The need for flexible process equipment has increased over the past decade in the chemical industry. However, process equipment such as distillation columns have limitations that significantly restrict flexible operation. We investigate a segmented tray column designed to allow flexible operation. The design consists of radial trays connected at the downcomer of each tray. Each segment can be operated separately, but depending on the capacity of the feed stream, additional segments can be activated or deactivated. The connection between the trays aims to transfer liquid from one stationary segment to the adjacent inactive segment, thereby reducing the time required for the start-up process. In a case study on the separation of methanol and water, we perform dynamic simulations to assess the reduction in the start-up time of inactive segments. The results confirm the advantages over standard tray designs. The segmented distillation column is a step towards improving the flexibility of separation operations.
This study presents a new and innovative sieve tray design for a more flexible operation of separation columns in terms of possible throughput. The advantage of this new tray design is to ensure an optimal operation for varying feed flow rates and constant separation efficiencies for different load ranges. The aim of this work is to give a short introduction and an outlook to the investigation of the functionality of the designed trays. Moreover, the general design of the new trays, first results for CFD simulations of the dry pressure drop and the experimental setup are presented.
The change in process industry from fossil resources to alternative feedstock is indispensable due to the scarcity of resources and global warming. This leads to new challenges for the production systems. On the market side, rapid innovation is accompanied by shorter product life cycles leading to an increasing uncertainty of demand in terms of product type, volume and location. Therefore, the following five elements are combined into a concept to address these challenges: transformable production systems, local bio-based resources, CO 2 as feedstock, renewable energy and decentral production network with local economies.
Due to high energy-intensive processes and a dependence on carbon-based materials, the process industry plays a major role in climate change. Therefore, the substitution of fossil resources by biobased resources is indispensable. This leads to challenges arising from accompanying changes of the type, amount and location of resources. At the same time, transformable production systems are currently in the focus of research addressing the required flexibility. These systems which consist of modular production and logistics units offer the possibility to adapt flexibly in volatile conditions within dynamic supply chains. Hence, this work compiles elements for environmental sustainability, which minimize the carbon footprint in the process industry: transformable production systems, the utilization of bio-based resources, carbon dioxide and renewable energy as well as the application of these elements in decentral production networks. Finally, possible use cases are determined based on the combination of these elements through a multi-criteria analysis.
Auf der ACHEMA 2018 wurden verschiedene Aussteller aus verschiedenen Bereichen der Verfahrenstechnik zu ihrem allgemeinen Verständnis des Begriffs Modularisierung befragt. Insbesondere wurden sie gefragt, ob und wie ihr Unternehmen die Modularisierung bereits in ihren verschiedenen Geschäftsbereichen integriert. Die Interviews zeigten, dass es unter den befragten Unternehmen ein besseres Verständnis von Modularisierung gibt als erwartet. Dennoch stellte sich heraus, dass dieses Verständnis je nach Geschäftsfeld des Unternehmens unterschiedlich ist. Einige Aussteller wenden die Modularisierung bereits in ihrem Produktportfolio an, z. B. beim Bau modularer Apparate oder Produktionsanlagen.
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