Short-Cut Methods versus Rigorous Methods for Performance-Evaluation of Distillation Configurations

This study demonstrates the efficacy of a short-cut method such as the Global Minimization Algorithm (GMA),(1),(2) that uses assumptions of ideal mixtures, constant molar overflow (CMO) and pinched columns, in pruning the search-space of distillation column configurations for zeotropic multicomponent separation, to provide a small subset of attractive configurations with low minimum heat duties. The short-cut method, due to its simplifying assumptions, is computationally efficient, yet reliable in identifying the small subset of useful configurations for further detailed process evaluation This two-tier approach allows expedient search of the configuration space containing hundreds to thousands of candidate configurations for a given application.