Index

1. UPC and my Thesis work presentation 2. Complex distillation columns with energy savings 3. The work 3.1 Design 3.2 Dynamic aspects 3.3 Control 4. Conclusions and future work

Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya (UPC).

Founded in 1971, it has:
9 schools and faculties (Industrial Engineering) 8 technical colleges 7 associate schools 38 departments (Chemical Engineering) 21 diplomas, 8 degrees: 30.000 students last year 44 Ph.D. programs: 149 thesis during 1996-1997 budget 1998: 260,00 M$can

The Chemical Engineering Department

90 teachers and researchers 95 Ph.D. students Main goals:
chemical process optimisation, security and accident modelisation, reactors, water technology, fluid-particle systems, alimentary technology, waste treatment, contaminants analysis, environmental studies, molecular engineering, polymer synthesis and structure.

The thesis work

Title: Energy optimisation in complex distillation columns Objective: study complex designs for energy savings already described to bring them closer to implementation
design, operation and control

Status:
Petlyuk Column: centre of my studies till now some design, some control, some operation 60% of work done

The Petlyuk Column origin

Wright (1949) proposed a promising design alternative for separating ternary mixtures Petlyuk (1965) studied the scheme theoretically Most important literature since Petlyuk: Fidkowski and Krolikowski / Glinos and Malone / Triantafyllou and Smith / Kaibel / Wolf and Skogestad

The Petlyuk Column structure

A
A + B

A B C

B + C
PREFRACTIONATOR

C
M AIN C OL UM N

Conventional designs
1
1

S2 1

2 4 6 8 S1 10 12 14 16 17 T2

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

S4

2 4 6 S1 8 10 12 14 16 17 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

S2

S4

T1

S3

S5 S3
T2

T1

20 S5

INDIRECT TRAIN

DIRECT TRAIN

Distillation process in a Petlyuk Column

First column direct train
1 0,9 0,8
mo lar fractio n
mo lar fraction

Petlyuk feed column

1 0,9 0,8 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X-benzene X-toluene X-oxylene Y-benzene Y-toluene Y-oxilene

0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

X-benzene X-toluene X-oxylene Y-benzene Y-toluene Y-oxilene

tray number

tray number

Petlyuk Column features

No more than one component is stripped out in each section, key components A and C:
reversibility during mixing of streams in feed location (pinch zone) no remixing effect

Thermal coupling
no thermodynamic losses in heat exchanges of prefractionator reboiler and condenser reversibility during mixing of streams at ends of columns

Reported 30% of energy savings

The Divided Wall Column

Thermodynamical equivalence in only one shell
A
LI QU ID SPLIT

ABC

VAPOR SPLIT

Extension to other multicomponent distillations

A

ABCD

Distinguishing features
n(n-1) sections required for an n-component separation Only one condenser and one reboiler Key components in each column are not two adjacent ones, but the ones with extreme volatility

Design of the Petlyuk Column

Work presented at AIChE Meeting, Los Angeles, 1997

Degrees of freedom
design: number of trays per section and feed trays operation: flowrates or flowrate ratios. Two extra DOF used to optimise the process

Main design decision: separation to be carried out by the prefractionator.

Two levels of specification:
two specified variables three specified variables

Short-cut methods facing multicomponent systems

Most of numerical correlations used by shortcut methods solve distillation columns based on required recoveries of just key components
Ability to play only with two recoveries

Importance of all three prefractionator recoveries over the global economic performance of a complex distillation column

Proposed design heuristic method

Balance between prefractionator and main column and between upper and down main column

Decision of A and C recoveries. Design following short-cut indications (simplified model). Rigorous simulations. Change of feed tray to minimise the larger vapour flow between flows at COL2 bottom and COL3 top Repeat till vapour flows are equal Change recoveries of A and C

Simplified model of the Petlyuk Column

Work presented at Congreso Mediterraneo de Ingenieria Quimica, 1996
A

A+B

ABC
COL2

B+C PREFRACTIONATOR

COL3

Determination of mixtures that take major profit of the Petlyuk Column

Case study with pro-II simulations:
Studied separations:
different quantities of B in feed (+33%, 33%, -33%) different Easy Separation Index (<1, 1, >1)

Savings compared to the best train of columns:

more B in feed, more savings (23%, 20 %, 14%) more savings when ESI is close to 1 (34%)

Dynamic behaviour
SPEEDUP model Neural Network simulation MATLAB model
linearised model: transfer functions

Model approximations constant relative volatility throughout the column, equimolar overflow, no heat losses equilibrium in each plate, constant pressure, liquid and vapour flow dynamics, tray hydraulics...

