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Energy Recovery in a Naphtha Splitter Process through Debottlenecking of Retrofitted Thermally Coupled and Double‐Effect Distillation Sequences
Author(s) -
Minh Le Quang,
Van Duc Long Nguyen,
Lee Moonyong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201402158
Subject(s) - reboiler , distillation , naphtha , splitter , process engineering , bottleneck , refinery , fractionating column , process (computing) , reuse , energy (signal processing) , overhead (engineering) , computer science , engineering , chemistry , waste management , mathematics , catalysis , electrical engineering , chromatography , embedded system , biochemistry , statistics , geometry , operating system
Abstract A thermally coupled distillation sequence (TCDS) and a double‐effect sequence (DES) were proposed to retrofit an existing naphtha splitter process in the refinery plant for enhanced energy efficiency. This, however, can create a bottleneck in the columns. A side reboiler was proposed to debottleneck the retrofitted columns. The concept of minimum vapor flow rate was used as a preliminary calculation to determine the benefits of these proposed arrangements. A practical optimization using the response surface methodology was applied to the design of TCDS and DES. In addition, a column grand composite curve was used to highlight the thermodynamic feasibility of the implementation of a side reboiler into the retrofitted sequences. As a result, the DES was shown as the best alternative through combination of a side reboiler, and this achieved 32.7 % savings on operating costs with a maximum reuse of the existing equipment.