A REVIEW OF THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF DISTILLATIONCOLUMN

Abstract

Separation technique with distillation column is an energy intensive process even though it is one of the most extensively used separation process in the petrochemical, chemical and agro-allied industries. Studies have proved that some other schemes of distillation columns other than the conventional columns could be more energy efficient. This has led to a number of different configurations of the columns. This study presents a review of second law of thermodynamics in determining and enhancing the effectiveness of energy usage in the distillation columns. The review covers binary, multicomponent and crude distillation columns and it is not limited to the conventional columns. It can be concluded that exergy analysis of the columns while providing a true analysis of the column efficiency can be used to improve the column’s energy efficiency. It is therefore imperative that process engineers should be armed with this tool to design and operate energy efficient columns. Keywords: Distillation, Exergy analysis, Efficiency, Thermodynamics.