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Optimal Operation and Control of Four-Product Dividing-Wall (Kaibel) Distillation Column

  • Research Article - Chemical Engineering
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Abstract

Due to globalization and increased market competition, the process industry is seeking to maximize productivity at minimal operational cost. Distillation operation alone accounts for a significant amount of the world’s energy consumption. This consumption can be greatly reduced by using a complex distillation column configuration, such as a fully thermally coupled distillation column or divided-wall distillation column, over conventional arrangements. The divided-wall column offers potential energy and capital investment savings. In this study, it was shown that energy savings of up to 25% can be achieved by using a four-product divided-wall distillation column (Kaibel) compared with conventional column arrangements. The reported capital investment associated with a four-product divided-wall column is approximately 30%. However, design and operation remain a challenge due to the large number of design and operational degrees of freedom. Divided-wall columns can be used for multicomponent separation as well. This research demonstrated the steady-state and dynamic behavior of a Kaibel distillation column using commercial simulation software, i.e., Aspen HYSYS. A self-optimizing control scheme was implemented to reject disturbances during operation and to meet the required product specifications for a Kaibel distillation column.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box 5050, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Farrukh Abid, Mohammad Shamsuzzoha, Housam Binous & Abdallah Alshammari

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  1. Farrukh Abid
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  2. Mohammad Shamsuzzoha
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  3. Housam Binous
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  4. Abdallah Alshammari
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Correspondence to Abdallah Alshammari.

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Abid, F., Shamsuzzoha, M., Binous, H. et al. Optimal Operation and Control of Four-Product Dividing-Wall (Kaibel) Distillation Column. Arab J Sci Eng 43, 6067–6085 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3259-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3259-2

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