Opportunities and Challenges for Energy Reduction in Separations

In terms of energy usage in the refining and petrochemical production, separations processes are major energy consumer. It is a significant portion of worldâ??s overall energy consumption. Distillation is the primary energy intensive separations process driving energy usage. As Chemical engineers we need to focus on what can be done to minimize this energy consumption and find ways to be more efficient.

This presentation focuses on the opportunities for reducing energy usage in distillation and the hurdles to look out for. Distillation intensification opportunities will be explored and new technologies that are expected to change the cost dynamics will be discussed.