This
work addressed the rigorous modeling of catalytic distillation columns
by simultaneously considering relevant phenomena such as pressure
drop across the column, tray capacity constraints, nonideal behavior
of both liquid and vapor, and the column’s hydrodynamics, yet
to be considered in earlier modeling studies for catalytic distillation.
The developed model is applied for the simultaneous optimal design
and control of catalytic distillation units, taking into account economic
and set-point tracking objective functions balanced through a proposed
weighting parameter estimation methodology. Results for a column for
the production of ethyl tert-butyl ether show the
advantages of a more comprehensive model regarding design and control
decisions in comparison with previous studies: design specifications
were met during the entire time horizon without sacrificing economic
profitability.
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