Optimization and Control of a Stabilization Column for a Propylene-Producing Fluid Catalytic Cracking Process

Given the sustained growth in global propylene demand, advanced propylene catalytic cracking technologies are increasingly sophisticated. This paper enhances the stabilization column for catalytic cracking to align with high-productivity propylene catalytic cracking. Optimization focuses on equipment and operating costs, with a comparative analysis of different dividing wall column configurations. Results show the side-stripper column (SSC) offers the best economic and environmental performance, reducing total annual cost (TAC) by 23.34% and CO2 emissions by 24.14%. Further energy savings and CO2 emissions reductions are achieved by recovering waste heat from stable gasoline in the SSC process. Compared to the base configuration, the SSC process with heat recovery reduces TAC by 46.26% and CO2 emissions by 50.88%. Additionally, the SSC process with heat recovery shows excellent dynamic characteristics under feed flow rate and composition disturbances, establishing a rational control scheme.