EFFECT OF FEED CHARACTERISTICS ON THE CONTROLLABILITY OF BINARY DISTILLATION-COLUMNS

The design and control of binary distillation columns have been the focus of a great deal of industrial and academic research. However, the effect of the feed characteristics on the controllability of the column has remained unclear. This paper first examines how feed tray location affects the inherent controllability of a binary distillation column. It is shown that controllability can be significantly improved by feeding on a nonoptimum tray. The effects of feed thermal condition are also explored. Generic rules are proposed to improve the controllability of the column by changing the thermal condition of the feed.