From continuous to interruptible distillation: Flexible electric heating column architecture with fast start‐up

Abstract Electrification of distillation offers a promising route to reducing scope‐1 emissions from one of the chemical industry's most energy‐intensive unit operations. However, conventional adiabatic columns are dynamically inflexible: Long, energy‐intensive start‐ups make shutdown and restart impractical under variable electricity prices and renewable power availability. This work advances complementary dynamic and thermodynamic arguments for a new distillation architecture. Dynamically, a modular column design with hydraulic isolation preserves stage‐wise liquid holdup and composition during shutdown, enabling parallel stage reheating and rapid restart. Thermodynamically, distributed stage‐wise electric heating transfers heat along the column section, reducing exergy losses during transients. A unified dynamic model captures phase transitions, hydraulics, and control switching during shutdown and startup. A methanol‐water case study demonstrates a 79% reduction in startup time (20.1 h to 4.05 h), along with reductions in startup energy use and exergy losses of 56% and 58%, respectively. These results enable interruptible, demand‐responsive electrified distillation.