On the dynamics of distillation processes—IV Uniqueness and stability of the steady state in homogeneous continuous distillations

Abstract

Recent numerical studies by Magnussen et al.[1] have shown that multiple steady state solutions can be exhibited by the constant molar overflow (CMO) model for ternary azeotropic distillation in a multistaged column. This has such important consequences for distillation control, design and startup that further experimental and analytical work is desirable. This paper addresses the problem of uniqueness and stability of the steady state in the continuous distillation of homogeneous mixtures. It is shown that multiple steady state solutions are not exhibited by either binary homogeneous distillations in a multistage CMO column or multicomponent homogeneous distillations in a single stage CMO column (flash distillation). Therefore, the multiplicity is a consequence of multicomponents and multiple stages.