Recent trends in sustainable distillation

processes:

Unleashing energy savings

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 Welcome to the Distillation Revolution !
This presentation explores how innovative
distillation techniques can lead to sustainable
energy solutions.
We will explore into the significance of energy
efficiency and the role of distillation in shaping a
greener future.

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 CONTENT
1) Introduction

2) What is Distillation ?

3) Why Distillation Remains Important ?

4) The need for Sustainability

5) Energy Efficiency in Distillation

6) Energy Efficient Methods

TABLE OF

7) Process Intensification
8) Using Electric Power in the Processes Industry
9) Conclusion
10) References

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 What is Distillation ?
Distillation is a separation process widely
used in various industries. It involves heating
a liquid to create vapor and then cooling it to
obtain a liquid. This process can be energy-
intensive, making it crucial to explore efficient
alternatives to minimize resource
consumption.

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Why Distillation Remains Important ?

Distillation is the most important separation method used in the chemicals

and petroleum refining industries. Distillation units are routinely designed
using commercial software with little need for experimentation. Distillation
requires large amounts of energy, contributing to global warming.
Significant effort is needed to make distillation more energy efficient and
sustainable.

 Widely Used

 Mature Process

 High Energy Demand

 Sustainability Focus

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The need for Sustainability
Sustainable distillation reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and wastes
helping companies meet regulations, cut costs and improve efficiency benefiting
both the environment and long-term economic resilience.

Reducing Carbon Footprint

Optimizing Resource Use Implementing eco-friendly
Industries are under Sustainable practices focus methods
Adopting eco-friendly methods
increasing pressure to on maximizing efficiency, is crucial to ensuring a
minimize their environment reducing waste, and sustainable future. Distillation
-tal impact and reduce their minimizing resource plays a key role in achieving
carbon emissions. consumption. these goals.

A.A and Smith, R.(2020) 6

Energy Efficiency in Distillation
 Refers to minimizing the energy consumption
required during the separation process. It
involves optimizing design, using innovative
techniques, and exploring alternative energy
sources to make distillation more sustainable.

 For a distillation column to work well and use

energy efficiently, designers usually set the
reflux ratio (RR) 20% higher than the
minimum needed (RRmin). In the future, to
save more energy, companies using fossil
fuels will need incentives to lower their reflux
ratio closer to the minimum
Agrawal, R. and Tumbalam (2020) 7
Energy Efficiency Methods
1)Feed Flashing
 Feed flashing involves partially vaporizing a liquid feed before it enters a
distillation column.
 This occurs when the liquid is exposed to lower pressure or higher temperature,
causing part of it to evaporate.
 The resulting mixture of vapor and liquid is then fed into the distillation column
for more efficient separation.
 Flashing the feed enhances flexibility and helps the distillation process adjust to
changes in feed composition or operating conditions.
 This process contributes to a more robust and adaptable system.

Waltermann, T. ,Schlueter S. Benfer (2020) 8

2) Heat Exchange

 Heat exchange transfers heat between two fluids (liquids or gases) without
mixing.
 In distillation, heat exchangers are used to recover and reuse energy.
 Hot output streams from the distillation column can transfer heat to cooler
incoming feed.
 This pre-heats the feed, reducing the energy needed for mixture separation
inside the column.
 Heat exchange improves overall energy efficiency in distillation processes.

Spoelstra S. (2021)
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 3) Multi Effect Distillation
 Multiple Effect Distillation (MED) is an energy-
efficient process used in desalination.
 It converts seawater to fresh water through a
series of connected distillation units called “effects”.
 Water is boiled in each unit using steam, and the
resulting vapor heats the water in the next unit.
 As steam moves through each effect, its pressure and temperature drop, but it retains
enough heat for continued distillation.
 The recycling of heat in MED allows for significant energy savings by reusing the same
steam multiple times. (Olujic Z, Jodeke 2021)

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Fig 1: Multi Effect Distillation
4) Vapor Recompression
 Vapor Re-Compression (VRC) is used in industries to efficiently separate chemicals
with similar boiling points.
 VRC compresses and reuses the heat from vapor at the top of a distillation column.
 This recovered heat is used to heat the liquid at the bottom of the column, improving
efficiency.
 VRC enhances the separation process, particularly in challenging separations.
 For propane and propene, VRC achieves a high recovery-factor of 8, indicating
significant heat recovery per unit of power used.
 For ethylbenzene and styrene, the recovery-factor is around 3, still improving
efficiency.

