Application of Dividing Wall Column Distillation (DWCD) Process for Separation of 1,2-Butanediol, 1,4-Butanediol, and 2,3-Butanediol Mixture to Save Energy

The conventional distillation columns and a dwcd system, are simulated in this paper. the parameters are optimized through the sensitivity analysis for both processes to reduce the reboilers’ and condensers’ heat duties with considering the products’ purity. the feed contains 2,3-butanediol (2,3-bd), 1,2-butanediol (1,2-bd), and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-bd) components. to simulate the dwcd process, a model consisting of two absorbers, one rectifier, one stripper, and two vapor and liquid splitter columns is adopted. the parameters studied include the number of the column stages, the number of the feed stages, the side product stage number, the reflux ratio, and vapor and liquid split ratios. the findings indicate that the dwcd process has 18.32% and 25.18% energy savings for the reboiler and the condenser heat duties, respectively, compared to the conventional process composed of two distillation columns.