START-UP AND DYNAMIC PROCESSES SIMULATION OF A DISTILLATION COLUMN

A new dynamic non-equilibrium mixing-pool model for simulating start-up and dynamic re-sponse of a distillation column is reported.The proposed model is established on the basis ofconsidering the two dimensional flow/mixing behavior of actual trays in a distillation column.Com-parison is made among the computed results of the start-up time and the dynamic response time bythe proposed and five other typical models.It is found that the computed time for both dynamicprocesses is longer by the model which considers any flow/mixing pattern than by the model withoutsuch concern.The inertia effect of flow/mixing seems to be important and can not be ignored inmodeling the transient process of distillation.The proposed model,which is believed to be suitableto large column,seems somewhat useful in predicting industrial distillation dynamics.