Chemical Engineering August 2014 - 48

Cover Story
Source: Dejanovi´c et al., CD-Rom Proceedings of
Distillation & Absorption 2014
fronted with the short-term need to
significantly reduce energy usage
and greenhouse gas emissions in
their plants. Some daring on the
user side is required.
A
Dedication
Dedicated to Dr. Gerd Kaibel, on the
occasion of his 70th birthday!
F
1.1
3.1
Authors
1.2 3.5
2.1
3.2
B
3.6a
2.2
3.3
Helmut Jansen has over
30 years of experience in the
experimental research, development
and design of process
equipment. From the very
beginning he was involved
with design of dividing wall
columns (DWCs) at Julius
Montz GmbH (Hofstrasse
82, 40723 Hilden, Germany:
Email: h.jansen@montz.de).
Montz, with BASF, is the pioneer
in the development of DWC technology.
3.6b
3.4
Igor Dejanovi´c is currently
a research and teaching associate
at the Dept. of Reaction
Engineering and Catalysis,
Faculty of Chemical
Engineering and Technology,
University of Zagreb (Savska
cesta 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Email: ideja@fkit.hr). He
earned DSc degree in process
engineering in 2010 with
a thesis " Development of a
D
C
Figure 10. This diagram is a schematic representation of a four-product DWC arranged
using shells of two existing columns (C2 and C1 from Figure 5)
Inexperienced practitioners may
have concern or additional fear of
being confronted with unexpected
and uncontrollable operational
difficulties due to fluctuations experienced
in their plants. This is
probably so, but the control of a
DWC with its compactness (that is,
an open structure with short distances
for ascending and descending
vapor and liquid) should be
easier compared to the effort and
equipment used in conventional
sequences. The challenge is to find
the right control strategy for the
given case. Concerning four-product
separations, control specialists
are convinced that available knowledge
applied in conjunction with
the state-of-the-art computerized
control systems will enable close
to optimal operation. To enable
full energy savings in four-product
separations, a DWC should have
the capability of active vapor split
control [18, 23-25].
Development of effective devices
for this purpose is a challenge. However,
in some situations, like in our
retrofit case with the DWC arranged
in two shells connected in series,
the control valves could be placed
in vapor lines. In case of a DWC incorporating
a partition in the top of
the column [18], the condenser duty
could be used for this purpose.
Implementing these and other
techniques proven in other complex
distillation design and revamp
situations may lead to effective
solutions and pave the way to a
wider implementation of the most
sustainable among distillation
technologies - DWC technology.
To begin with, a four-product DWC
may be considered to be a highly
interesting, cost-effective retrofit
option for process industries con48
ChemiCal engineering www.Che.Com august 2014
method for dividing-wall columns design. " In the
last 6 years, main interest of his research was
optimization and hydraulic design of dividingwall
distillation columns for separation of multiple
products.
Björn Kaibel is currently a
senior manager for Technical
Process Optimization at
Corporate Operational Excellence
(ZOT/O) of BASF SE
(ZOT/O - C104, 67056 Ludwigshafen,
Germany.Email:
bjoern.kaibel@basf.com). He
was 12 years with J. Montz
GmbH, Hilden where he covered
research and development
projects, gave lectures
and company related presentations and covered
project work for mayor chemical companies being
responsible for process, technics and sales.
Žarko Oluji´c is currently an
independent scientific consultant
and unpaid associate
professor at the Process
& Energy Laboratory of the
Delft University of Technology
(Leeghwaterstraat 39, 2628
CB Delft, the Netherlands.
Email: z.olujic@tudelft.nl). He
has over 40 years of academic
research and teaching experience
in former Yugoslavia,
Germany and the Netherlands. His post-retirement
research interest is oriented towards maximizing
the energy efficiency of distillation, with
particular emphasis on internal heat integration
and expanding the application window of dividing
wall columns. He is the author of two books,
two patents and more than 100 articles in encyclopedia,
scientific and technical journals. Žarko
obtained his BSc (Dipl. Ing., petroleum engineering),
MSc (chemical engineering) and DSc (process
engineering) degrees from the University of
Zagreb in Croatia. He is a Fellow of AIChE, and
serves as vice-chairman of Distillation and Absorption
Area of Separations Division.
■
Edited by Gerald Ondrey
http://www.Che.Com
Chemical Engineering August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering August 2014
