A new divided-wall heat integrated distillation column (HIDiC) for batch processing: Feasibility and analysis

This work introduces a new heat integrated distillation column (HIDiC) for batch processing. Under this scheme, the entire cylindrical shell is proposed to divide vertically by a metal wall into two closed semi-cylinders. Aiming to generate an internal heat source, a heat pump system is employed over the left hand division to elevate the pressure of the right hand part with the application of HIDiC concept. This new divided-wall HIDiC column utilizes its own energy source by transferring heat from the high pressure (HP) to low pressure (LP) side, thereby reducing the utility consumption in both the still and condenser. To make this thermal integration technology more effective, a typical tray configuration is proposed in both sides of the divided-wall. Unlike the continuous flow distillation, the batch column shows unsteady state process characteristics that make its operation more challenging. With this, an open-loop variable manipulation policy is formulated so that the dynamics of the heat integrated column remain close, if not same, with its conventional counterpart. This is a necessary condition required for a fair comparison between them. Finally, the proposed configuration is illustrated by a binary column, showing an improvement in energy savings, entropy generation and cost over its conventional analogous. This thermally integrated configuration is relatively simple than the traditional HIDiC in terms of design and operation.