Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196

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Computers and Chemical Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compchemeng

Vapor recompressed batch distillation: Optimizing reflux ratio at

variable mode
Sidharth Sankar Parhi a, Gade Pandu Rangaiah b, Amiya K. Jana a,∗
a
Energy and Process Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
b
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This work aims at optimizing a vapor recompressed batch distillation that runs at variable reflux mode by
Received 5 December 2018 employing a multi-objective optimization (MOO) strategy. This involves the formulation of optimization
Revised 16 February 2019
problem using factorial analysis for identifying dominating variables followed by solving the optimization
Accepted 17 February 2019
problem using the elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm. The selection of an optimal point is
Available online 21 February 2019
made by employing the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method
Keywords: with entropy information for weighting of objective functions. Here, two conflicting performance indica-
Batch distillation with variable reflux ratio tors, i.e., total annual cost (TAC) and total annual production (TAP) are considered as objective functions.
Vapor recompression At first, for the existing plant scenario, the conventional batch distillation column operated at variable
Factorial design methodology reflux ratio mode is optimized and then its retrofit is proposed by employing an external thermal ar-
Multi-objective optimization rangement under vapor recompression framework. Subsequently, the optimal vapor recompressed batch
Elitist non-dominated sorting genetic
distillation is separately developed for setting up a new plant. Finally, the proposed vapor recompressed
algorithm
Energy and cost savings
schemes are demonstrated with an example system and their performances are quantified in terms of
energy savings, TAC and TAP.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Thermal integration (Maiti et al., 2013) has emerged as an

Distillation is the oldest and most widely used technology to
separate mixtures of liquids based on the difference in boiling
point or volatility of the involved components. It is solely responsi-
ble for around 40% of total energy consumed in process industries
(Dejanovic et al., 2010). Despite wide usage, distillation has low
thermodynamic efficiency of 5-10% (Bisgaard et al., 2017). On the
basis of operation, distillation can be performed in either continu-
ous or batch mode. Each of these modes has its own specific ap-
plications. A comprehensive analysis of batch and continuous dis-
tillation is made elsewhere (Gorsek and Glavic, 1997a; Gorsek and
Glavic, 1997b; Gorsek and Glavic, 20 0 0). In recent decades, batch
processing has received greater attention due to the market de-
mand of low volume and high-value-added products, specifically in
food and pharmaceutical industries. With customer-specific com-
modity chemicals and increasing cost pressures associated with
over-capacity of high volume continuous plants, batch processes
are attractive alternatives despite high capital and energy required
for them.
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: akjana@che.iitkgp.ernet.in (A.K. Jana).
attractive choice for improving the energy efficiency by reusing
energy available within the process. To enhance profitability and
reduce energy consumption, different energy integration methods
have been scrutinized. Thermal integration can be done either
internally or externally. For the increment of overall thermal
efficiency of distillation column, externally integrated heat pump
system is an attractive proposition. Here, the coupling of bottom
reboiler with the top condenser by using a heat pump is done,
and it is driven electrically by mechanical type heat pump. It can
be configured either by direct vapor recompression (Fonyo et al.,
1995; Reddy et al., 2014; Jana and Mane, 2011), bottom flashing
(Fonyo et al., 1995; Chew et al., 2014; Diez et al., 2009) or closed
cycle heat pump (Eisa et al., 1987). The overhead vapor stream is
contracted in a compressor to elevate the pressure in direct vapor
recompression column (VRC), and then it is used to heat the bot-
tom stream in the still. In the case of bottom flashing, the bottom
liquid is expanded and used to cool the overhead vapor in the
condenser. Then, it is compressed and brought back to the column
bottom. In closed cycle heat pump, energy transfer between the
bottom liquid and overhead stream is facilitated by the use of an
external medium. Several works have reported the energy and
cost savings with the employment of heat pumps. Matsuda and
co-authors (Matsuda et al., 2011) have studied extensively the use

