PROCEDURES FOR MINIMUM REFLUX RATIO CALCULATION AND FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF DISTILLATE FLOW RATE IN DISTILLATION COLUMNS

This poster presents a design method of multicomponent distillation columns that offers the possibility of solving the equilibrium equations and the mass and enthalpy balances by a rigorous method and different approximate methods, optimizing, by the simplex algorithm, the distillate flow rate for a specified product separation and calculating the number of stages and the optimum feed location. New methods for the calculation of the minimum reflux ratio for multicomponent distillation columns are also presented. The main problem involved in the rigorous calculation of the minimum reflux ratio is the great number of iterations involved, each one requiring the calculation of a distillation column. Nevertheless, this search can be orientated and simplified on considering the conditions that must be fulfilled in such an operating condition. In accordance with this, four different methods have been suggested, based in the desig method of distillation columns for multicomponent mixtures. DESIGN METHOD One problem to be solved in the design of multicomponent distillation columns is that the composition of the calculated residue by the tray-to-tray procedure does no