AN APPROACH TO TARGETING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMEN OLEFIN-PARAFFIN SEPARATION PROCESSES

摘要

A thermodynamically guided methodology is proposed for the structural and parametric optimization of hybrid processes used for energy intensive separations such as olefin/paraffin blend. The approach addresses energy savings through the retrofit of an existing distillation column with a work driven separator. In order to define the potential of energy efficiency improvement of an existing column, we present some thermodynamic observations allowing the screening of different scenarios of hybrid processes. These observations are first formulated as hypotheses and are then tested using the machinery of mathematical programming. A superstructure representation of the possible hybrid architectures is developed and tested on an existing C_2 splitter. The results show that such an approach yields a set of valuable guidelines for the targeting and sizing of hybrid installations for the retrofit of C_2 splitters. Sizeable energy savings can be achieved.