Invariant rectifying-stripping curves for targeting minimum energy

and feed location in distillation

Santanu Bandyopadhyay
a
, Ranjan K. Malik
b
, Uday V. Shenoy
c,
*
a
Energy Systems Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay 400 076, India
b
Computer Aided Design Centre and Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay 400 076, India
c
Department of Chemical Engineering and Computer Aided Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay 400 076, India
Abstract
Invariant rectifying-stripping (IRS) curves are proposed that are independent of the feed location and operating reux of the
distillation column for a given separation problem. IRS curves represent the enthalpy surpluses and decits in the rectifying and
stripping sections, respectively, as a function of temperature for all possible values of reux and reboil. The IRS curves provide
a new representation on the temperature-enthalpy diagram to set distillation column targets prior to detailed design for minimum
energy requirement, feed location, feed preconditioning, and side-exchanger loads. The application of the proposed concepts to
two binary distillation examples (one featuring a tangent pinch) and a multicomponent distillation example illustrates the
usefulness of the IRS curves in properly locating the feed, determining the minimum utility requirements, and reducing the tedium
of repeated simulations. The IRS curves are rigorously invariant and provide the absolute minimum utility requirements for
binary systems (ideal as well as non-ideal); however, they are near-invariant and predict the near-minimum utility requirements
for multicomponent systems (where the pseudo-binary concept of a light and heavy key is employed).
Keywords: Distillation; Thermodynamic minimum; Temperatureenthalpy diagram; Feed location; Energy targeting; Pinch analysis
1. Introduction
The temperature-enthalpy (TH) curve for a binary
distillation column at the minimum thermodynamic
condition (MTC) can be generated by solving the cou-
pled heat and mass balance equations for the reversible
separation scheme (Benedict, 1947; Fonyo , 1974; Fitz-
morris & Mah, 1980; King, 1980; Naka et al., 1980; Ho
& Keller, 1987). The limitations in the sharpness of
reversible multicomponent separations (Fonyo , 1974;
Franklin & Wilkinson, 1982) can be overcome by using
the pseudo-binary concept of a light and heavy key
model (Fonyo , 1974; Dhole & Linnhoff, 1993).
Dhole and Linnhoff (1993) described a procedure for
generating a TH curve (which they called the column
grand composite curve or the CGCC) from a converged
simulation of a distillation column. The calculation
procedure involves determination of the net enthalpy
decit at each stage by generating envelopes from either
the condenser end (top-down approach) or the reboiler
end (bottom-up approach). However, the values calcu-
lated by the two approaches differ for stages with feeds
because they do not consider the enthalpy balances at
the feed stages. A feed stage correction (FSC) that
rigorously considers the mass and enthalpy balances at
feed stages has been recently proposed by Bandyopad-
hyay, Malik and Shenoy (1998) to resolve the dis-
crepancy. The invariant rectifying-stripping (IRS)
curves proposed here have the FSC built-in, and conse-
quently have the advantage of not requiring a separate
correction procedure to the CGCC.
The CGCC is a TH curve at the practical near-min-
imum thermodynamic condition, which inherently ac-
counts for the inevitable feed loss, pressure loss,
sharp-separation loss, and loss due to chosen congura-
tion. The energy-saving potential for different column
1110
modications like reux reduction, feed conditioning,
and scope for side reboiler/condenser can be addressed
on such a TH diagram (Naka et al., 1980; Terranova
& Westerberg, 1989; Dhole & Linnhoff, 1993; Ognisty,
1995; Hall, Ognisty and Northup, 1995; Trivedi et al.,
1996). The horizontal enthalpy gaps at the top and
bottom of the CGCC denote the reboiler and condenser
loads, respectively. These gaps may be decreased by
reducing the reux (i.e. by increasing the number of
stages). Dhole and Linnhoff (1993) discuss reux mod-
ication and target its scope in terms of the utility
reduction in the reboiler/condenser.
The CGCC depends not only on the operating reux,
but also on the feed location in the column. Dhole and
Linnhoff (1993) assumed the feed stage location for the
column had been appropriately chosen beforehand. Al-
though they indicated that appropriate feed stage loca-
tion should be identied before targeting for any
column modication, no methodology for locating the
feed was suggested by them. It must be emphasized that
improper feed location leads to energy penalties in the
reboiler and condenser, as well as an erroneous reux
modication target.
The feed stage location is an important parameter for
column optimization, and may be determined through
several simulation runs. Different methods for the opti-
mal location of the feed stage and their shortcomings
are reviewed by King (1980) and Kister (1992). Though
the empirical correlation proposed by Kirkbride (1944)
can be utilized to nd the approximate feed location, it
is not very reliable and satisfactory for asymmetric
feeds (Henley & Seader, 1981). Hengstebeck (1968)
proposed a graphical approach to correct the feed
location from the base case simulation result. The
separation parameter plot of Hengstebeck used for this
purpose is essentially based on compositions (key ratio)
and does not consider enthalpies. A poor feed location
causes relatively sharp breaks on the separation
parameter plot, which may be corrected by relocating
the feed using a slope criterion on an extrapolated
curve as discussed by Hengstebeck (1968). The ap-
proach proposed here for feed location overcomes the
deciencies in previous methods and captures composi-
tion as well as temperature dependencies. It is reliable
for all types of feeds and accurate as it does not involve
extrapolation or slope calculations.
In this paper, targeting procedures for minimum
utility consumption and feed location are established.
Invariant rectifying-stripping (IRS) curves, that primar-
ily depend on the separation problem and not on the
column conguration, are proposed for this purpose.
These curves are invariant to the operating reux and
the feed location in the column. They depend only on
the separation and the operating pressure. The invari-
ant property of the curves is rigorously proved for
binary and reversible multicomponent separations. The
invariance approximately holds for general multicom-
ponent systems, and is demonstrated through a case
study where the pseudo-binary concept of a light and
heavy key is used. The IRS curves provide the feed
location target in terms of temperature, which may be
then converted to a stage number by a simple method-
ology. Thus, a systematic procedure, free from heuris-
tics, for locating the feed in a column through pinch
analysis is presented.