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2019.02.014
0098-1354/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196 185

is highly popular as several works have been reported in the lit-

Nomenclature erature (Diwekar et al., 1987; Diwekar et al., 1990; Mayur et al.,
1970; Zavala and Coronado, 2008). The constant reflux ratio (Fileti
Abbreviations and Pereira, 20 0 0; Bonny, 20 06; Bonny, 2013; Quintero-Marmol
CBD Conventional batch distillation and Luyben, 1990) and variable reflux ratio (Lopes and Song, 2010;
CHP Compressor heat pump Manca, 2007; Luyben, 1988) are studied extensively in the context
M&S Marshall and Swift cost index of conventional batch distillation (CBD).
MOO Multi-objective optimization The dynamic behavior of the batch process makes its opera-
NSGA-II Elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm tion and control more challenging and complex. Recently, the opti-
NDS Non-dominated sorting mal design and operation of batch distillation have received signif-
OC Operating cost ($/year) icant interest, not only to propose novel column configurations but
RR Reflux ratio also an approach to the formulation of optimization problems in-
SOO Single-objective optimization corporating numerous operational and economic objectives. Multi-
TAC Total annual cost ($/year) criteria based efficient solution technique is highly recommended
TAP Total annual production (kmol/year) to address the conflicting objectives in a multi-objective problem
TOPSIS Technique for order of preference by similarity to and to optimize the performance to meet the goals. There are a
ideal solution few studies conducted on multi-objective optimization (MOO) of
VRBD Vapor recompressed batch distillation batch distillation (Leipold et al., 2009; Barakat et al., 2006). How-
ever, MOO of vapor recompressed batch distillation is rarely re-
Symbols
ported. This provides the motivation for the present work.
A Area of heat exchanger (m2 )
In this contribution, an attempt is made to optimize the va-
Cp Heat capacity (kJ/kg K)
por recompressed batch distillation column operating at variable
Dc Column diameter (m)
reflux mode. Targets are to retrofit the CBD with VRC for existing
L Liquid flow rate (gmol/min)
plant scenario and also optimal vapor recompressed batch distil-
LC Height of column (m)
lation (VRBD) for setting up a new plant. A multi-objective op-
m Liquid holdup on tray (gmol)
timization (MOO) strategy is adopted to simultaneously optimize
ms Steam flow rate (kg/min)
two conflicting performance criteria (i.e., total annual cost, TAC
nvar No. of variables
and total annual production, TAP) for CBD and VRBD. To optimize
no No. of objectives
a system, one must recognize the variables affecting the process.
Pi Inlet pressure (mmHg)
Hence, in the first step, the dominating variables are selected by
PC Outlet pressure (mmHg)
full-factorial analysis and are used to formulate the optimization
QR Reboiler heat duty (kJ/min)
problem. Second step deals with the optimization of the developed
T Temperature (K)
conventional and heat integrated batch column model by the eli-
V Vapor flow rate (gmol/min)
tist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). From this
x Liquid phase composition (mole fraction)
step, a set of non-dominated points known as Pareto-optimal front
y Vapor phase composition (mole fraction)
is generated. Finally, a selection method (i.e., technique for order
λ Latent heat (J/gmol)
of preference by similarity to ideal solution, TOPSIS) with entropy
Subscripts information for weighting is used to select the optimal point from
con Condenser the Pareto-optimal front. For a representative binary system, the
i Component index performance of proposed VRBD schemes (retrofitted and new one)
n Tray index is quantified by means of TAC savings, energy savings and operat-
R Reboiler ing cost/kg of product/year.
s Steam

Superscripts 2. Batch distillation columns

L Liquid phase
V Vapor phase 2.1. Conventional batch distillation (CBD) column

A conventional batch column consists of a rectification tower

of two compression heat pumps (CHP) for compressing overhead
vapor of distillation column to supply heat to the feed heater
and reboiler, and achieved 49% energy savings. Significant energy
savings of $7 million/year is attained by application of CHP to a
propane-propylene splitter (Choudhari and Divey, 2012). Modla
and Lang (Modla and Lang, 2013; Modla and Lang, 2015; Modla
and Lang, 2013) have analyzed the use of heat pump systems
for batch distillation to separate close boiling mixtures. Although
various heat integration concepts such as VRC and bottom flashing
have been proposed for continuous distillation, their exploration is
still in the initial state for batch distillation.
The batch distillation operation can be divided into following
modes (Perry and Green, 1997): (i) Constant product composition
with variable reflux, (ii) variable product composition with con-
stant reflux and (iii) other operating modes such as optimal re-
flux mode, cyclic operation, side withdrawal, multiple feed, inter
condenser, periodic feed etc. Employment of optimal reflux ratio
fitted with a reboiler (still pot) at the bottom and an overhead
condenser (Fig. 1a). The tray numbering is made from bottom to
top, taking 1st stage as the bottom-most tray and NTth stage as
the top-most tray. The batch distillation is implicitly an unsteady
state process and operated in two successive phases, namely start-
up phase and production phase. We consider the initial charging
of fresh feed in the large reboiler, on the trays and in the reflux
drum for the process simulation. Initially, the process is operated
under total reflux mode (no distillate product withdrawal) during
which the concentration of the light key component in the reflux
drum increases steadily to reach a steady state. Subsequently, the
production phase starts under partial reflux mode. One of the strik-
ing features of batch distillation is that the product withdrawal can
be initiated as soon as the light key component reaches the pre-
specified composition. Fig. 1a also includes flow diagram of a typ-
ical nth tray representing a distillation tray, depicting all incoming
and outgoing streams with their flow rates and compositions (mole
186 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196

