Multicomponent homogeneous azeotropic distillation 3. Column sequence synthesis

An algorithmic distillation column sequence synthesis procedure for multico mponent azeotropic mixtures is proposed. The synthesis procedure is divided into several stages, and makes use of the feasibility test for classes of splits, as defined by Thong and Jobson (Chem. Eng. Sci. (2001a) submitted), to systematically generate a range of feasible and potentially feasible co lumn sequences for a specified separation requirement. A set of rules is ap plied to generate a recycle superstructure for every identified sequence. S tream compositions and recycles are then finalised. Column design methods p resented in Thong and Jobson (Chem. Eng. Sci. (2001b) submitted) are then a pplied to every column in the sequence. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.