The work extends the energy targeting concepts
(Linnhoff, Townsend & Boland, 1982) originally devel-
oped for heat exchanger networks (HENs) to distilla-
tion columns. The analogs of hot utility load, cold
utility load, and DT
min
in HENs are reboiler duty,
condenser duty, and reux ratio in distillation. Just as
energy targets for HENs are established in pinch analy-
sis (Linnhoff, 1993) ahead of network design based only
on stream specications, energy targets for distillation
are developed here from IRS curves prior to column
design based purely on feed/products specications.
The targeting procedures aim at reducing the poten-
tially large space of design alternatives to a small set of
promising designs that merit more detailed attention.
Targets provide the direction in which the base-case
design should be evolved to ensure the optimal
solution.
2. Motivation
Dhole and Linnhoff (1993) suggested that the scope
for reduction in energy requirement by decreasing the
reux ratio may be targeted in terms of the enthalpy
gap (horizontal distance) of the CGCC pinch from the
temperature axis. The pinch is dened as the point on
the CGCC with the minimum enthalpy value (i.e. clos-
est to the temperature axis). The CGCC pinch typically
occurs close to the feed stage except for some non-ideal
binary systems (where it occurs in either the stripping
section or the rectifying section depending on the va-
porliquid equilibrium). Mathematically speaking, the
scope for energy conservation (in terms of reboiler/con-
denser loads) by reux modication as well as the
minimum reux (for a specied separation with a given
column conguration) can be estimated from
Q
r
Q
r,min
=Q
c
Q
c,min
=H
CGCC,min
:Du(RR
min
)
(1)
2.1. Proper location of feed
Unless the feed is appropriately located in the
column, the reux modication scope predicted by Eq.
(1) in terms of H
CGCC, min
is erroneous. If the feed is
located too high or too low in the column, the CGCC
pinch at the feed stage will usually show a reduced
1111
Fig. 1. Effect of feed location on CGCC: (a) feed is located too low in the column; (b) feed is located too high in the column. For comparison,
dashed line shows the CGCC when feed is properly located in the column.
potential for reux modication in terms of the en-
thalpy gap. In such cases, the utility consumption may
be signicantly decreased by simply relocating the feed
as explained graphically in Fig. 1. Fig. 1a shows a
typical CGCC for the case where the feed is located too
low in the column. A sharp change in enthalpy is
observed at the feed stage (at a relatively high tempera-
ture closer to the reboiler). This is due to the sudden
jump in the driving forces in the column as may be seen
on the xy diagram (King, 1980). If the feed is located
too high in the column, the CGCC (Fig. 1b) shows a
behavior similar to that in Fig. 1a but it is ipped
vertically in a sense. Fig. 1 includes the CGCC (as a
dashed line) for the case where the feed is properly
located maintaining the same number of stages in the
column. On comparing the CGCCs for the properly-lo-
cated and improperly-located feed, it is observed that a
signicant reduction in the utility consumption is possi-
ble due to the alteration in the feed location without
changing the number of stages. Furthermore, proper
location of the feed enhances the scope for reduction in
energy requirement by increasing the number of stages
(often referred to as the scope for reux modication).
It is appropriate to target the reux modication scope
from the CGCC only after deciding where the feed is to
be introduced into the column. Thus, the primary goal
of this paper is to establish a proper feed location target
that will minimize the utility consumption for a xed
number of stages and maximize the scope for energy
conservation through reux modication.
2.2. Reduction in simulation effort
Several simulation runs are usually required to study
the effect of reux (or number of stages) and feed
location, as well as determine their optimum values.
Furthermore, the generation of a CGCC requires a
simulation run, when the number of stages and/or feed
location are altered. For illustration, consider a binary
(benzenetoluene) distillation column operating at 1.1
kg cm
2
pressure with a feed of 100 kg-mol h
1
(at
dew point and 1.2 kg cm
2
containing 50% benzene),
and 99% product purity desired at both the top and the
bottom. Fig. 2 shows three CGCCs for this binary
separation generated from the following three simula-
tions: (a) 20 total stages (including total condenser and
reboiler) with the feed at the eighth stage (from the top
of the column); (b) 20 total stages with the feed at the
18th stage; and (c) 70 total stages with the feed at the
25th stage. The three CGCCs are substantially different
in their appearance. However, Fig. 3 shows the data
points from the three CGCCs (Fig. 2) unied into
simply two curves. In fact, it is possible to coalesce all
the CGCCs for this binary separation problem (corre-
sponding to different feed stage locations and total
number of stages in the distillation column) into a pair
of master curves (which may be called invariant rectify-
ing-stripping (IRS) curves). Therefore, an important
motive of this work is to establish the IRS curves and
consequently reduce the tedium involved in performing
repeated simulations.
3. Invariant rectifying-stripping curves
The invariant rectifying-stripping (IRS) curves are
dened below based on a derivation for a simple distil-
lation column (with a single feed and two products) at
the minimum thermodynamic condition (MTC). The
MTC is dened as reversible operation for a column
with no entropy generation. It corresponds to a column
with innite stages having a side exchanger at every
stage [as discussed in detail by Bandyopadhyay et al.
(1998)]. Furthermore, the operating curve coincides
with the equilibrium curve at MTC (King, 1980).
1112
Fig. 2. CGCC for benzenetoluene system at different reux ratios (number of stages) and feed locations: (a) 20-stage column with feed at stage
8; (b) 20-stage column with feed at stage 18; (c) 70-stage column with feed at stage 25.
3.1. In6ariant rectifying cur6e (T 6s. H
R
)
For the envelope in Fig. 4a, the overall mass balance
and component balance are
V
min
=L
min
+D (2)
V
min
y*=L
min
x*+Dx
D
(3)
Eqs. (2) and (3) yield the minimum ows for liquid
(L
min
) and vapor (V
min
) to be
L
min
=D(x
D
y*)/(y*x*) (4)
V
min
=D(x
D
x*)/(y*x*) (5)
The enthalpy balance for the envelope is used to evalu-
ate the enthalpy surplus (H
R
) from
V
min
H
V
=L
min
H
L
+DH
D
+H
R
(6)
Eqs. (4) (6) may be combined to yield the following:
H
R
=D[H
V
(x
D
x*)/(y*x*)
H
L
(x
D
y*)/(y*x*) H
D
] (7)
Eq. (7) may be rewritten in terms of the slope of the
(rectifying) line joining a point on the operating curve
with the distillate point (x
D
, x
D
) as shown in Fig. 4b.