Fig. 1. Schematics of (a) CBD and (b) VRBD.

fractions). For modeling this typical equilibrium stage, the follow- In the above model equations, mn denotes the liquid holdup on
ing assumptions are made: nth tray, Ln the liquid flow rate leaving nth tray, Vn the vapor flow
rate leaving nth tray, xn, i the mole fraction of component i in the
A1 Constant tray efficiency (i.e., 80%) liquid stream leaving nth tray, yn, i the mole fraction of component
A2 Negligible vapor holdup i in the vapor stream leaving nth tray, y∗n,i the equilibrium mole
A3 Negligible heat loss to the surroundings fraction of component i, HnL the enthalpy of liquid leaving nth tray,
A4 Liquid phase non-ideality HnV the enthalpy of vapor leaving nth tray, Kn, i the vapor-liquid
A5 Perfect mixing on each tray equilibrium coefficient with respect to nth tray and component i,
A6 Fast energy dynamics and Nc the total number of species present in the mixture. The ac-
tual vapor phase composition is calculated by employing Murphree
Subsequently for the sample nth tray, we deduce the following
equation (7). As the dynamics of internal energy changes is faster
model equations:
than the composition and total holdup changes, the differential en-
Total mole balance
ergy Eq. (3) is converted to algebraic form by setting zero on the
d mn left side for the computation of vapor flow rate.
= Ln+1 + Vn−1 − Ln − Vn (1)
dt
Species (i) mole balance
d (mn xn,i ) 2.2. Vapor recompressed batch distillation (VRBD)
= Ln+1 xn+1,i + Vn−1 yn−1,i − Ln xn,i − Vn yn,i (2)
dt
Fig. 1b presents the schematic of VRBD column. Vapor from the
Energy balance top of the batch column is compressed to the desired pressure (hot
  stream) and condensed against reboiler liquid (cold stream). Thus,
d mn HnL
= Ln+1 HnL+1 + Vn−1 HnV−1 − Ln HnL − Vn HnV (3) this compressed vapor reboils the still pot content and generates
dt vapor that enters the rectifying tower. The overhead stream leaves
Equilibrium relation the reboiler at higher pressure even after changing its phase from
y∗n,i = Kn,i xn,i vapor to liquid state in the still pot. It is thus required to depres-
(4)
surize the condensate using a pressure relief valve before entering
Summation equations the reflux drum. By this way, latent heat is recovered from the top
vapor that leads to reduce the hot utility requirements and thus,

Nc
xn,i = 1 (5) increase the thermodynamic efficiency of the process. This, in turn,
i=1
leads to the reduction of operating cost of the still and overhead
condenser, and capital cost of condenser. However, VRBD addition-

