Hydrocarbon Processing - January 2021 - 38

Sustainability
The main areas of use for cyclic distillation technology in petroleum refining include high-quality fractionation of
gas, high-quality narrow fractions during
vacuum/atmospheric distillation of petroleum, second refining of all types of
petroleum cracking, combining reaction
and distillation processes (catalytic distillation), obtaining isomers of high added
value 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene, mesitylene,
durene, isodurol and others. However, a
potential limitation of the process is crude
oil processing, as liquid load on the tray
does not exceed 30 m3/m2hr.

Takeaway. Cyclic distillation can significantly improve fluid separations for
processing hydrocarbons and their derivatives, providing key benefits such as lower
energy requirements (by 20%-35%),
reduced capital costs (by 20%-50%),
increased column throughput and better separation performance (with up to
three times higher efficiency than classic distillation trays). The separate phase
movement also provides more degrees of
freedom that contribute to good process
control and simple operation.
Yet, similar to the history of other pro-

cess intensification technologies (e.g.,
DWC), the chemical industry and hydrocarbon processing industry seem to be
reluctant in adopting new technologies
due to various perceived issues: difficult
process control, unavailability of adequate
models in process simulators or reliability of moving parts to sustain the cyclic
operation. For this reason, it is absolutely
crucial for industrial champions to lead by
example and implement cyclic distillation
while addressing the perceived and real issues associated with the technology.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A. A. Kiss gratefully acknowledges the Royal
Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.
LITERATURE CITED
Complete Literature Cited available online at
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
ANTON (TONY) A. KISS is a
Professor and Chair in chemical
engineering at the University of
Manchester, a Royal Society Wolfson
Research Merit Award holder, a
Fellow of IChemE, a Senior Member
of AIChE, and a Research Fellow
of Royal Society. He has more than 20 yr of academic
and industrial experience in a senior role, working
for over a decade at AkzoNobel Chemicals. His main
research areas cover process systems engineering,
process intensification and separation technology.
For his pioneering research work, he has received
the prestigious prize Hoogewerff Jongerenprijs
(The Netherlands), AkzoNobel Innovation Excellence
Award (for most successful industrial innovation) and
CHEMCON Distinguished Speaker Award for Innovators
and Science Leaders (IIChE, New Delhi, India).

FIG. 11. Cyclic distillation column for refrigerants fractionation.

VLADIMIR N. MALETA is an
entrepreneur who successfully
developed and implemented new
cyclic distillation technology in
industry. He holds an MSc degree
in mechanical engineering from the
Kiev Institute of Food Industry and
a PhD in engineering from the National University
of Food Technologies in Ukraine. He started his own
company (Maleta Cyclic Distillation LLC) and began
implementing scientific developments in the Industry.
ALEKSANDR SHEVCHENKO is the
Vice Rector for research and also
the Head of the department of
processes and apparatus of food
production at the National
University of Food Technologies
in Kiev, Ukraine. His main research
areas include developing technologies and equipment
for long-term storage of food products, and energysaving technologies for the beverage industry.

FIG. 12. Cyclic distillation column as part of a plant producing ethanol in the food industry (left),
and two cyclic distillation dividing-wall columns installed for fractionation of kerosene (right).

38 JANUARY 2021 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com

OLESJA BEDRYK holds an MS
degree in technology of health
and prophylactic products from
the National University of Food
Technology in Ukraine, and is a
PhD student in the department
of processes and apparatus of
food production.

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