Reduced super-structure for a separation network comprising separators effected by different methods of separation

Among separation systems, the ones comprising separators effected by different separation methods have been steadily gaining attention lately. Our earlier work has revealed that it is exceedingly complicated to optimally synthesize via super-structure any of these separation networks featuring simple and sharp separators, multiple feed and product streams, and mixed products. This complication can be substantially lessened by constituting a reduced super-structure for the network of interest. This super-structure profoundly simplifies the mathematical model and decreases the computational time required to yield the results identical to those obtained from the original super-structure.