Nc
ally requires a compressor that is operated by electrical energy,
yn,i = 1 (6) which is more expensive than the thermal energy. Hence, it can-
i=1 not be concluded straightaway that VRBD saves energy and/or cost
Murphree efficiency as compared to the conventional column (without VRC). To judge
performance improvement through vapor recompression, a quanti-
yn,i − yn−1,i
ηn = (7) tative analysis needs to be conducted.
y∗n,i − yn−1,i
 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196
The vapor recompression arrangement comprises of an isen-
tropic compressor and a throttling valve integrated externally with
that of CBD column. Therefore, modeling of VRBD includes all the
assumptions taken in case of CBD column in addition to the fol-
lowing: A7 Only latent heat is released by the compressed vapor
in the still.
The compressor duty, QComp (in hp) is calculated from:
(Douglas, 1988)
  μ−1  2.2.2. Second scenario (QCV < QR )
−5 μ PC μ
QComp = 3.03 × 10 −1
μ − 1 VNT Pi Pi
Here, P denotes the pressure (inlet pressure, Pi and outlet pres-
sure, PC ), and VNT the vapor inflow rate to the compressor. The poly-
tropic coefficient of species j (μ j ) is temperature dependent and μ
is computed from:
1 
C
yj
= (9)
μ−1 μ j −1
j=1
For a fair comparison between the VRBD and its conventional
counterpart, their internal dynamics are kept close, if not same.
With this, the input specifications (e.g., feed charge and compo-
sition, and reboiler duty) and output responses (e.g., product pu-
rity and amount) are targeted to be same between them. The tran-
sient behavior of batch distillation leads to a challenging task in
keeping the total heat requirement of VRBD same with its conven-
tional counterpart. The input and output specifications can easily
be maintained same between them.
A thermal driving force T T (= TNT C − TB ) of 15 °C is reason-
able to adopt for the complete condensation of overhead vapor (at
TNTC ) in the reboiler (at TB ). (Douglas, 1988) Two operating criteria
for the VRBD is thus selected as (i) T T = 15 °C, and (ii) constant
QR . We develop a suitable variable adjustment mechanism in order
to meet the aforementioned criteria.
(i) First Operating Criterion (T T = 15 °C):
To maintain T T at 15 °C throughout the unsteady state batch
operation, one needs a variable speed compressor. This operates at
variable compression ratio (CR = PC /Pi ) computed from:
μ
TB + TT (μ−1 )
CR =
TNT
(i) Second Operating Criterion (constant QR ):
The total heat input for CBD is QR , whereas the VRBD involves
internal (i.e., latent heat of overhead vapor = QCV = λ VNT ) and ex-
ternal heat (i.e., QE ) that is expressed as:
QE = QR − QCV
Because of the variable VNT , QCV should vary in batch process-
ing. Under this context, two circumstances arise as: QCV > QR (Sce-
nario 1), and QCV < QR (Scenario 2). Here we further formulate the
manipulation mechanism for these two scenarios under second op-
erating criterion.
2.2.1. First scenario (QCV > QR )
In this case, the top vapor in the still releases more latent heat
(λ) than the heat required for liquid reboiling. This extra heat (i.e.,
QCV − QR ) hardly can improve the performance of batch column,
especially when the column is operating at optimal QR . Instead, it
prolongs start-up operation due to reboiling of the relatively heav-
ier component by that extra heat (i.e., QCV − QR ). Thus, the neces-
sity to split the overhead vapor (VNT ) into two fractions arises. One
fraction (VNT C ) is used to couple the still pot (for QR ) and other
187
fraction (VNT I = VNT − VNT C ) is flowed to the overhead condenser.
The VNT C can be computed as follows:
QR
VNT C = (12)
λ(at TNT C )
This scenario involves no steam for still and a smaller sized
condenser with a reduced amount of coolant stream.
In this case, there is inadequate availability of heat from the
(8)
internal sources. An external heating medium (steam) is then sup-
plied to still as per Eq. (11). The steam flow rate (mS ) for VRBD is
accordingly manipulated from
mS λS = QE = QR − QCV (13)
Here, λS denotes the latent heat of steam calculated at its sat-
uration temperature, TS . This scenario involves no overhead con-
denser and a reduced quantity of steam.
2.3. Simulation algorithm
The equilibrium stage model of batch distillation column con-
stitutes a set of coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs)
and algebraic equations/correlations. In the distillation process, the
ODEs are formulated by employing the mass (or mole) and en-
ergy balances around each stage, given in Eqs. (1–3). The algebraic
equations/correlations are used to compute thermodynamic and
physical properties, actual vapor phase compositions and tray hy-
draulics. A sequential computational routine (Jana, 2011) is used to
simulate the differential algebraic equations (DAE) system (Eqs. 1–
(3). This simulator is developed in MATLAB environment.
3. Comparative performance indicators
For a comparative analysis between VRBD and CBD, several per-
formance indicators are adopted. They include TAC, TAP, energy
savings and payback period, and they are briefly presented below.
3.1. Total annual cost (TAC)
The TAC is calculated by summing up the capital investment
(CI) and operating cost (OC) as described below:
(10)   CI
TAC $/year = OC + (14)
payback time
The CI includes the cost of various equipment such as column
shell, trays, heat exchangers and compressor. The payback time
adopted here is five years. The respective formulas and parame-
ters for estimating CI are provided in Table 1 (Douglas, 1988). The
cost inflation index (M&S) of 1704.9 is adopted (Economic indi-
(11) cator, 2011). The operating cost, computed on the basis of 80 0 0
working hours, includes the cost of utilities (Huang et al., 2008),
namely electricity ($0.084/kW h), steam ($17/t) and cooling wa-
ter ($0.06/t). Note that the compressor efficiency is taken as 80%
(Douglas, 1988).
3.2. Total annual production (TAP)
The TAP is computed by multiplying total product recovered per
batch (Tpr ) with the total number of batch cycles (Tbc ) executed in
a year.
TAP(kmol/year ) = Tpr × Tbc (15)
Here, the total number of batch cycles is estimated by dividing
80 0 0 working hours per year to the summation of a unit batch
cycle time and an additional half-an-hour as batch setup time for
each cycle (Kao and Ward, 2016).
188 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196

