Optimal Operation of a Petlyuk Distillation Column: Energy Savings by Over-fractionating

摘要

This paper shows the unexpected result that over-fractionating one of the product streams in a Petlyuk distillation column may be optimal from a energy point of view. Analytic expressions for the potential energy savings are derived using the Underwood equations. The energy savings by over-fractionation may be further increased by bypassing some of the feed and mixing it with the over-fractionated product to meet product specifications. Normally, the energy savings are small, so the main significance of our results is to point out that over-fractionating is optimal in some cases.