Modelling and simulation of dynamic behaviour of industrial continuous distillation column

The authors deal with the mathematical modeling of an industrial continuous distillation column for separation of four-component mixtures composed of furfural, methanol, acetic acid, and water. The aim of the work is the optimization of existing devices in the sense of product quality improvement and minimization of energy consumption. The model was examined with the aid of the digital simulation language SIMCOS. Results show that the best solution lies in construction changes which influence the bottom product, and therefore the energy consumption of the device.