Table 1
Cost estimating formula and parameter value.

 Column shell (MOC: SS)

Installed cost ($) = ( M&
280
S
)937.636 D1c .066 L0c .802 (cin + cm c p )
where Dc is the column diameter (ft), Lc the column height (ft), and the coefficients cin = 2.18, cm = 3.67 and c p = 1.0.
 Column tray (Type: sieve tray, MOC: SS)
Installed cost ($) = ( M&
280
S
)97.243 D1c .55 Lc (cs + ct + cm )
where the coefficients cs = 1, ct = 0 and cm = 1.7.
 Heat exchanger (MOC: SS)
Installed cost ($) = ( M&
280
S
)474.668 A0.65 (cin + cm (ct + c p ))
where A is the heat transfer area (ft2 ), and the coefficients cin = 2.29, cm = 3.75, ct = 1.35 (reboiler), = 0.8 (condenser) and c p = 0.
 Compressor
Installed cost ($) = ( M&
280
S
)517.5 (bhp)0.82 (2.11 + Fd )
where Fd = 1.0. This expression is valid in the range of 30 < bhp < 10,0 0 0.

3.3. Energy savings

The total energy required for the CBD can be calculated eas-
CBD
ily by knowing the total heat consumed (QCons ) during the entire
batch operation. The estimation of total energy consumed by the
VRBD involves a little complicacy due to the involvement of two
energy sources. First one is the internal source of energy, basically
the latent heat of overhead vapor (QCV ). The second one is the ex-
ternally supplied makeup heat (QE ). A compressor is employed to
heat the entire top vapor (i.e., second scenario) or a fraction of it
(first scenario) depending on the heat requirements of the VRBD.
Further, electrical energy is additionally required to operate the
compressor and the total energy consumption is accordingly com-
puted as:
V RBD Fig. 2. Optimization layout of batch distillation design.
QCons = QE + fm Q Comp (16)
Table 2
Here, fm of 3 is assumed to convert the compressor work into
Ranges for the full factorial study of conventional batch distillation in constant
the required thermal energy to produce equivalent amount of elec- reflux mode of operation.
trical power (Iwakabe et al., 2006). QComp is calculated Eq. (8). With
Variable Levels
this, we have the following for VRBD:
Number of trays 4 13 22 31 60
QE = 0 for First scenario Reboiler heat duty (kJ/min) 20 0 0 11,500 21,0 0 0 30,500 40,0 0 0
QE = QR − QCV for Second scenario Reflux ratio (mole basis) 0.01 0.43 1 2.33 9
Weir height (inch) 1 2 3 4
For the CBD column,