(Harwardt A. 2018)
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5) Heat integrated Distillation column (HIDiC)
 A Heat Integrated Distillation Column (HIDiC) is a complex column configuration for
energy savings in industrial separation.
 HIDiC has a high-pressure rectifying section and a low-pressure stripping section,
allowing heat transfer between them.
 Can reduce energy costs and carbon footprint, and save 25-50% on energy.
 Transfers excess heat from the rectifying section to the stripping section.
 The reboiler and condenser duties can be significantly reduced or eliminated,
particularly with the use of a feed preheater.
 Toyo Engineering's HIDiC (SUPERHIDIC) achieved over 50% energy savings in
industrial applications. (Wakabayashi et al., 2019, Toyo Engineering, 2022).

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Process Intensification
Process intensification (PI) is an engineering expression referring to making
changes that render a manufacturing or processing design substantially
improved in terms of energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, or enhancement of
other qualities. In relation to distillation, the main intensified processes by far
are reactive distillation, dividing wall columns, Hybrid seperation process &
more recently combinations thereof.

Reactive Distillation

Dividing Wall Columns

Hybrid Separation Processes

(Gerbaud v. Rodriguez-Donis 2023)

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1) Reactive Distillation
A process that combines chemical reaction and distillation in one unit, enhancing
efficiency by simultaneously carrying out reaction and product separation. It reduces
energy use, equipment needs, and improves conversion rates.
Integration
The integration saves both capital and energy costs, obtained through
improvements in both reaction selectivity and reaction yield due to the
simultaneous reaction and separation within a single vessel.

Challenges
The key challenge for the design and operation of reactive distillation is
ensuring that the best windows of operation for the reaction and for the
separation coincide.
Industrial Applications
Reactive distillation has found widespread use in industry over the past decades,
as homo- and heterogeneously catalysed columns, packed and trayed, and with
large diameters.
(Li G. Wang, C Guang, Zhang 2020)
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2) Dividing Wall Columns
A dividing wall column (DWC) is a type of distillation column used in chemical
processes to separate multiple components in a mixture more efficiently. It has a
vertical wall inside that splits the column into different sections, allowing the separation
of multiple products in a single unit. This design reduces energy consumption, space,
and cost compared to using multiple columns for the same task. Essentially, it simplifies
and makes the separation process more efficient. (Kalita R., Gentry J.C 2018)

Industrial Implementation Energy Savings Ternary Separation

Dividing wall columns are Energy savings of up to Dividing wall columns allow
now considered established 45% have been a ternary separation into
process intensification reported in some three pure components to
technology in industry, studies, depending on take place in a single
providing excellent the feed concentration, column.
improvements in energy the relative volatilities
performance compared to and the product
traditional processes. purities.
(Kaibel eds. A. Gorak and Olujic 2018)
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 3) Hybrid Separation Processes
Hybrid separation processes combine different separation principles and constitutes a
promising design option for the separation of complex mixtures. The integration of
distillation with other unit operations improves the separation of close-boiling or azeotropic
mixtures.
Hybrid Process Description

Distillation/Membrane A distillation column and a membrane

network are integrated together into a
single process.

Distillation/Crystallization Distillation is combined

with crystallization.

Distillation/Adsorption Distillation is combined

with adsorption.