Thus,
H
R
=D[(H
V
H
L
S
R
)/(1S
R
) H
D
] (8)
where S
R
=slope of the rectifying line=(x
D
y*)/
(x
D
x*) =L
min
/V
min
.
The quantity H
R
signies the minimum condenser
load required to carry out a separation from x* to x
D
.
By rotating the rectifying line from y*=x
D
to x*=x
B
with the distillate point (x
D
, x
D
) as the pivot, its slope is
continuously varied and the enthalpy surplus (H
R
) cal-
culated from Eq. (7) or Eq. (8) (for all possible values
of reux). This enthalpy surplus is then plotted as a
function of temperature to give a T versus H
R
curve
which may be termed the invariant rectifying curve. A
typical invariant rectifying curve is shown in Fig. 4c.
3.2. In6ariant stripping cur6e (T 6s. H
S
)
For the envelope in Fig. 5a, the analogs for Eqs.
(2) (5) are
L
min
=V
min
+B (9)
L
min
x*=V
min
y*+Bx
B
(10)
L
min
=B(y*x
B
)/(y*x*) (11)
V
min
=B(x*x
B
)/(y*x*) (12)
The enthalpy decit (H
S
) for the envelope in Fig. 5a
may be determined from
L
min
H
L
+H
S
=V
min
H
V
+BH
B
(13)
On combining Eqs. (11) (13), the following expression
for H
S
is obtained.
H
S
=B[H
V
(x*x
B
)/(y*x*) H
L
(y*x
B
)/(y*x*)
+H
B
] (14)
An alternative form of Eq. (14) may be obtained in
terms of the slope of the (stripping) line joining a point
Fig. 3. Invariant rectifying-stripping (IRS) curves based on coalescing
the CGCCs from Fig. 2.
1113
Fig. 4. Generation of invariant rectifying curve: (a) rectifying section of a column for determination of enthalpy surplus; (b) rectifying line on xy
diagram; (c) typical invariant rectifying curve.
on the operating curve with the bottoms point (x
B
, x
B
)
as shown in Fig. 5b. On denoting the slope of the
stripping line by S
S
=(y*x
B
)/(x*x
B
) =L
min
/V
min
,
H
S
=B[(H
V
H
L
S
S
)/(S
S
1) +H
B
] (15)
The quantity H
S
signies the minimum reboiler load
necessary to carry out a separation from x* to x
B
. As
before, the stripping line may be rotated from x*=x
B
to y*=x
D
with the bottoms point (x
B
, x
B
) as the pivot
and the enthalpy decit (H
S
) continuously computed
from Eq. (14) or Eq. (15) (for all possible values of
reboil). This enthalpy decit is then plotted as a func-
tion of temperature to yield a T versus H
S
curve which
may be termed the invariant stripping curve. Fig. 5c
shows a typical invariant stripping curve.
3.3. IRS cur6es
When the invariant rectifying curve (Fig. 4c) and the
invariant stripping curve (Fig. 5c) are plotted on the
same TH axis, the invariant rectifying-stripping (IRS)
curves (TH
R
H
S
) are obtained (see Fig. 3). Details of
the procedure for actually generating such IRS curves
are provided in the application examples discussed
later.
Physically, the IRS curves correspond to the enthalpy
surpluses and decits for the rectifying and stripping
sections, respectively, for all possible values of reux
and reboil. It must be emphasized that the enthalpy
surpluses and decits are calculated on the basis of the
minimum ows by neglecting the effect of the feed. The
curves extend from T
B
to T
D
on the temperature scale.
They correspond to the MTC (rather than merely the
minimum reux or innite stages) and consequently
represent heat cascades based on an innite number of
side exchangers.
The invariance property of these curves is discussed
next. A binary two-phase system has exactly two de-
grees of freedom as per Gibbs phase rule. On specify-
ing the operating pressure and the separation, the
distillation problem becomes deterministic. Therefore,
H
R
and H
S
are functions of temperature only. In other
words, the IRS curves are invariant to the feed location
and the operating reux for a distillation system whose
operating pressure and separation are specied.
The IRS curves may be used to target the feed
location and the minimum energy requirement for the
distillation system as described next.
4. Feed location target
The material, component, and enthalpy balances for
the overall column (Fig. 6) are
F=D+B (16)
Fz
F
=Dx
D
+Bx
B
(17)
DH
D
+BH
B
FH
F
=Q
r
Q
c
D (18)
Eq. (18) shows that the parameter D (which is the
constant enthalpy difference for the utility requirements
of the column from the rst law of thermodynamics)
really depends on the separation problem (i.e. D, H
D
,
B, H
B
, F and H
F
) and not on the column operation (i.e.
Q
r
and Q
c
).
Eqs. (16) (18) may be combined with Eqs. (7) and
(14) to determine the following relationship between H
R
and H
S
:
H
S
=H
R
+F[H
L
(z
F
y*)/(y*x*)
H
V
(z
F
x*)/(y*x*) +H
F
] +D (19)
The above relation may be employed to target the feed
location. For this purpose, a fundamental analysis
needs to be performed at the feed stage.
1114
Fig. 5. Generation of invariant stripping curve: (a) stripping section of a column for determination of enthalpy decit; (b) stripping line on xy
diagram; (c) typical invariant stripping curve.
4.1. Feed location criterion
The material balance, component balance and en-
thalpy balance at a feed stage (Fig. 6) are as follows:
L
in
+V
in
+F=L
out
+V
out
(20)
L
in
x
F
* +V
in
y
F
* +Fz
F
=L
out
x
F
* +V
out
y
F
* (21)
L
in
H
L
+V
in
H
V
+FH
F
=L
out
H
L
+V
out
H
V
(22)
Eqs. (21) and (22) assume the composition and molar
enthalpy changes of the saturated liquids and vapors
over the feed stage are negligible. This assumption
holds when the feed stage is pinched or the column is
operating at the MTC. After some algebraic manipula-
tions, Eqs. (20) (22) give
H
L
(z
F
y
F
*)/(y
F
* x
F
*) H
V
(z
F
x
F
*)/(y
F
* x
F
*) +H
F
=0 (23)
On substituting Eq. (23) into Eq. (19), the following
relation is obtained:
H
S
=H
R
+D at the feed stage (24)
Eq. (24) denes the criterion for the proper location of
the feed at MTC. The next step is to work out the
implications of this criterion on the IRS curves.
