Design and simulation of divided wall column: Experimental validation and sensitivity analysis

• A procedure for design of DWC system are proposed
• The implementation and operation of a pilot plant are achieved.
• Simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental data.
• Proposed procedure appears to be well adapted to quickly design DWC.
• Ternary diagram is used to show the most economical configuration

This article deals with design and simulation of divided wall column. Design parameters are provided to the rigorous simulation in the ProSimPlus® software. The results show that the procedure can determine parameters quickly in the case studies and can give a good initialization for rigorous simulation. Secondly, a pilot plant has been design, built and operated in our laboratory. The pilot plant will provide necessary experimental evidence to validate the previous procedure. Ternary mixture and four-component mixture of alcohols have been used in our pilot plant in steady state conditions. The results show that the composition of products, composition and temperature profile along the column are in very good agreement with simulation results. Finally, in order to determine the optimal parameters of divided wall columns, the effects of the structural parameters of the divided wall column such as the height of the wall, the vertical position of the wall and number of stages of each section are analyzed. Ternary diagram is used as an indicator both in showing what the most economical configuration is and in showing the distillation boundary.