Q E = QR
QComp = 0 4.1. Full-factorial design methodology

Subsequently, energy savings can be computed easily based on
CBD V RBD
the values of QCons and QCons .
4. Optimization layout
Optimization of batch distillation is really complicated due to
its dynamic behavior. The optimization problem is formulated for
the design as well as operating variables with objectives of prod-
uct and cost related functions. The current work targets to pro-
pose an optimal configuration for CBD column initially. Then we
attempt to retrofit the optimized CBD with the vapor recompres-
sion arrangement. This apart, we propose an optimal VRBD column
for commissioning a new plant. The developed batch simulator is
subjected to optimization to operate it at variable reflux mode. To
optimize the batch simulator, a three-step strategy is developed.
The first step deals with the selection of dominating decision vari-
ables followed by formulation of the optimization problem. The
second step involves the optimization of the batch simulator. From
this multi-objective optimization step, Pareto-optimal front is gen-
erated. In the final step, the selection of an optimal point is per-
formed from the generated Pareto-optimal front by TOPSIS, which
is one of the techniques recommended by Wang and Rangaiah
(Rangaiah et al., 2015). The complete layout for optimization is
demonstrated in Fig. 2.
The impact of all the parameters on output is studied in the
first step by considering the logical, design and operational vari-
ables. The ranges of decision variables are chosen based on the
available data and standard industrial practice. Here, the number
of trays is considered as a design parameter while the weir height
of the tray is taken as a logical parameter. The reboiler heat duty
and reflux ratio are regarded as operational variables. The output
responses include the steady state purity (xD ), TAC and TAP. The
product-related purity constraint is set by steady-state purity that
is achieved during start-up phase (total reflux mode). According to
the full factorial design, a total of five hundred simulated experi-
ments are conducted. To determine the three characteristic output
responses stated earlier, the simulations are performed in the sys-
tematic order. The main effects and interaction plots are depicted
afterwards to have a visual confirmation of dominating parameters.
The levels and ranges of decision variables are provided in Table 2.
4.2. Multi-objective optimization (MOO)
Most of the industrial problems deal with the optimization
of many objective functions simultaneously. MOO is highly rec-
ommended to have a better insight into trade-offs among the
conflicting objectives and then choosing one among the many
optimal solutions found. Indeed, it founds many applications in
 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196
Table 3
NSGA parameters used in the present study.
Parameter Approach/Value
Population size 50
Maximum number of generations 70
No. of variables (nvar ) 3 Condenser holdup, kmol
No. of objectives (no ) 2 Tray efficiency,%
Crossover type Intermediate
Crossover ratio 0.8
Crossover fraction no /nvar
Mutation type Gaussian
Shrink 0.5
Scale 0.1
Mutation fraction no /nvar
chemical engineering. The comparison of single objective versus
multi-objective optimization as well as for a review of MOO appli-
cations can be inferred elsewhere (Wang and Rangaiah, 2017). One
of the most effective MOO techniques, elitist NSGA-II, a stochastic
global optimization method, is employed to optimize the CBD and
VRBD columns. The respective NSGA-II parameters are provided in
Table 3.
4.3. TOPSIS-entropy method
A cluster of optimal points formally known as Pareto-optimal
front is generated from MOO problem solution by NSGA-II. This
necessitates the selection of one optimal point from the many
alternate/trade-off solutions for the implementation in the plant.
Generally, this selection is made by the senior managers/field engi-
neers (i.e., decision-makers). A Pareto ranking approach with prior
preferences of the objectives can be employed for the selection of
one optimal point. Many multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)
methods have been proposed for ranking and selection of alter-
native solutions. One of them is TOPSIS; for applying this tech-
nique, the Euclidean distances to positive and negative ideal so-
lutions are calculated, and the solution having the least distance
from the positive ideal solution and also the largest distance to
the negative ideal solution is considered to be the best available
“alternative”. For detailed description, algorithm and applications
of TOPSIS, readers are requested to follow Wang and Rangaiah
(Rangaiah et al., 2015).
5. A case study: separation of binary wide-boiling mixture
The proposed optimization approach is applied on both the
CBD and VRBD column for the separation of cyclohexane and
toluene (Zavala et al., 2007; Miladi and Mujtaba, 2004; Logsdon
and Biegler, 1993), which is a wide-boiling mixture. Unlike the
continuous distillation, the batch column never achieves high pu-
rity at a time in both the top reflux and the still pot, thereby re-
ducing the compression ratio (CR), and enhancing the energy and
cost savings (Khan et al., 2012). Thus, we have selected this wide-
boiling mixture (cyclohexane and toluene) because the separation
of these constituents in a continuous distillation with VRC or bot-
tom flashing is not an economically attractive option (Jana, 2016).
The detailed information about this example system is provided in
Table 4.
5.1. CBD optimization
Modeling of a typical nth tray is discussed before, which can
further be extended to the entire distillation column. It is to be
noted here that the column operates with a condenser pressure of
101.325 kPa and having a constant tray pressure drop of 0.3 kPa.
189
Table 4
Model and system characteristics.
Total fresh feed, kmol 100.0
Feed composition (cyclohexane/toluene), mole fraction 0.5/0.5
Liquid holdup in each tray (startup), kmol 0.5
2.0
80
Integration time interval, min 0.005
Hildebrand model is used to predict the liquid phase nonideal-
ity. The Francis-weir equation is adopted for tray hydraulics cal-
culations. The developed CBD column is optimized using the MOO
strategy described earlier.
5.1.1. Optimization outcome
5.1.1.1. Factorial design approach. Fig. 3 presents the response main
effect plot of the outputs (i.e., xD , TAC and TAP) with the change
of decision variables (i.e., number of trays, reboiler heat duty, re-
flux ratio and weir height). Generally, the dominating variables or
the interaction between them show a higher deviation from the
horizontal mean line. It is true that the number of trays, reboiler
duty and reflux ratio have a significant effect on the outputs. The
weir height shows the minimalistic effect on the outputs. It can
be straightforward to formulate the optimization problem by us-
ing the dominating variables (i.e., number of trays, reboiler duty
and reflux ratio). A comprehensive quantitative analysis (ANOVA)
of TAC and TAP with respect to decision variables are provided in
the supplementary file.
5.1.1.2. Optimization problem formulation. The multi-objective
mixed-integer dynamic optimization (MO-MIDO) design problem
is formulated for the batch operation at the variable reflux mode
incorporating the dominated design and operation variables ob-
tained from the factorial analysis. The major target for performing
MOO studies is to maximize the TAP (kmol/year) while minimizing
the TAC ($/year). The discrete-continuous (MO-MIDO) optimization
problem is developed in such a way that, number of trays is con-
sidered as a discrete/integer type variable, while reboiler heat duty
and reflux ratio (starting) are taken as continuous type variables.
Apart from the design space, additional steady state related purity
constraint is also incorporated to produce highest purity product
under variable reflux mode operation. The MOO problem (P1) is
described as follows:
min TAC = f1 (udv ) (17)
max TAP = f2 (udv ) (18)
Subject to:
uldv ≤ udv ≤ uudv (19)
Cxd = 99.98 (20)
In the above equations, f1 and f2 are the objective functions. udv
is the vector of decision variables, namely, NT , QR and RR (mole
basis), and their lower and upper bounds are provided in Table 5.
Cxd in Eq. (20) represents the constraint on purity during startup
operation of batch column.
5.1.1.3. Analysis of MOO results. Using the NSGA-II optimizer, MOO
problem (P1) for the CBD is solved five times. Then the non-
dominated sorting (NDS) of solutions obtained in these five runs
is performed, and ‘true’ Pareto-optimal front (having 138 non-
dominated points) is generated (Zavala et al., 2007). This optimal
front (Fig. 4a) shows that the non-dominated solutions consist of
a wide range of TAP from 12,174 to 71,191 kmol/year with the cor-
responding TAC of 82,782 and 277,616 $/year. It is observed from
190 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196