4.2. Translated IRS cur6es
Given the fact that enthalpies are relative (i.e. the
enthalpy difference is important rather than the abso-
lute enthalpy), the IRS curves can be horizontally
ipped. Moreover, the invariant rectifying curve and/or
the invariant stripping curve may be translated horizon-
tally. The following convention may be adopted to
translate the IRS curves in accordance with Eq. (24).
Depending on the sign of D (as dened in Eq. (18)), the
translations may be conveniently classied into three
cases:
(a) If D=0 (i.e. Q
r
=Q
c
), then the invariant rectifying
as well as stripping curve need not be translated
(Fig. 7a).
(b) If D\0 (i.e. Q
r
\Q
c
), then the invariant rectifying
curve is translated to the right by D, with no shift
in the invariant stripping curve (Fig. 7b).
(c) If DB0 (i.e. Q
r
BQ
c
), then the invariant stripping
curve is translated to the right by D with no shift in
the invariant rectifying curve (Fig. 7c).
Fig. 6. Feed stage analysis of an MTC column.
1115
Fig. 7. Translated IRS curves: (a) D=0 (Q
r
=Q
c
); (b) D\0 (Q
r
\Q
c
); (c) DB0 (Q
r
BQ
c
).
Note that the condenser and reboiler loads are ap-
proximately equal [case (a)] when the feed and products
are saturated liquids (Terranova & Westerberg, 1989),
which is not an uncommon situation. The other two
cases occur depending on the thermal condition of the
feed and products, e.g. case (b) can occur when the feed
is a subcooled liquid and case (c) when the feed is a
saturated vapor with the products being saturated
liquids.
Mathematically, the horizontal translations of the
IRS curves may be represented as:
H
RT
=H
R
+D/2+D/2 (25)
H
ST
=H
S
D/2+D/2 (26)
Eqs. (24) (26) may be combined to obtain H
ST
=H
RT
at the feed stage. Thus, the important conclusion is that
the point of intersection of the translated IRS curves
(as shown in Fig. 7) denes the target temperature for
locating the feed (T
F
).
4.3. Feed stage location methodology
Eq. (24) denes the feed location target in terms of
temperature. Note that this feed location target is inde-
pendent of the operating reux (in contrast to the
graphical McCabeThiele and PonchonSavarit meth-
ods). The target may be converted from temperature to
stage number using the following methodology. The
rst step is to calculate H
RT
and H
ST
from Eqs. (7),
(14), (25) and (26) using stage-by-stage values outputted
by a converged simulation of a distillation column.
Having generated H
RT
and H
ST
as functions of both
stage number N and temperature T, the second step is
to superpose the data points on the IRS curves (as
shown in Fig. 8, where each open circle corresponds to
a stage in the column). The feed stage in the column
simulation is shown by a lled-in circle. If the feed is
properly located (Fig. 8a), then the feed stage will be
very close to the intersection point of the translated
IRS curves. Furthermore, the rectifying and stripping
sections of the simulated column will correspond to the
portion of the invariant rectifying curve below T
F
and
the portion of the invariant stripping curve above T
F
,
respectively.
When the feed is not properly located (Fig. 8b), then
the stage number corresponding to the intersection
point of the translated IRS curves (denoted by N
I
) will
not coincide with the feed stage number in the column
simulation (denoted by N
F
). Then, the feed stage relo-
cation may be performed using N%
F
=mean(N
F
, N
I
).
Here, N%
F
denotes the stage to which the feed needs to
be relocated in the next simulation and therefore re-
quires to be rounded off to the nearest integer. Clearly,
convergence to the proper feed stage location is
achieved when N%
F
=N
F
. Experience shows that the
correction for the feed location based on the geometric
mean leads to fast convergence (typically, within about
three iterations).
Conceptually, the above methodology attempts to
systematically redistribute the open circles (correspond-
ing to the column stages) over the IRS curves such that
the lled-in circle (representing the feed stage) is either
just above or just below the intersection point of the
translated IRS curves. It must be noted that the
methodology may be implemented directly with the
simulation output (without plotting the circles on the
IRS curves) by ensuring that the feed stage temperature
from the simulation matches the target temperature T
F
.
5. Minimum energy target
If the feed is properly located at T
F
, then the abso-
lute minimum energy requirements for a binary distilla-
tion process may be established as follows. The portion
of the invariant rectifying curve below T
F
and the
portion of the invariant stripping curve above T
F
may
be circumscribed by a right-angled trapezium. Then, the
pinch on the IRS curves is dened as the point touching
the vertical side of the trapezium. The widths of the
parallel sides of the trapezium at the top and bottom
1116
Fig. 8. Locating the feed stage on translated IRS curves: (a) feed is located appropriately; (b) feed is located too high in the column.
dene the minimum energy targets for the reboiler and
condenser, respectively (see Fig. 7). These minimum
energy targets are related to and, in a sense, dene the
minimum reux target. As an aside, it may be noted
that the operating reux target (for grassroots cases)
and the reux modication target (for retrot cases)
involve a cost optimization where the tradeoff between
utility cost (based on the reboiler and condenser loads)
and capital cost (based on the column diameter and
number of stages) needs to be explored.
Fig. 7 illustrates the case where the intersection point
of the translated IRS curves determines the pinch. This
is often the case; mathematically, it requires the IRS
curves to be monotonic in nature. However, exceptions
exist as demonstrated in the example later (on the
non-ideal acetic acidwater system).
5.1. Relation between IRS cur6es and CGCC
The invariant property of the IRS curves allows the
CGCC to be readily constructed from a knowledge of
the stage temperatures. Fig. 9 shows how the CGCCs in
Fig. 2 may be derived from the IRS curves in Fig. 3
after appropriate translation as per Eqs. (25) and (26).
