Concentric Heat Integrated Distillation Column (HIDiC): a new specific packing design, characterization and pre-industrial pilot unit validation

Abstract

The concept of Heat Integrated Distillation column (HIDiC) was introduced by Mah et al [1] to improve the energy efficiency of distillation processes. Firstly, a brief review of the HIDiC configurations and pilot plants is introduced. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the performance of a new packing specific for HIDiC tested in a concentric HIDiC pilot plant to prove the operability and the overall performance. First, the new specific packing and its characterization are presented. The characterization includes the hydrodynamics, the mass transfer and heat transfer performance. For the experiments on HIDiC pilot plant, several tests are performed at steady state of 90 min. One of these experiments is presented with the operating parameters (boiler heat and pressure ratio). The cyclohexane/n-heptane binary mixture is used for these experiments. The simulation results of a classical distillation column are compared to HIDiC column steady state operation. This comparison demonstrates energy savings about 40 %.