(142d) An Innovative Energy Saving Based on Self-Heat Recuperation for Distillation Process

Although distillation columns have been widely used in separation processes based on vapor/liquid equilibria in petroleum refineries and chemical plants, the distillation process consumes a massive amount of energy required for the latent heat of the phase change, resulting in the emission of a large amount of CO2.

To overcome this problem, an innovative energy saving based on self-heat recuperation for distillation processes is proposed in this research; the energy saving occurs via internal heat circulation of the process. It consists of a heat circulation module and a distillation module in which the heating and cooling loads are balanced by energy/exergy analysis. The self-heat recuperation technology proposed in our previous studies is adopted, and thus, the heat of condensation and the cooling heat are recuperated by compressors, and exchanged with the heat of vaporization and the heating heat by employing heat exchangers in both the heat circulation and distillation modules.

The self-heat recuperation technology helps to achieve a drastic energy saving for distillation of more than 80% in comparison with a benchmark distillation involving the use of an external heat source and a reboiler for heating.