The CGCCs (horizontally ipped with respect to those
in Fig. 2) are shown by heavy lines and the IRS curves
by dashed lines in Fig. 9. To visualize the CGCCs as
shown in Fig. 2, it is convenient to reect the heavy
lines on Fig. 9 in mirrors represented by vertical lines at
a distance (on the abscissa) corresponding to the actual
condenser or reboiler load (whichever is larger). This
ensures consistency with the convention (Dhole &
Linnhoff, 1993; Shenoy, 1995) where the enthalpy gaps
at the top and bottom on the CGCCs denote the actual
heat duties of the reboiler and condenser, respectively.
The mathematical relation to obtain the CGCCs (with-
out additional enthalpy calculations) by exploiting the
invariant property of the IRS curves is given by
H
CGCC
=Q
C
+H
def
(27)
where H
def
=H
R
in the rectifying section, and H
def
=
H
S
+D in the stripping section of the column.
The maximum scope for decrease in utility consump-
tion by reux reduction (i.e. by increasing the number
of stages) is given by the enthalpy gap (horizontal
distance) of the pinch point from the vertical mirror.
The pinch is dened as the point closest to the vertical
mirror. For the IRS curves, only the portion of the
invariant rectifying curve below T
F
and the portion of
the invariant stripping curve above T
F
must be consid-
ered while determining this enthalpy gap. As expected,
Fig. 10 (which is a magnied view of Fig. 9a) shows the
scope for reux reduction according to the pinch based
on the IRS curves (on appropriately locating the feed)
to be higher than that based on the CGCC. Accord-
ingly, Eq. (1) may be written more accurately as
Q
r
Q
r,min
=Q
c
Q
c,min
=Q
r
H
S,TF
=Q
c
H
R,TF
:Du(RR
min
) (28)
where H
R,TF
and H
S,TF
are the enthalpy values at T
F
on
the (not translated) invariant rectifying and stripping
curves, respectively.
6. Application to binary distillation
The enthalpy surplus (H
R
) and the enthalpy decit
(H
S
) may be directly evaluated from Eqs. (7) and (14)
provided the enthalpies and compositions on the stage
as well as for the feed and products are known. For
binary systems, thermodynamic models for enthalpy
and vaporliquid equilibrium may be readily used for
this purpose. In general, the right-hand-sides of Eqs. (7)
and (14) may be conveniently calculated for each stage
of a distillation column from the output of a converged
1117
Fig. 9. CGCCs and their relation to IRS curves for benzenetoluene system: (a) 20-stage column with feed at stage 8; (b) 20-stage column with
feed at stage 18; (c) 70-stage column with feed at stage 25.
simulation. In the examples that follow, the simulations
are performed using the PRO/II (199495) software
based on the problem data given in Table 1. Stage
numbering starts from the top of the column with 1
denoting the condenser. The IRS curves are generated
using the DISTARG (1998) software, which is primar-
ily based on Eqs. (7) and (14). The results for all the
examples are summarized in Table 2 for ready
comparison.
6.1. Benzenetoluene example
Fig. 11a shows the CGCC for this binary distillation
problem based on a simulation of a column comprising
20 total stages (including total condenser and reboiler)
with the feed at the 15th stage. The simulated column
has an operating reux ratio of 5.2384 with reboiler and
condenser duties of 1.515210
6
and 2.297610
6
kcal
h
1
, respectively. The CGCC pinch shows the energy
savings potential by reux reduction to be 0.060810
6
kcal h
1
. Consequently, the minimum reux ratio from
Eq. (1) is 5.0734.
Fig. 11b shows the translated IRS curves (on noting
that D=0.782410
6
kcal h
1
). Their point of inter-
section provides the target temperature for locating the
feed as 101.23C. The parallel sides of the right-angled
trapezium (that appropriately circumscribes the curves)
establish the minimum load targets for the reboiler and
condenser to be 0.580510
6
and 1.362910
6
kcal
h
1
, respectively. The corresponding minimum reux
ratio is 2.7005. As the IRS curves are monotonic, their
intersection point also denotes the pinch.
On superposing the circles corresponding to the stage
temperatures (not shown), it is observed that the feed at
the 15th stage is located too low in the column. Then,
on using the feed stage location methodology (discussed
earlier) and relocating the feed based on the geometric
mean correction, the circles redistribute themselves such
that the feed stage (lled-in circle) approximately coin-
cides with the intersection point of the translated IRS
curves (Fig. 11b) when the column is re-simulated with
the feed on the tenth stage. The feed at the tenth stage
yields reboiler and condenser loads of 0.841110
6
and
1.623510
6
kcal h
1
, respectively. These are the mini-
mum duties for a 20-staged column as may be veried
through a simulator by varying the feed location.
Simulation of a 100-stage column with the feed at the
50th stage yields an operating reux ratio of 2.7024
with a feed stage temperature of 101.3C and thereby
validates the targets (as shown in Table 2).
6.2. Acetic acidwater example
Fig. 12a shows the CGCC for this non-ideal binary
distillation problem generated from a simulation of a
column consisting of 30 total stages (including total
condenser and reboiler) with the feed at the 29th stage.
The column simulation gives an operating reux ratio
of 12.1404 with reboiler and condenser duties of
10.312110
6
and 10.307810
6
kcal h
1
, respectively.
The CGCC pinch shows the scope for energy savings
by reux reduction to be 0.425910
6
kcal h
1
and the
corresponding minimum reux ratio to be 11.5974.
The translated IRS curves (Fig. 12b) show an inter-
section point at 99C, which denes the target tempera-
ture for locating the feed in this problem. The
trapezium (which appears more of a rectangle because
D of 0.004310
6
kcal h
1
is practically insignicant)
appropriately circumscribes only the portion of the
invariant rectifying curve below 99C and the portion
of the invariant stripping curve above 99C. The invari-
ant rectifying curve is not monotonic and consequently,
the pinch does not coincide with the intersection point
of the IRS curves. Rather, there is a tangent pinch in
the rectifying section. The trapezium shown in Fig. 12b
has its vertical side just touching this pinch with the
parallel sides dening the targets for the minimum
reboiler load and minimum condenser load to be
2.295110
6
and 2.290810
6
kcal h
1
, respectively.
