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A systematic method to synthesize all dividing wall columns for n ‐component separation: Part II
Author(s) -
Madenoor Ramapriya Gautham,
Tawarmalani Mohit,
Agrawal Rakesh
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.15963
Subject(s) - distillation , partition (number theory) , equivalence (formal languages) , component (thermodynamics) , process (computing) , process engineering , column (typography) , fractionating column , simple (philosophy) , engineering , engineering drawing , mechanical engineering , mathematics , computer science , chemistry , combinatorics , physics , chromatography , thermodynamics , pure mathematics , programming language , philosophy , epistemology , connection (principal bundle)
We present a simple rule that, for the first time, enables exhaustive enumeration of dividing wall columns (DWCs) corresponding to any given thermally coupled distillation column‐configuration. With the successive application of our rule, every partition in a DWC can be extended all the way to the top and/or to the bottom of a column without losing thermodynamic equivalence to the original thermally coupled configuration. This leads to easy‐to‐operate DWCs with possible control/regulation of each and every vapor split by external means. As a result, we conclude that any given DWC can be transformed into a thermodynamically equivalent form that is easy‐to‐operate, and hence, there always exists at least one easy‐to‐operate DWC for any given thermally coupled distillation. Our method of enumerating and identifying easy‐to‐operate DWCs for an attractive thermally coupled configuration will contribute toward process intensification by providing ways to implement efficient and low‐cost multicomponent distillations. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 64: 660–672, 2018