A systematic selection and decision matrix for energy-efficient intensified distillation technologies

Abstract Distillation is widely used for fluid separation in chemical industries, but accounts for a half of the operational cost and 40–50 % of the energy usage due to its low energy efficiency. Process intensification could effectively enhance the energy efficiency as well as improve the economic performance of distillation processes by integrating unit operations or functions. However, matching suitable intensified distillation techniques systematically with given separation tasks remains a challenge. This study is the first to generate a conceptual multi-step selection and decision approach by first going through several high level questions with corresponding suggested solutions for a separation task, then identifying the process bottlenecks and intensification targets via a list of evaluation criteria. Each of the technologies goes through a pre-filled process intensification (PI) matrix, and the most promising intensified technologies are recommended, and potential solutions are compared against the task specifications. The PI matrix proposed in this work yields a short list of appropriate solutions to be designed and economically assessed, proposing a screening framework for fluid separations in order to make a rapid selection at an early stage. Several binary, ternary, and multicomponent zeotropic and azeotropic mixture separations are carried out as case studies to illustrate the application of the proposed methodology, being validated using literature data. The proposed methodology can also help reduce the search space before carrying out rigorous optimization for the synthesis and design of the distillation.