The corresponding minimum reux ratio as per Eq. (1)
is 1.9203.
1118
Fig. 10. Minimum energy targets and scope for reux modication from (a) CGCC and (b) IRS curves.
On superposing the circles corresponding to the
stages on the IRS curves (not shown), it is observed
that the feed at the 29th stage is located too low in the
column. Use of the feed stage location methodology
and re-simulation of the column with the feed on the
25th stage results in the lled-in circle (feed stage)
relocating itself in the immediate neighborhood of the
intersection point on the translated IRS curves (Fig.
12b). As in the benzenetoluene example, it can be
proven through simulations that this feed stage location
yields the minimum reboiler and condenser duties for
the given number of stages.
Simulation of a 300-stage column with the feed ap-
propriately located at the 276th stage results in an
operating reux ratio of 1.960 with a feed stage temper-
ature of 99.1C thereby validating the targets (Table 2).
Note that the ratio of the feed stage number to the total
number of stages is not constant for a non-ideal system.
Finally, it may be noted that the minimum energy
targets in Table 2 based on the IRS curves differ
considerably from those based on the CGCC because
the feeds are grossly mislocated. The difference would
not be dramatic had the feed been properly located
during the CGCC generation. Importantly, the IRS
curves (being independent of feed location) not only
provide the true minimum energy target even with a
grossly mislocated feed, but also provide a target for
properly locating the feed.
7. Application to multicomponent distillation
For multicomponent distillation, many methods exist
to approximately predict the minimum energy require-
ments through plate-to-plate calculations (i.e. simula-
tion). Koehler, Aguirre and Blass (1995) have reviewed
the most important methods for calculating minimum
energy requirement for ideal and nonideal distillation
including the work of Doherty and co-workers (Levy,
VanDongen and Doherty, 1985; Knight & Doherty,
1986; Julka & Doherty, 1993). Koehler et al. (1995)
observed that most methods are based on the simula-
tion of a portion or of an entire column, and a univer-
sal method which nds minimum energy consumption
for nonideal and multicomponent distillation, at the
touch of a button, has not yet been developed.
The IRS-based method, discussed below, is a simula-
tion-based approximate method to predict minimum
energy requirement for general multicomponent distilla-
tion. However, in addition to minimum energy, targets
for feed location, feed conditioning and side-exchangers
can be simultaneously set through the IRS curves as
discussed in the following sections.
For reversible multicomponent distillation, the de-
grees of freedom are still two (Koehler, Aguirre &
Blass, 1991). By arguments analogous to those for the
binary case, the system becomes deterministic. The IRS
curves are invariant to the feed location and the operat-
ing reux on specifying the operating pressure and the
separation. But, the sharpness of separation is generally
limited in reversible multicomponent distillation
(Fonyo , 1974; Franklin & Wilkinson, 1982). However,
this limitation can be overcome during the generation
of IRS curves using the pseudo-binary concept of a
light and heavy key (Fonyo , 1974) that denes a practi-
cal near-minimum thermodynamic condition (Dhole &
Linnhoff, 1993).
For illustration, consider a multicomponent (hep-
tane-octane-nonane-decane-C15 example in Table 1)
distillation column operating at 200 kPa pressure with a
feed of 1000 kg-mol h
1
(at 100C and 200 kPa
containing 20% of each component), and 0.9% octane
desired at the bottom and 0.9% nonane at the top. For
this multicomponent separation (more details of which
are available in the next sub-section), Fig. 13 shows
data for rectifying (T vs. H
R
) and stripping (T vs. H
S
)
1119
Table 1
Data for various examples
System Acetic acidwater Benzenetoluene Heptane-octane-nonane-decane-C15
NRTL with enthalpy from LK Thermodynamic method SRK SRK
1 kg cm
2
1.1 kg cm
2
200 kPa Operating pressure
100 kg mol h
1
100 kg mol h
1
Feed data 1000 kg mol h
1
Flow-rate
50% each 69% water Composition 20% each
Pressure 1.2 kg cm
2
1 kg cm
2
200 kPa
Dew point Bubble point Temperature 100C
99% benzene 86.1% water Specications 0.9% nonane Top
99% toluene Bottom 0.9% octane 99% acetic-acid
Table 2
Comparison of targets from IRS curves with CGCC targets and simulation results
a
Benzenetoluene Acetic acidwater Multicomponent
SIMULATION SIMULATION CGCC IRS CGCC IRS SIMULATION CGCC IRS
N
t
=300, N
F
=276 N
t
=180, N
F
=80 N
t
=100, N
F
=
50
1.3629 1.3635 2.2908 Q
c,min
9.8819 2.2368 2.3218 14.8490 19.4265 14.8539
1.4544 57.6542 0.5810 2.2951 9.8861 2.3261 57.6494 Q
r,min
0.5805 62.2256
2.7024 1.2727 1.6650 5.0734 1.1734 2.7005 R
min
1.960 11.5974 1.9203
N.A. 101.23 T
F
(C) 159.5 99.00 101.3 N.A. N.A. 159.41 99.1
98.36 115.2 98.3 151.1 and 167.6 158.1 106.1 101.3 101.23 T
P
(C) 151.2 and 167.8
a
Q
c,min
and Q
r,min
in 10
6
kcal h
1
for benzenetoluene and acetic acidwater systems. Q
c,min
and Q
r,min
in MMBtu h
1
for multicomponent
system.
curves generated from ve different simulations on
varying the feed stage (N
F
) and the total number of
stages (N
t
). The three data sets corresponding to rela-
tively low reux ratios (R=1.462, 1.315, and 1.305, i.e.
close to the minimum reux R
min
:1.173) practically
dene unique rectifying and stripping curves; however,
as the reux ratio increases, the data sets (for R=3.404
and 5.190) show a certain degree of deviation. Thus, the
curves show near-invariance, to the total number of
stages and feed location, close to the minimum reux.
The invariant property of the IRS curves does not
hold rigorously for multicomponent systems because
the distribution of the mole fractions of the compo-
nents depends on the operating reux of the column.
