Process design and intensification of multicomponent azeotropes special distillation separation via molecular simulation and system optimization

This work provides an overview of distillation processes,including process design for different distillation processes,selection of entrainers for special distillation processes,system integration and intensification of distillation processes,optimization of process parameters for distillation processes and recent research progress in dynamic control strategies.Firstly,the feasibility of using thermodynamic topological theories such as residual curve,phase equilibrium line and distillation boundary line to analyze different separation regions is discussed,and the rationality of distillation process design is discussed by using its feasibility.Secondly,the application of molecular simulation methods such as molecular dynamics simulation and quantum chemical calculation in the screening of entrainer is discussed for the extractive distillation process.The thermal coupling mechanism of different distillation processes is used to explore the process of different process intensifications.Next,a mixed integer nonlinear optimization strategy for the distillation process based on different algorithms is introduced.Finally,the improvement of dynamic control strategies for different distillation processes in recent years is summarized.This work focuses on the application of process intensification and system optimization in the design of distillation process,and analyzes the challenges,prospects,and development trends of distillation technology in the separation of multicomponent azeotropes.

Environmental,economic and exergy analysis of separation of ternary azeotrope by variable pressure extractive distillation based on multi-objective optimization

In this work,the ternary azeotrope of tert-butyl alcohol/ethyl acetate/water is separated by extractive distillation(ED)to recover the available constituents and protect the environment.Based on the conductor like shielding model and relative volatility method,ethylene glycol was selected as the extractant in the separation process.In addition,in view of the characteristic that the relative volatility between components changes with pressure,the multi-objective optimization method based on nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II optimizes the pressure and the amount of solvent cooperatively to avoid falling into the optimal local solution.Based on the optimal process parameters,the proposed heat-integrated process can reduce the gas emissions by 29.30%.The heat-integrated ED,further coupled with the pervaporation process,can reduce gas emission by 42.36%and has the highest exergy efficiency of 47.56%.In addition,based on the heat-integrated process,the proposed two heat pump assisted heat-integrated ED processes show good economic and environmental performance.The double heat pump assisted heat-integrated ED can reduce the total annual cost by 28.78%and the gas emissions by 55.83%compared with the basis process,which has a good application prospect.This work provides a feasible approach for the separation of ternary azeotropes.

Energy,exergy,economic and environmental comprehensive analysis and multi-objective optimization of a sustainable zero liquid discharge integrated process for fixed-bed coal gasification wastewater

For a long time,China's regional water resource imbalance has restricted the development of coal chemical industry,and it is imperative to achieve zero liquid discharge(ZLD).Therefore,the game relationship between technical indicators,costs and emissions in ZLD process of fixed-bed coal gasification wastewater treatment process should be explored in detail.According to the accurate model,the simulation for ZLD of fixed-bed coal gasification wastewater treatment process is established,and this process is assessed from the perspective of thermodynamics,economy,and environment.The total energy consumption of ZLD process before optimization is 4.032×10^(8)W.The results of exergy analysis show exergy destruction of ZLD process is 94.55%.For economic and environmental results,the total annual cost is 1.892×10^(7)USD·a^(-1)and the total environmental impact is 4.782×10^(-8).The total energy consumption of the optimal six-step ZLD process based on multi-objective optimization is 4.028×10^(8)W.The CO_(2)content in the treated wastewater is 0.1%.This study will have an important role in promoting the establishment of the ZLD process for coal chemistry industry.

PSS sorbents for removing trace hydrogen sulfide in methane

Sorbents of the pressure swing sorption process(PSS)to remove trace amount of H_(2)S(190 ppm)contained in methane were experimentally studied.The sorbents consist of adsorbent carrier(silica gel or activated carbon)and absorbent which spreads outside the carrier granules’pores(triethanolamine,TEA or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone,NMP).The results of breakthrough and regeneration tests show that silica gel is more suitable to be the carrier than activated carbon and TEA is more suitable to be the absorbent than NMP.The loaded absorbent could enlarge the sorption capacity of H_(2)S considerably.And the BET tests indicate that the absorbent deposits on the surface of the carrier’s pores and can reduce the mesopores’size and block the micropores.