| Abstract: | The installation of a postfractionator into a fully thermally coupled distillation column (FTCDC) significantly improves the distillation column efficiency, but the column operation is more difficult than for the original FTCDC. A modified configuration of the postfractionator FTCDC having sectionalized main columns is proposed for operational improvement, and its performance is examined through the HYSYS simulation of a BTX fractionation process. By setting different pressures for the various sections of the main columns, the proposed distillation column facilitates easy vapor transfer between the sections without the need to utilize compressors. The outcome of a dynamic simulation on the column shows that the control of the column pressure is easily undertaken and the specifications of three products in the BTX process can be separately controlled to facilitate ease of column operation. |
