(106d) Top Dividing Wall Columns in Process Intensification

Most of the Dividing Wall Columns (DWC) in the industry currently employ a middle dividing wall. However, Middle DWCs have some limitations which make them unsuitable for a variety of applications. DWCs in general provide CAPEX/OPEX savings of 20-30% approximately as compared to conventional techniques. However, as compared to a two-column separation sequence, a Middle DWC will usually operate with the highest and the lowest utility for reboiling and cooling respectively. The switch to a higher cost utility can be avoided by moving the wall to the top of the column resulting in a Top DWC. The use of a top dividing wall significantly improves the project economics as well as product specifications in a variety of applications, such as LPG recovery, Stabilizer columns in gas plants, etc. For such situations, a Top DWC can help eliminate the thermodynamic limitations associated with these processes while affording the process the advantages of incorporating DWC technology.

The presentation will focus on the fundamentals and process advantages of a Top DWC in the following case studies.

• LPG Recovery process
• Stabilizer Columns
• Use of a Top DWC for process heat integration

Authors:

• Manish Bhargava, mbhargava@gtctech.com
• Brad Fleming, bfleming@gtctech.com

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