Interaction and performance analysis of a ternary mixture distillation process

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the controllability of a driving force-based distillation columns sequence for the separation a benzene, toluene, and p-xylene mixture. Primarily, a methodology for this study was constructed, which consisted of five hierarchical stages. In the first stage, all possible distillation columns sequences were synthesised. Then, the sequences were simulated under steady state conditions using Aspen HYSYS in the second stage. In the third stage, the input-output interactions of the sequences were analysed by using relative gain arrays (RGA). In the fourth stage, controller parameters were determined. Finally, in the fifth stage, the controllers’ responses were analysed using MATLAB. From this study, it was found that the driving force-based distillation columns sequence has better overall controllability than an alternative sequence.