Optimal design and control of three simplified sargent four-product dividing-wall columns

•Economic comparison among three simplified Sargent DWC is presented.•The case study considers a relevant hydrocarbon mixture.•Rigorous simulation models are used.•Optimal designs were obtained through genetic algorithms in Matlab.•Comparative dynamic analysis using only temperature control schemes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical engineering and processing 2022-04, Vol.174, p.108860, Article 108860
Main Authors: Villegas-Uribe, Cristopher A., Medina-Herrera, Nancy, Hernández-Magallanes, Javier A., Tututi-Avila, Salvador
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Control
Design
Distillation
Dividing-wall column
Multipartition
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Summary:•Economic comparison among three simplified Sargent DWC is presented.•The case study considers a relevant hydrocarbon mixture.•Rigorous simulation models are used.•Optimal designs were obtained through genetic algorithms in Matlab.•Comparative dynamic analysis using only temperature control schemes is provided. Sargent columns have been shown to reduce energy consumption significantly for chemical separations with four product streams. However, the number of vapor splits needed to operate the system poses operational concerns. As a result, simplified configurations have been investigated to reduce vapor splits. This study aims to examine the economic design followed by dynamic performance analysis of three simplified alternative configurations, i.e., s-2-3-4, 2-2-4, and 2-3-3, to the Sargent column, for the separation of a Benzene-Toluene-Xylene (BTX) mixture. The designs were obtained through rigorous simulations in AspenPlus, linked to an optimization code using genetic algorithms in Matlab. The optimization problem considers the total annual cost (TAC) minimization. Optimal designs of the simplified alternatives are economically attractive, with 26 to 33% savings in TAC over the conventional sequence. The dynamic performance of simplified DWCs was studied through temperature-only PID control schemes in a multi-loop framework. The results show that simplified dividing wall columns (DWCs) provide suitable performance without considering vapor splits as manipulated inputs. Small variations from nominal product specifications (
ISSN:0255-2701
1873-3204
DOI:10.1016/j.cep.2022.108860