restrictions. The theoretical control properties of those schemes were obtained using the singular value decomposition technique in all frequency domain. In order to complete the control study, the distillation options were subjected to closed-loop dynamic simulations. The effects of total stages, reactive stages, and extractant/feed ratio on the energy consumption and control properties are obtained for the intensified distillation options. The results show that there are cases in which integrated reactive and extractive sequences do not only provide significant energy savings with respect to the conventional reactive and extractive arrangements, but also may offer dynamic advantages in high energy consumption conditions.     

A synthesis method for multicomponent distillation sequences with fewer columns

An easy‐to‐use matrix‐based method for the systematic synthesis of distillation configurations using less than n‐1 columns to separate any zeotropic n‐component feed into n product streams is described. The method is easily extended to obtain additional thermally coupled configurations. The only information needed to generate the configurations is the number of components in the feed, or equivalently, the number of distinct composition final product streams. We have successfully enumerated configurations for feeds containing up to eight components. This has resulted in a large number of hitherto unknown configurations even for four‐component separations. Some of the novel configurations generated using the method have substantially lower heat duty than the previously known fewer column configurations for a four‐component feed separation. Therefore, it is essential to include these novel configurations in the search space to find the optimal distillation configuration with fewer columns for a given application. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 2479–2494, 2012     

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     

A systematic procedure for synthesis of intensified nonsharp distillation systems with fewer columns

Nonsharp separation sequences can intrinsically improve thermodynamic efficiency than that of sharp sequences for a multicomponent distillation. There are much more nonsharp sequences than that of sharp sequences. In this paper, the synthesis of new intensified distillation systems from nonsharp separation sequences is presented. Such intensified distillation systems have fewer columns and have the potential to reduce both energy and capital costs than conventional configurations. First, the representation of any nonsharp sequence with the simple column configuration is found to be the necessary starting point. Then, five strategies are introduced which present different mechanisms to change the structures of the distillation configurations. Third, a systematic procedure is formulated which can achieve the intensified distillation systems with fewer columns systematically. Finally, the systematic method has been applied to different examples of nonsharp separation sequences. It is demonstrated that the method can be used to generate the new intensified distillation systems from any nonsharp separation sequences. The method is easy to use and can explicitly derive all of the intensified distillation systems for the nonsharp separation sequences for a multicomponent distillation.     

Operation and control of batch extractive distillation for the separation of mixtures with minimum-boiling azeotrope

Batch distillation is commonly used in the fine chemicals, specialty polymer, biochemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. For separating mixtures with minimum-boiling azeotrope, a heavy entrainer is frequently added to the top section of the batch column to aid in the separation. This process is called batch extractive distillation. Most of the papers in open literature have only studied the first operating step of the batch extractive distillation which is the recovery of the light component without mentioning the later steps for the recovery of the other component and entrainer. In this paper, two real chemical systems, one separating acetone and methanol using water as entrainer and the other separating isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and water using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as entrainer, are studied for the feasible operation of the complete batch distillation sequence. The operating variables, including the pre-load amount with the mixture, continuous feed rate of the entrainer, and reflux ratio at each operating step are determined in the operating sequence. The constant reflux ratio and constant entrainer feed rate operating policy and another policy to allow these two operating variables to be varied will be compared in order to further improve the batch operation. All dynamic simulations that are performed directly mimic industrial situations from an empty column using a rigorous dynamic simulator, Aspen Dynamics™.     

Economic evaluation of energy saving alternatives in extractive distillation process

Until now, there has not been consensus about the superiority of thermally coupled sequence over the conventional sequence in the extractive distillation process. In this sense, the main goal of this paper is to analyze three approaches for saving energy in the extractive distillation process: optimization, thermal integration and thermal coupling. Three azeotropic mixtures were investigated: ethanol and water (M1); tetrahydrofuran and water (M2); and acetone and methanol (M3). The solvents were ethylene glycol for M1 and M2, and water for M3. The results are shown in terms of the total annual cost (TAC) and specific energy consumption (SEC), and revealed that a thermally coupled extractive distillation sequence with a side rectifier did not always present the best results. Taking the case studies from literature as a starting point (without thermal integration), the optimization procedure used in this work found that TACs are always lower. The inclusion of thermal integration in configurations led to reducing TAC for all mixtures under investigation when compared to the sequences without this integration. When comparing two modifications in the layout of extractive distillation, it can be seen that it is more advantageous to use the preheating of the azeotropic feed with the recycle stream from the recovery column of the conventional sequence than using a thermally coupled sequence.     

A novel method for generating distillation configurations

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.     

Flowsheet synthesis and complex distillation column design for separating ternary heterogeneous azeotropic mixtures

The boundary value method for design of distillation columns separating ternary heterogeneous azeotropic mixtures is extended to include complex configurations, i.e. columns with integrated decanters and with multiple heterogeneous stages; double-feed columns; columns with intermediate decanters. The methods can be used for establishing product feasibility in a column and evaluating a column design in terms of cost. Multiple feasible designs can be generated for a given set of product specifications, according to the reflux ratio, number of heterogeneous stages and liquid phase ratio; these designs may be evaluated with respect to operating and equipment costs. Case studies illustrate the design method.An algorithmic approach is presented for synthesising novel sequences for separating, by distillation and decanting, ternary heterogeneous azeotropic mixtures. Existing synthesis procedures that consider only simple single-feed columns with decanters and integrated decanters are extended to include more industrially relevant options such as columns with several heterogeneous stages, double-feed columns, columns with intermediate decanters, and those accepting a heterogeneous liquid feed. With these advanced column configurations included in the synthesis method, a wider range of sequences may be considered systematically, allowing sequences that are more economically attractive than conventional designs to be identified. A case study illustrates the approach.