Characterization and control of the distillation column with heat pump

This works presents the authors' research on heat pumps together with a thorough investigation of their usage within distillation columns. The full spectrum of heat pumps is analyzed pointing out for each the pros and cons. A special emphasis is given to the analysis of the control structures that are associated to both classical distillation processes and heat pumps. A set of conclusions is drawn regarding the problem of an automatic control of a distillation column that is equipped with a heat pump.