Dynamic Controllability Study of Extractive and Pressure‐Swing Distillations for Tetrahydrofuran/Water Separation
Jonathan Wavomba Mtogo, Gladys Wanyaga Mugo, Péter Mizsey
Abstract
Abstract Controllability features of the extractive distillation process and the pressure‐swing distillation process were studied with dynamic tools and compared in the case study of separation of a mixture of 50 mol % tetrahydrofuran and 50 mol % water. Process simulations with Aspen Plus and Aspen Plus Dynamics were carried out to obtain 99.9 mol % product purity. Control structures for the two distillation techniques were determined. Load rejection studies were completed for ±10 % feed throughput and ±10 % feed composition disturbances, for both processes. The comparison of the dynamic responses, integral absolute errors, and integral square errors shows that the pressure‐swing distillation process has better controllability features than extractive distillation.