Stepwise periodic distillation—I: Total reflux operation

The theoretical predictions of doubled overall efficiency for plate distillation columns operated in the controlled cycling mode have not been confirmed by pilot scale experiments. In an attempt to circumvent the hydrodynamic problems causing this failure, we have found a new periodic operating mode where the liquid flow is manipulated directly, and not indirectly through pulsations of the vapour flow rate (as in controlled cycling).In this paper we present the theory of stepwise periodic distillation, under assumptions allowing a comparison with known results for controlled cycling. We show that the two processes have the same asymptotic efficiencies for large values of the number of trays while periodic stepwise distillation is slightly more efficient than controlled cycling for a finite number of trays