Fig. 4a that increment of TAC occurs with the increase of TAP. The
rest of the plots (Fig. 4b, c and d) present two output variables
associated with TAC, their trade-off between themselves and with
TAP.
Fig. 5 presents the decision variable space, which consists of
dominated inputs (i.e., NT , QR and RR) with that of objective func-
tions. Small disjointed segments are observed in Fig. 5a and b,
probably because NT is taken as an integer type variable. For NT
from 45 to 55, the region is highly populated as most of the non-
dominated solutions are within this range. The respective value of
QR associated with optimal front shows a smooth increasing trend.
But in case of RR, ranging in between of 0.7 to 1.0, Fig. 5e and
f show a denser zone. It is to be noted here that RR for all these
cases varies with time showing a progression of the production pe-
riod.
5.1.2. Development of optimal CBD
Employing the TOPSIS with entropy weighting information, the
optimum specification of CBD is developed with total 49 trays (ex-
cluding the reboiler and total condenser), reboiler heat duty of
18,208 kJ/min and a variable reflux ratio having an initial value
of 0.95. The respective composition profile is plotted in Fig. 6a.
Under the total reflux, the steady state is reached around 1.64 h
(=98.15 min) with a purity of 99.99 mol%. Then the product is

Fig. 3. Main effects for the decision variables on steady state purity under total reflux (plot a), on TAC (plot b) and on TAP (plot c).
 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196 191

Fig. 3. Continued

Table 5
Ranges of decision variables for CBD optimization.

