AIChE Journal, Vol.63, No.11, 4847-4861, 2017
Feasible Separation Regions for Distillation I: Structure
A feasible separation region is determined for only four special combinations of a saturated vapor/liquid feed and total/partial condenser or reboiler. This work addresses the construction of a feasible separation region for a general case where the feed is a mixture of vapor and liquid in equilibrium and where the column is equipped with a partial/total condenser and reboiler. The analysis reveals that the product composition sets (which are defined for various reflux and reboil ratios and a fixed number of stages in each column section) are the main elements of the feasible separation region. The application of the geometric model of the column in combination with the shape of the distillation line led to the conclusion that the feasible separation region is the union of two product composition sets for both enriching and stripping columns both with an infinite number of stages. The boundary of the feasible separation region consists of several curves related to specific types of operating modes in the column. Some of these curves create a well-known product composition multitude, whereas other curves form a generalized distillation limit. (c) 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Keywords:distillation line;distillation limit;product composition multitude;transition line;feasible separation region