Stupin and Lockhart (1968) noted that this distribution
bears a non-linear relationship for any nite operating
reux. The separation of the extreme components im-
proves with decreasing reux and the other way around
for intermediate components. From the Gilliland (1940)
stage-reux correlation, it may be noted that the change
in reux with stages is insignicant for a high number
of stages (typically, if N\3N
min
). The temperature vs.
composition (Txy) and the enthalpy vs. composition
(Hxy) behaviors of pseudo-binary systems do not
change signicantly (Johnson & Morgan, 1985; Cam-
pagne, 1993) near the minimum reux for the column.
Therefore, the IRS curves for any pseudo-binary system
can be taken to be invariant of the number of stages
and the feed location for targeting purposes. Essen-
tially, IRS curves for establishing targets in multicom-
ponent systems must be generated through a simulation
with a high number of stages (i.e. at a low reux ratio).
The targets need to be nally veried through rigorous
column simulation.
7.1. Fi6e components example
The feed and product specications for this example
problem are described by Dhole and Linnhoff (1993).
The feed stage location, the thermodynamic method
and the two specications used in the column simula-
tion are however not explicitly reported. The 5-compo-
nent distillation problem is simulated using the PRO/II
(199495) software for a column with 18 total stages
(including partial condenser and reboiler) and feed at
the ninth stage. The mole fractions of nonane in the top
product and octane in the bottom product are both
specied to be 0.009. The thermodynamic method is
1120
Fig. 11. Minimum energy targets for benzenetoluene system from (a) CGCC and (b) IRS curves.
Fig. 12. Minimum energy targets for acetic acidwater system from (a) CGCC and (b) IRS curves.
based on the SRK (SoaveRedlichKwong) equation
of state. The condenser and reboiler duties (in MMBtu
h
1
) from the simulation are 39.72 and 82.52, respec-
tively. These compare reasonably well with the values
of 39.6 and 83.3 reported by Dhole and Linnhoff
(1993). The simulation shows the condenser and re-
boiler temperatures to be 140.4 and 207.4C, respec-
tively. Although the condenser temperature compares
well with the value of 140.3C given by Dhole and
Linnhoff (1993), the reboiler temperature is about
3.6C higher than their reported value of 203.8C.
For the purpose of generating the CGCC and the
IRS curves (Fig. 14), heptane and octane are grouped
as the light keys whereas the rest are grouped as the
heavy keys in a manner similar to that adopted by
Dhole and Linnhoff (1993). The distance of the CGCC
pinch (which occurs at the eighth stage on Fig. 14a)
from the temperature axis represents the scope for
energy conservation and is observed to be 20.29
MMBtu h
1
(corresponding to a minimum reux ratio
of 1.6650 in contrast to an operating reux ratio of
3.4044). Dhole and Linnhoff (1993) observed that the
CGCC shows scope for energy savings by about 2022
MMBtu h
1
through reduction in the reux ratio.
Fig. 14b shows the translated IRS curves (D=42.8
MMBtu h
1
) based on a simulation of a 50-stage
column with the feed at the 20th stage. The point of
intersection of these curves provides the target tempera-
ture for locating the feed as 159.41C. The invariant
rectifying and stripping curves are both not monotonic
and consequently, two pinches are observed at 151.1
and 167.6C. The parallel sides of the circumscribing
trapezium establish the minimum reboiler and con-
denser load targets to be 57.6494 and 14.8490 MMBtu
h
1
, respectively. The corresponding minimum reux
ratio is 1.2727. On superposing the circles correspond-
ing to the stage temperatures (not shown on Fig. 14b,
but can be visualized from Fig. 14a), the feed at the
eighth stage is observed to be the appropriate location.
Simulation of a 180-stage column with the feed be-
tween the 80th and 90th stage yields the feed stage
temperature to be 159.5C with reboiler and condenser
duties of 57.6542 and 14.8539 MMBtu h
1
, respec-
tively. The pinch zones from the simulation are found
to be at 151.2 and 167.8C. These values compare well
with the targets. The reux ratio target (1.2727) differs
from the operating reux ratio (1.1734) based on the
1121
Fig. 13. Near-invariant property of (a) rectifying and (b) stripping curves for multicomponent system at different operating conditions.
Fig. 14. Minimum energy targets for multicomponent system from (a) CGCC and (b) IRS curves.
simulation because of the approximate value of u used
in Eq. (28).
8. IRS curves for feed preconditioning and side-ex-
changer targets
Although the focus in this paper has been on mini-
mum energy and feed location targets, the IRS curves
have the potential to provide targets for feed precondi-
tioning and side-exchangers.
Feed preconditioning causes a change in the feed
enthalpy. If Q
F
is the amount of heat exchanged with
the feed, then Eq. (18) shows that the parameter D will
be changed by the same amount. For the sake of
concreteness, consider preheating the feed by Q
F
for the
case (DB0) depicted by the translated IRS curves in
Fig. 7c. Then, the invariant stripping curve will further
move to the right by an amount Q
F
according to Eq.
(26) as shown by the dashed curve in Fig. 15a. The new
intersection point denes the target temperature for the
feed stage (denoted by T
FP
). The important conclusion
from Fig. 15a is that the difference between the trans-
lated IRS curves at a certain temperature T
FP
species
the amount of heat required to change the feed stage
temperature from T
F
to T
FP
. Mathematically, (H
RT

H
ST
)
TFP
=Q
F
. Since either Q
F
or T
FP
may be arbitrar-
ily varied, the equation denes the feed preconditioning
target through a continuous mapping between Q
F
and
T
FP
. Clearly, Q
F
may be computed if T
FP
is specied
and vice versa.
The feed preconditioning target based on the IRS
curves is precise, in contrast to the fuzzy target (Colum-
nTarget, 1994) based on the CGCC. The target from
the CGCC is approximate because visual inspection is
required to estimate the extent of the sharp enthalpy
change in the CGCC prole near the feed location
(Dhole & Linnhoff, 1993; Ognisty, 1995). In fact, such
sharp enthalpy changes in the CGCC may be caused by
an inappropriate feed condition or position as observed
by Dhole and Linnhoff (1993). Importantly, the IRS
curves simultaneously target feed condition and posi-
tion, allowing the feed to be properly located after feed
preconditioning using the methodology discussed in
Section 4.3
Side exchangers provide increased opportunities for
heat integration and reduction in utility costs. As the
IRS curves are fundamentally based on the MTC, they
dene the maximum heat load that can be placed on
side exchangers at specied temperature levels. Fig. 15b
1122
Fig. 15. Application of invariant rectifying-stripping curves for: (a) feed preconditioning targets; (b) side-exchanger targets.
shows corners truncated out of the trapezium (in Fig.
