Exploiting Residue Curve Maps to Assess Thermodynamic Feasibility Boundaries under Uncertain Operating Conditions

The very first step of almost any separation process design procedure is the thermodynamic feasibility analysis. In the case of distillation, residue curve maps (RCMs) represent an essential tool to assess whether the separation is feasible or not. However, the analysis is generally carried out by referring to nominal operating conditions and product purities as specification. This means that, when process parameters are likely to undergo fluctuations, the prediction of the system response is not that obvious. An ABE/W (acetone-butanol-ethanol/water) mixture was then selected as a case study since it allows us to discuss several non-ideal thermodynamic behaviors and because of the renewed interest in biorefinery and sustainable processes during recent years. Residue curve mapping was then exploited to determine the thermodynamic feasibility range for multicomponent distillation processes as well as for distillation trains and process-intensified solutions taking into account both product purity and product recovery specifications. The final product of this study is a thorough procedure to determine the flexibility boundaries of feed and product compositions as well as an immediate and intuitive graphical representation from a binary standard distillation column to a complex multicomponent dividing wall column application.