Energy saving performances of the internal heat integrated batch distillation for non-ideal mixture

Batch distillation is a useful separation technique for obtaining a pure product from a multi-component mixture. However, it is less energy-efficient than continuous distillation. This paper describes the system we developed for an internally heat-integrated batch distillation column (Batch or Semi-batch HIDiC) to minimize the energy consumption of the batch distillation process. We simulated the isopropyl alcohol dehydration process as a non-ideal system. The applicability of the system was examined using a commercial process simulator, Aspen Plus Dynamics®, to evaluate energy-saving performance. The energy evaluations of the Batch and the Semi-batch HIDiC model were compared against the conventional batch distillation model. It was found that with the Semi-batch HIDiC, this system has the potential to reduce process time and energy consumption more effectively than with conventional batch distillation.