7c). The upper corner depicts the maximum scope to
supply a portion (Q
sr,max
) of the required heat through
a side reboiler at a temperature (T
sr
) below that of the
main reboiler. The lower corner shows the maximum
potential to remove a portion (Q
sc,max
) of the excess
heat through a side condenser at a temperature (T
sc
)
above that of the main condenser. The side exchanger
targets from the IRS curves are conceptually equivalent
to those dened by earlier workers (Naka et al., 1980;
Ho & Keller, 1987).
9. Conclusions
This work provides targets for distillation in terms of
the minimum reboiler/condenser duties, feed location
and pinch. These targets (with the exception of feed
location) are analogous to those discussed by Linnhoff
et al. (1982) for heat exchanger networks (HENs). The
energy targets for distillation from the IRS curves are
based purely on feed/products specications and are
established prior to column design. In a similar fashion,
the energy targets for HENs from pinch analysis (com-
posite and grand composite curves) are based purely on
streams specications and are established prior to net-
work design. The analogs of hot utility load, cold utility
load, and DT
min
in HENs are reboiler duty, condenser
duty, and reux ratio in distillation. The problem of
deciding loads amongst multiple utilities in HENs is
equivalent to the case of distributing duties between
side-reboilers and side-condensers in distillation. The
IRS curves have the potential of providing targets for
side exchangers on recognizing that the portion of the
IRS curves within the circumscribed trapezium corre-
sponds to the grand composite curve in HENs at
ZT
min
=0. The signicance of the pinch, in the context
of distillation, may be stated as follows: no (side-
)reboiling below the pinch and no (side-)condensing
above the pinch. This is consistent with the observa-
tions of Naka et al. (1980) and Agrawal and Fidkowski
(1996).
It may be noted that the minimum energy target
from the IRS curves is exact for any binary system,
irrespective of its chemical nature. This is superior to
the prediction from the minimum reux equation of
Underwood (1948), which assumes constant relative
volatility and constant molar overow. However, IRS
curves for multicomponent systems are based on a
pseudo-binary approach and this limitation does not
exist in Underwoods method. As discussed earlier, the
limitation may be overcome by generating IRS curves
from a simulation of a column with a large number of
stages (i.e. close to the minimum reux).
The key representation proposed in this work is the
IRS curves. Earlier studies had generated only portions
of such TH curves and, consequently, failed to recog-
nize their invariance to feed location. Thus, IRS curves
allow targets to be established for feed location. In fact,
IRS curves simultaneously target feed location and
minimum energy (which is equivalent to the scope for
reux modication) ahead of conguring the column. It
is inappropriate to locate feed and reduce reux se-
quentially as recommended by earlier works.
Multiple simulations are not required to generate the
IRS curves and establish targets from them. On the
other hand, multiple simulations are required to set
targets based on the CGCC because a new CGCC
needs to be generated after each column modication.
Thus, the simulation work is reduced (i.e. no simulation
is necessary for binary systems and a single simulation
is required for multicomponent systems) during target-
ing by IRS curves. Multiple simulations are necessary
only for conguring the column (i.e. to locate the feed
stage appropriately in a column with nite number of
stages).
A preliminary design procedure (Kister, 1992) in-
volves four typical steps to determine: (1) minimum
number of stages (e.g. by Fenske equation); (2) mini-
mum reux (e.g. by Underwoods equation); (3) actual
1123
number of stages for a given reux (e.g. by Gillilands
plot or a stage-reux correlation); and (4) feed location
(e.g. by Kirkbrides equation). This work provides an
improved methodology for steps (2) and (4). In other
words, steps (1) and (3) are done as before. The
optimum reux could be established by minimizing the
total annual cost target starting with the IRS curves
(Bandyopadhyay, 1999). Thus, the IRS-based method
provides a systematic energy analysis tool to generate
a thermodynamically efcient conguration of a distil-
lation column while using some of the existing methods
of preliminary design. Further, the possibility for inte-
gration (Ho & Keller, 1987) of the distillation column
with the background process can be conveniently ex-
plored on a temperatureenthalpy diagram since the
behavior of the column is depicted by a set of invariant
curves.
It may be noted that for retrot cases, feed relocation
is easier to implement and has no major cost implication
when compared to reux modication. Appropriately
relocating the feed may also help in debottlenecking.
Furthermore, IRS curves are independent of the en-
thalpy of the feed and allow targeting for feed precon-
ditioning (preheating/cooling). Current work is directed
towards targeting the efciency of feed preconditioning
in terms of impact on reboiler/condenser loads.
10. Notation
B bottom product molar ow
CGCC column grand composite curve
distillate molar ow D
F feed molar ow
enthalpy H
IRS invariant rectifying-stripping (curves)
liquid molar ow L
LeeKesler LK
minimum thermodynamic condition MTC
stage number N
NRTL non-random two-liquid
heat duty Q
reux ratio (L/D) R
SoaveRedlichKwong SRK
slope of rectifying/stripping line S
temperature T
vapor molar ow V
mole fraction in liquid x
mole fraction in vapor y
mole fraction in feed z
enthalpy difference dened in Eq. (18) D
heat of vaporization l
Subscript
bottom product B
condenser c
column grand composite curve CGCC
distillate D
def decit
feed F
preconditioned feed FP
I intersection point on translated IRS
curves
in in to (entering) a stage
L liquid
maximum max
min minimum
out of (leaving) a stage out
pinch p
reboiler r
rectifying curve R
rectifying curve (translated) RT
side condenser sc
sr side reboiler
stripping curve S
stripping curve (translated) ST
total (stages) t
at temperature T
F
TF
vapor V
Superscript
equilibrium condition *
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