An improved crude oil atmospheric distillation process for energy integration: Part II: New approach for energy saving by use of residual heat

In Part I of this paper, it was shown on thermodynamic grounds that introducing a flash in the preheating train of an atmospheric oil distillation process, together with an appropriate introduction of the resulting vapour into the column, could potentially bring substantial energy savings, by reducing the duty of the preheating furnace, by doing some pre-fractionation and by reducing the column irreversibilities. Part II expands on this idea by showing how this can be done while keeping the throughput and the product characteristics unchanged. The outcome is that placing several flashes after the heat exchangers and feeding the corresponding vapour streams to the appropriate trays of the column reduces the pumparound flows and the heat brought to the preheating train. The resulting heat deficit may then be compensated in an additional heat exchanger by using low level heat recuperated from the products of the distillation and/or imported from other processes. The use of this residual heat reduces the furnace duty by approximately an equivalent amount. Thus high level energy (fuel-gas burnt in the furnace) is replaced by residual low level heat. The simulation with an example flowsheet shows that the savings on fuel could be as high as 21%. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.