LIN Zixin, AN Weizhong, YUAN Linhao, et al. Design and optimization of reaction volume distribution in reactive distillation columns based on exergy loss analysis[J]. CIESC Journal, 2015, (2): 655-661.
DOI:
LIN Zixin, AN Weizhong, YUAN Linhao, et al. Design and optimization of reaction volume distribution in reactive distillation columns based on exergy loss analysis[J]. CIESC Journal, 2015, (2): 655-661.DOI: 10.11949/j.issn.0438-1157.20141220.
Design and optimization of reaction volume distribution in reactive distillation columns based on exergy loss analysis
To obtain the optimum distribution of liquid holdup or catalyst volume in the reactive zone for the design of a reactive distillation (RD) column considering selectivity targets
a design and optimization framework based on the combination of exergy loss analysis and process simulation were proposed. An exergy calculation model was established
including both physical and chemical exergy values
according to which the causes of exergy loss could be revealed with insights that provided the evolutionary direction of optimization. By linking the reaction volume distribution with exergy loss
the design of a reactive distillation column with the minimum reboiler heat duty could be accomplished by using the proposed optimization methodology. The proposed methodology was validated by the application to a reactive distillation column for producing ethylene glycol (EG) by hydration of ethylene oxide (EO). The optimized reaction volume distribution could reduce total energy consumption by 18%
compared with the commonly used even reaction volume design. In addition
the effect of energy saving obtained in this work was better than that reported in literature.