Azeotropic Distillation Process with Vertical Divided-Wall Column

摘要

In order to separate a homogeneous binary azeotropic mixture, such as thanol and water, into individual components, an entrainer is usually added to form a new heterogeneous ternaryazeotropic mixture. An azeotropic distillation method with the conventional two-column sequence is usually used to complete the separation task. In this paper, we present a new azeotropic distillattion column with a vertical di dividing wall, developed by improving the divided-wall column for ordinary three-component mixture separation as reported by Wright. The new system differs greatly from the conventional two-column sequence. In this sysem, the column is equidpped with one condenser at the top and two reboilers at the bottom, allowing single-column azeotropic distillation. The features of this column are demonstrated by simulation for ethanol dehydration using cyclohexane as entrainer in comparison with the conventional two-column system. It is confirmed that for dehydration of a 90 wt% ethanol feed stock, an energy saving of about 7% can be expected.