Design and control of a continuous multi-product process with product distribution switching: Sustainable manufacture of furfuryl alcohol and 2-methylfuran

摘要

A process for the sustainable simultaneous manufacture of furfuryl alcohol (FOL) and 2-methylfuran (2-MF) is designed using commercial process simulation software. The process is designed to produce 50 kmol/hr of product, and the nominal (base case) design produces 40 kmol/h of furfuryl alcohol and 10 kmol/h of 2-methylfuran. The process is designed to permit the adjustment of the product distribution from 35/15 to 45/5 furfuryl alcoholp-methylfuran. Energy consumption is reduced by employing a feed effluent heat exchanger and employing a 3-phase distillate receiver at the top of the distillation column and refluxing only the organic phase. Control studies suggest that a simple decentralized control structure without controller parameter scheduling can accommodate changes in the production rate and feed composition and can also transition smoothly between product distributions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.