SELECTION OF MULTICOMPONENT BATCH DISTILLATION SEQUENCES

As in continuous distillation systems, the design of batch distillatio n begins with the selection of a sequence of separations. This paper c onsiders the usual case where the column processes multicomponent mixt ures with the recycle of intermediate cuts. It is proved that this cyc lic operation does converge to a ''steady state'' balance. This permit s to model batch distillation with recycle as a function of the steady state variables, i.e. without the need of successive simulations to o btain the steady state. Furthermore, we use simplified analytical mode ls which permit a quick approximation to the optimal design of a given sequence, thus aiding the designer in the screening of alternative se paration sequences, to preselect one, or a small set of good sequences .