Heat
integration and dynamic characteristics are critical for the
triple-column pressure-swing distillation (TCPSD) processes that are
used to separate ternary or multicomponent systems. In this study,
rigorous steady-state simulations of heat-integrated TCPSD processes
are optimized using Aspen Plus, and dynamic strategies for the different
TCPSD processes are explored using Aspen Dynamics. When ±20%
feed flow rates and composition disturbances are introduced, the composition/temperature
cascade control structure (CSB), which uses stage 19 as the temperature-sensitive
stage in the second column, exhibits better controllability than the
CSA, which uses stage 4 as the temperature-sensitive stage. Three
cases of partial heat integration are studied, and the first case,
which uses an auxiliary condenser, is the most economic. The dynamic
control strategies of the first and second cases handle ±10%
feed disturbances well; however, the CSE can attain good controllability
when ±20% feed disturbances are introduced. For the fully heat-integrated
TCPSD process, the CSG exhibits good controllability for ±20%
feed disturbances. The time that the control structures require to
reach new steady states varies greatly for different heat-integrated
processes.