An increased production capacity by a retrofitted industrial deethanizer column

• The industrial deethanizer column is modified.
• The response surface methodology is utilized for drawing the optimum condition.
• The production capacity is increased up to 18%.

The industrial ethane recovery column is modified by change in its operating conditions. In this contribution for the modified process, the influences of the reboiler temperature, column operating pressure and feed–inlet location are evaluated on the simulation results. Optimization of the retrofitted plant parameters is performed by using the practical method of response surface methodology (RSM) and the relevant cost estimation procedure. The best design is obtained and it is found that the production capacity is increased up to 18%, in comparison to the base case.

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