Existing system remodeling for a fully thermally coupled distillation column

Though many divided wall columns are implemented in field as energy-efficient distillation columns, its application is limited due to the difficulty of building a new column. A novel energy-efficient distillation system utilizing the existing columns is proposed here. The proposed can reduce the energy consumption by about 39% comparing with the existing system. And it is shown that the proposed improves the column operability over the existing. The tray numbers of the added columns have no significant influence on the composition of a side draw.