Dynamics of a continuous distillation column using a non-ideal multicomponent mixture

1. A STEADY-STATE MODEL has been developed which characterises the Steady State profile of a continuous distillation column with a total condenser. It takes into account the non-ideality of the system under investigation, the system being acetone, methanol, and isopropyl alcohol. Experimental results have been obtained and compared with the numerical experimentation. 2. A DYNAMIC MODEL has been developed. 3. ANALYTICAL EXPRESSIONS AND SOLUTIONS to characterise the dynamics have been obtained making use of matrix techniques. The analytical solution works equally well for both distinct and complex conjugate eigenvalues. 4. NUMERICAL METHOD determining the transients of a continuous distillation column is based on Markov's probabilistic technique. Numerical and Analytical results compare very well. 5. TWO TECHNIQUES, namely Sargent's and Wood's formulations of dynamic equations, have been investigated. It was found that Wood's formulation due to more interactions in its equations, represents a multi-component distillation system better, as compared to Sargent's. 6. A METHOD OF ANALYSIS to investigate the effect of non-linearity on a change in feed composition is suggested as further work.