Distillation/Liquid-Liquid Distillation is combined

Extraction with liquid-liquid (Naidu G., Tijing L, H.
extraction. Vigneswaran 2020) 16
 Using Electric Power In The Process
Industry
Renewable energy integration in process industries can help reduce fossil fuel dependence, particularly
in distillation processes.

• Electrolysis for hydrogen and oxygen production.

Potential uses • Electric replacements for fossil fuels in steam boilers.
for renewable • Electric heaters (E-heaters) for hot oil or molten salt loops.
energy include: • E-reboilers and feed E-heaters for direct process fluid heating.

Surplus renewable power can be used for energy-intensive chemical production as a form of energy storage.
High-temperature applications, such as furnaces and molten salt systems, are especially suited for renewable
power. Electrolysis may become more efficient if the oxygen byproduct is utilized, e.g., in oxidative industrial
processes.

Swing mode operation can mitigate the high energy costs associated with hydrogen storage. Electric steam
boilers offer high efficiency (99%) and are compact, low-maintenance, and cleaner than fuel-fired boilers.
Electric resistance heaters have broad temperature capabilities (up to 650°C) with potential growth in the
process industry. (Parat, 2022)
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Conclusion :

Process IntensificationRenewable Electric Power

University Education
Process intensification The shift towards renewable It is crucial to incorporate energy
techniques, such as reactive electric power provides further efficiency into university
distillation and dividing wall opportunities for energy savings separation courses to ensure
columns, have become in distillation. Vapour future engineers have a
increasingly common in recompression, direct and comprehensive understanding of
petrochemical plant designs. indirect electric reboiling, and these advanced processes.
These advancements offer advanced compressor
significant reductions in fossil technologies can contribute to a
fuel consumption and more sustainable chemical
greenhouse gas emissions. process industry.
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References:
1) A.A. and Smith , R. ( 2020 ). Rethinking energy use in distillation processes for a more sustainable
chemical industry . Energy 203 : 117788 .

2) Agrawal , R. and Tumbalam Gooty , R. ( 2020 ). Misconceptions about efficiency and maturity of
distillation . AICHE J. 66 : e16294

3) Waltermann , T. and Skiborowski , M. ( 2019 ). Efficient optimization-based design of energy-

integrated distillation processes . Comput. Chem. Eng. 129 : 106520 .

4) T. , Schlueter , S. , Benfer , R. et al. ( 2020 ). Model discrimination for multicomponent distillation – a

geometrical approach for total reflux . Chemie-Ingenieur-Technik 92 : 890 – 906 .

5) Bruinsma , D. and Spoelstra , S. ( 2021 ). Heat pumps in distillation . Proceedings Distillation

Absorption 2021 Eindhoven, The Netherlands (12–15 September 2021), (ed. A. de Haan , H. Kooijman ,
A. Górak ), 21 – 28 .

6) Harwardt , A. and Marquardt , W. ( 2018 ). Heat-integrated distillation columns: vapor recompression

or internal heat integration? AICHE J. 58 : 3740 – 3750 .

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7) Wakabayashi , T. and Hasebe , S. ( 2019). Higher energy saving with new heat integration
arrangement in heat-integrated distillation column . AICHE J. 61 : 3479 – 3488

8) Toyo Engineering 2022(https://www.toyo-eng.com/jp/en/solution/superhidic/)

9) Li G Wang, C Guang, Zhang 2020 energy savings in vestigation of hybrid reactive distillation sep.
Purif. Technol. 235, 116163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.116163

10) Kaibel , B. ( 2018 ). Dividing-wall columns . In: Distillation (eds. A. Górak and Z. Olujic ), 183 –
199 . Elsevier

11) Naidu G., Tijing L,H. Vigneswaran,Johir, M.A.H Shon 2020 Hybrid membrane distillation:
Resource, nutrient and energy recovery. J. Member.Sci 599,117832.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2020.117832

12) Parat,2022. High voltage electrode boiler for steam and hot water,(
https://www.parat.no/ieh?gclid.

13) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/multiple-effect-distillation

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