CONTRIBUTING TO REDUCTION OF CO_2 EMISSIONS THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF A HEAT-INTEGRATED DISTILLATION COLUMN

摘要

This paper introduces the development of a heat-integrated distillation column as a means of contributing to the reduction of CO_2 emissions. The process has evolved from the application of the heat-pump principle to a distillation process, leading to an internal heat integration between the whole rectifying and the whole stripping sections. Three candidate configurations have been proposed and analyzed for the practical process realization. The results from the operation of the first bench-scale plant and simulation studies demonstrate its substantial contribution to the reduction of CO_2 emissions.