Dynamic Process Intensification of Binary Distillation via Periodic Operation

This paper applies the concept of dynamic intensification (defined as changes to the dynamics, operation strategy, and/or control of a process that lead to a substantially more efficient processing path) to binary distillation columns. The resulting strategy consists of manufacturing a target product as a blend of two auxiliary products, both having lower energy demands than a reference value, which corresponds to producing the target product(s) in a column operating at steady state. A discussion of the appropriate control structures and switching strategies between the two auxiliary products is provided. An extensive case study concerning the separation of a methanol-1-propanol mixture was carried out, demonstrating that energy savings in the order of 1.4% are possible with no disruption in product quality or production rate.