Separation Process Engineering, 5th Edition

Chapter 11

Economics and Energy Efficiency in Distillation

There are more than 40,000 distillation columns in the United States, which have a combined capital value in excess of $8.0 billion. These columns are estimated to have at least a 30-year life, and they are used in more than 95.0% of all chemical processes. The total energy use of these columns is estimated to be between 7.1% and 8.6% of total U.S. energy consumption of 98 quads (Sholl and Lively, 2016). Reducing capital and operating costs of distillation systems is important.

11.0 Summary—Objectives

This chapter briefly explores distillation economics, energy reduction, and multicomponent separation cascades. After completing this chapter, you should be able to satisfy the following ...