Thermal Pinch Analysis Application on Distillation Columns Sequence of 5-Component Alcohol Mixture

Abstract

Distillation column is a well-known unit operation in chemical and petrochemical industries. However, large energy requirement has always become major concern to perform the intended separation task. Therefore, heat integration via thermal pinch analysis is proposed for energy saving purpose. This paper provides a methodology for thermal pinch analysis application on distillation columns sequence. The case study selected is distillation process of 5-component alcohol mixture. Based on the input data, 14 possible sequences for distillation columns were firstly simulated. Then, the resulting information such as target temperature, supply temperature and energy from condensers and reboilers have been extracted for thermal pinch analysis. Lastly, the energy requirement from the analysis was then compared for energy saving calculation. Based on the analysis results, 8 out 14 sequences recorded overall energy saving ranging from 1.5 to 36 %. Thus, it can be said that the thermal pinch analysis has a potential for further the energy saving of the distillation columns sequence for the selected case study. In addition, the methodology can be extended to any other related distillation columns sequence case studies.