Energy efficiency comparison between a conventional tray column and a novel heat-intensified thermosyphon-assisted falling film distillation unit: an assessment for mixtures with different relative volatilities.

Battisti, Rodrigo; Bresolin, Daniela; Milanez, Kênia W.; Mantelli, Márcia B. H.; dos Santos, Maurício C.; Medina, Lilian C.; Marangoni, Cintia; Machado, Ricardo A. F.

An energy performance comparison between a novel thermosyphon-assisted falling film distillation unit and a conventional tray unit was carried out for three mixtures with different relative volatilities: ethanol-water, acetone-isopropanol, and acetone-water. Experimental data from the pilot-scale plant were used as targets in the simulation runs through the Hysys® software. Thus, the separation performed in the falling film unit was reproduced in a conventional tray column. The thermosyphon-assisted falling film unit required less energy, with reductions of 24% for acetone-isopropanol, 30% for ethanol-water, and 55% for the acetone-water mixture. The energy-use ratio also showed that for each kW consumed in the falling film unit, the conventional unit would consume 1.33 kW for acetone-isopropanol, 1.44 kW for ethanol-water, and 2.21 kW for acetone-water, based in the same separation. Therefore, this novel distillation apparatus is more advantageous as an energy-saving viable option for separating mixtures with different relative volatilities.

DISTILLATION; ENERGY consumption; FALLING films; SEPARATION (Technology); ISOPROPYL alcohol; MIXTURES; DISTILLATION apparatus

Chemical Engineering Communications, 2022, Vol 209, Issue 7, p895

0098-6445

Academic Journal

10.1080/00986445.2021.1926243