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Heuristic synthesis of nonsharp separation sequences
Author(s) -
Bamopoulos George,
Nath Ravindra,
Motard Rodolphe L.
Publication year - 1988
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.690340507
Subject(s) - distillation , heuristic , product (mathematics) , representation (politics) , sequence (biology) , algorithm , computer science , process engineering , key (lock) , separation (statistics) , mathematical optimization , mathematics , engineering , chemistry , chromatography , biochemistry , geometry , computer security , machine learning , politics , political science , law
Abstract The preliminary synthesis of ordinary distillation schemes for separating a single feed into desired products is examined. Nonsharp products are emphasized, i.e., when components are desired in more than one product. Such sets lead naturally to columns with incomplete separation of the key components, including one‐section columns. Stream bypassing around separators and limited stream splitting are permitted. Sequences cannot have separators with identical key components, and only limited product fragmentation is considered. A heuristic ordering of separation options, coupled with a depth‐first application on a pictorial or a matrix representation of a stream, is proposed. Subsequently a best‐first search identifies the few better schemes. Partial sequences are (sub)optimized heuristically. Employing the present methodology on an example problem of four components and products resulted in annual cost savings of 42%, compared to the best sequence isolating the feed components.