Title: Simultaneous optimal design and operation of a diabatic extractive distillation column based on exergy analysis

Authors: Arley Nova-Rincón; Manuel A. Ramos; Jorge M. Gómez

Addresses: Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No. 18a-10, Bogotá, Colombia ' Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No. 18a-10, Bogotá, Colombia ' Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No. 18a-10, Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract: The concept of diabatic distillation is applied to an extractive distillation system of ethanol, which uses glycerol as entrainer, to study the influence of heat flows in optimal design, operation, and thermodynamic efficiency of such systems via exergy analysis. First, optimal operating conditions for minimum exergy losses are computed for a diabatic column with fixed feed locations and number of trays. Then, optimal design (feed locations, number of trays, and heat flows along the column) and operation of the system is calculated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, for an economic and economic-exergetic objective functions for two different entrainer molar flows. It was found that the entrainer molar flow has remarkable influence in the reduction of the exergy losses of the system.

Keywords: diabatic distillation; ethanol; extractive distillation column; optimal design; distillation column design; mixed integer NLP; nonlinear programming; MINLP optimisation; exergy minimisation; exergy analysis; glycerol; heat flows; thermodynamics; exergy efficiency; exergy losses; entrainer molar flows.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2015.070500

International Journal of Exergy, 2015 Vol.17 No.3, pp.287 - 312

Received: 04 Dec 2013
Accepted: 22 May 2014
Published online: 08 Jul 2015 *

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