Dynamic features
Interaction Speed, magnitude and shape of response: stiff
sim2
1 0.9 0.8 0.7 "MIDDLE_PROD_ "X_OUT1(1) ""MIDDLE_PROD_ "X_OUT1(2) ""MIDDLE_PROD_ "X_OUT1(3) ""MIX_LIQ_FEED. "X_IN1(1) ""MIX_LIQ_FEED. "X_IN1(2) ""MIX_LIQ_FEED. "X_IN1(3) ""REBOIL. "X_OUT(1) ""REBOIL. "X_OUT(2) ""REBOIL. "X_OUT(3) ""SPLIT_TANK. "X_OUT1(1) ""SPLIT_TANK. "X_OUT1(2) ""SPLIT_TANK. "X_OUT1(3) "-

composicions

0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 -0.1

12.3

14.8

17.3

19.8

22.3

24.8

27.3

29.8

temps

32.3

2.4

4.9

7.4

9.8

Neural Network simulation - MPC?

Work presented at III Congresso de Redes Neuronais, 1997

The used NN
three layer feedforward with autoregressive neurones connected to the output

Sampling frequency from lowest time constant of all outputs: C in feed to B in sidestream, 6 min Training of the NN
PRBS signal applied to all inputs (until 3 manipulated variables and 3 disturbances)

NN forecasting example
902 patterns
1.00E+00 9.80E-01 9.60E-01 9.40E-01 9.20E-01 9.00E-01 8.80E-01 8.60E-01 8.40E-01 8.20E-01 8.00E-01
1 74 147 220 293 366 439 512 585 658 731 804 877 bottom product puri ty

20000 epochs
Netw ork output: past/future SPEEDUP data

3, 6, 1 neurons Sigm., linear shift param. = 1

autoregressive param. = 1
9.60E-01

time intervals of 0.1 hour

bottom product p urity
9.55E-01 9.50E-01 9.45E-01 9.40E-01 9.35E-01 9.30E-01 9.25E-01 9.20E-01 863 868 873 878 883 888 893 898 903 tim e intervals of 0.1 hour Netw ork output: past/future SPEEDUP data

9.45E-01

0.355 0.35

bottom product p urity fo recast

9.40E-01 0.345 9.35E-01 0.34 0.335 0.33 0.325 9.20E-01 0.32 9.15E-01 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 tim e intervals of 0.1 hour 0.315
input profile fo r forecasting

Neural netw ork forecast SPEEDUP data Molar fraction of A in feed Molar fraction of B in feed Molar fraction of C in feed

9.30E-01

9.25E-01

Control problem
Control product compositions
3 composition specifications (holes in some operation regions) inventory control

Control to minimise energy consumption Robustness? Linearity far from nominal steady state? Disturbances rejection and set point changes achievement?

Descentralised control
Work presented at CHISA 98

Skogestad: acceptable control seems feasible (no energy control, linear model) Study of descentralised control with MATLAB models Tyreus method:
Design and test inventory control
7 control valves - 5 steady state DOF = 2 inventory loops

Design composition control Design optimisation control (energy minimisation)

Diagonal control for the Petlyuk Column

Control of A, B, and C purity: For each inventory control (D-B, L-B, D-B)
Transfer function MRI, CN, Intersivity Index

For the decided control structure: D,B; L, S, V

Chose one pairing

For the decided pairing: L-A, S-B, V-C

BLT tuning procedure:
controller gains: 0.74, -2.33, 0.65 controller reset times: 14.16 for all loops

(L-A, S-B, V-C) Controlled system MATLAB simulation

Set point change in A purity example
0.995 0.99

0.985

0.98

0.975

0.97

0.965 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

No instability problem was found, better tunning can be achieved

MIMO feedback control

Controllability analysis in frequency domain
bandwidth RGA, CN, singular values stability (Nyquist plots) poles and zeros

MIMO robustness

Self-optimising control
Work to be presented at PRES, 1999

Published works from NTNU Problem: once the minimum is located, control is required to keep the operating point at the minimum when disturbances are loaded Solution: Improve robustness with feedback control to careful selected outputs Require: measurable output variable which when kept constant keeps minimum energy consumption (self-optimising control)

Studied controlled variables for indirect energy minimisation

For each candidate, sensitivity to disturbances in feed composition and liquid fraction is computed:
heavy key fraction in vapour leaving top of prefractionator middle component recovery in prefractionator main column flow balance Temperature profile symmetry others

The best?

Conclusions
A design method Mixture characterisation for Petlyuk Column Dynamic features NN are able to simulate the Petlyuk Column Diagonal control works in our simplified model Self-optimising control fits the Petlyuk Column

Future work
Better characterisation of mixtures fitting different complex distillation columns Other designs to compare with. Energy integration Robustness for different nominal steady-states HYSYS dynamic rigorous simulations Design and control together NN simulation into Model Predictive Control