Pilot plant scale multiple dividing wall column

申请的主题是在中试规模上获得多隔壁塔。用于在单个塔壳中分离三个馏分的简单隔壁塔已经知道多年，并且现在在工业中被广泛使用。与经典的柱结构(例如，直接拆分)相比，这些柱显示出大约。投资和运营成本降低30%。操作成本的节省是由于在很大程度上避免了隔壁塔中不必要的返混，并且塔可以接近热力学最佳操作。然而，与标准列相比，复杂性大大增加。与标准柱的5个自由度相比，分隔墙柱有12个自由度。多个分隔墙柱是这项技术的逻辑演变。额外的分隔壁的实施使在一个柱中分离四个馏分成为可能。与此同时，还节省了约50%的投资和运营成本。然而，复杂性仍在不断增加。用于分离四个纯馏分的多分隔柱具有23个自由度。这种复杂性不仅给操作带来了重大挑战，也给建模和模拟带来了重大挑战，也是全球尚未建立工厂的原因。自2017年11月成立以来，乌尔姆大学化学工程研究所热过程工程实验室一直在对多个隔墙塔的建模、稳态和动态模拟以及数学优化问题进行深入研究。申请的大规模设施将使我们能够调查此类工厂的运行行为，并验证迄今存在的模型。研究问题包括，例如，静态和动态操作行为的调查，最优控制策略的开发，以及特定部件的开发和测试。

The subject of the application is the acquisition of a multiple dividing wall column on a pilot plant scale. Simple dividing wall columns for the separation of three fractions in a single column shell have been known for years and are nowadays widely used in industry. Compared to classical column configurations (e.g. direct split), these columns show approx. 30% reduced investment and operating costs. The savings in operating costs are due to the fact that undesirable backmixing in dividing wall columns is avoided to a great extent and the column can be operated close to the thermodynamic (=energetic) optimum. However, compared to a standard column, the complexity increases considerably. Dividing wall columns have 12 degrees of freedom compared to 5 of a standard column.Multiple dividing wall columns are the logical evolution of this technology. The implementation of additional dividing walls leads to the possibility to separate four fractions in a single column. This is accompanied by savings in investment and operating costs of about 50%. However, the complexity continues to increase. A multiple partition column for the separation of four pure fractions has 23 degrees of freedom. This complexity leads to major challenges not only for operation, but also for modeling and simulation and is the reason why no plant has been built worldwide yet.Since its foundation in November 2017, the Laboratory for Thermal Process Engineering of the Institute for Chemical Engineering at Ulm University has been conducting intensive research into questions of modelling, steady-state and dynamic simulation and mathematical optimization of multiple dividing wall columns. The large-scale facility applied for would enable us to investigate the operating behavior of such plants and to validate the models existing so far. Research issues include, for example, the investigation of the stationary and dynamic operating behavior, the development of optimum control strategies and the development and testing of specific components.