Improving the distillation energy network

E nergy costs are the largest percentage of a hydrocarbon plant’s operating expenditures. This is especially true of the distillation process, which requires substantial energy consumption. Concerns over recent high costs and economic pressures continually emphasise the need for efficient distillation design and operation without a loss of performance. This article illustrates how energy-efficient design can be applied in a distillation unit through optimisation between the distillation column and heat network system. Through a case study, a successful retrofit of an aromatics distillation unit is discussed. Detailed retrofit activities, including complex heat network evaluation, process simulation modelling and energy-friendly, high-performance distillation equipment implementation, are described.