Selecting the optimal sequence of distillation column train for multicomponent separation system

Abstract

An industrial separation often means to separate a multicomponent mixture into a number of useful products. For this, a number of separators can be used which produce two or more products each. When the components to be separated are three (or less) then two clearly distinctive sequences are there. However, when the number of components increases, the complexity of the separation increases. Depending upon the costs associated (capital and running) and also on the basis of energy needs, the number of sequences to produce the same product can be analyzed and scrutinized.This work has chosen a four component (ideal hydrocarbons) system to find the optimal sequence. Rigorous multicomponent distillation methods are used to evaluate parameters of all separators in each sequence. Total cost of separation was used as the criteria for the methodology of selecting the optimal sequence. A generalized code was developed for this purpose with sharp separation and was used in this work. Based on the results obtained, the optimal sequence was chosen which is presented in this work.