Parameter Description Unit Lower bound Upper bound

NT No of trays – 4 60
QR Reboiler heat duty kJ/min 20 0 0 40,0 0 0
RR Reflux ratio (initial) Mole basis 0.01 10

withdrawn in such a way that the purity is well maintained with clohexane/ toluene) is adopted here. The operating conditions are
the steady state purity. This is accomplished by varying reflux ratio same as those of CBD as described earlier.
according to the profile in Fig. 6b. The production phase stopped
as soon as the purity of top product starts decreasing below the
5.2.1. Optimization outcome
steady state purity. This corresponds to the production period of
5.2.1.1. Factorial design approach. The importance of factorial analy-
2.59 h (=155.62 min). Accordingly, we obtain 1692 batch cycles
sis is highlighted earlier. The dominating parameters for the VRBD
per year and thus, the yearly operating hours is truly 7154 h/year
are same as those of the CBD. This is because heat integration is
[=80 0 0 h/year – 1692 batch cycles/year × 0.5 h/batch cycle], in-
constructed externally without changing the internal dynamics. It
stead of 80 0 0 h/year. According to Douglas (1988), for a batch col-
is observed from factorial analysis that the input parameters (i.e.,
umn it can be operated around 7500 h per annum.
number of trays, reboiler heat duty and reflux ratio) have more
or less substantial effect on improving outputs (i.e., xD , TAC and
5.1.3. Development of retrofitted VRBD
TAP). The effect of varying weir height on the outputs is not so sig-
The retrofitted VRBD is developed by employing a vapor recom-
nificant and so it can be omitted in formulating the optimization
pression arrangement externally with the CBD. Since both the op-
problem. Precisely, the output responses of xD and TAP will show
timal CBD and its retrofitted counterpart operate at the same dy-
the exactly same response as those for CBD. But, the response of
namics, the yearly operating hours are same (7154 h/year) between
TAC upon altering the input parameters will be lowered as some
them. Formulation of the retrofitted column is made with two op-
portion of heat duty is generated internally, which reduces the ex-
erating criteria (i.e., TT = 15 °C and QR = 18,208 kJ/min). The first
ternal energy consumption as well as cost. Even then, it has a sig-
criterion is satisfied by employing a variable speed compressor,
nificant level of dependence for all the input parameters excluding
which works according to the CR profile (Fig. 6c). The second crite-
weir height. Ultimately, we have formulated the MOO problem (P1)
rion is fulfilled according to the QCV profile in Fig. 6d. It is observed
for the case of VRBD excluding the consideration of insignificant
that the start-up phase operation of VRBD falls under second sce-
parameter (i.e., weir height).
nario (i.e., QCV < QR ), which requires external makeup heat shown
in Fig. 6e as QE profile. On the other hand, the production phase
falls under first scenario (i.e., QCV > QR ), which involves the over- 5.2.1.2. Optimization problem formulation. The optimization prob-
head vapor splitting as shown in terms of V49C (Fig. 6f). lem is framed within the same domain as that of CBD in view
of finding the optimum condition for the heat integrated system.
5.2. Optimizing VRBD Here, the reboiler heat duty, number of trays and reflux ratio are
considered as decision variables and used for maximizing the TAP
For setting up a new plant with VRBD column, the optimal con- while minimizing TAC simultaneously. The respective constraints
figuration is studied. The same wide boiling binary mixture (cy- and lower and upper bounds are already provided in Table 5.
192 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196
Fig. 4. Objective space showing the trade-off between the two objectives (plot 4a), operating cost (OC) with total annual production (TAP) (plot 4b), capital cost (CC) with
TAP (plot 4c), and CC with OC (plot 4d) of the non-dominated solutions obtained from MOO by NSGA-II. The filled circle corresponds to the chosen optimal solution.
5.2.1.3. Analysis of MOO results. The optimization of VRBD is con-
ducted five times as followed for CBD by employing NSGA-II opti-
mizer. The ‘true’ Pareto-optimal front is constituted by combining
the optimal solutions from the five runs and then sorting utilizing
NDS procedure. (Sharma et al., 2017) Out of 350 points, 187 non-
dominated points are generated, which constitute the ‘true’ Pareto-
optimal front. The description of respective objective space and de-
cision variable spaces are provided in the supplementary file.
5.2.2. Development of optimal VRBD
The optimal point for VRBD, obtained by employing the TOP-
SIS is used for the construction of optimal VRBD. The acquired
optimum conditions are as follows: total 46 trays (excluding
the reboiler and total condenser), constant reboiler heat duty of
19,198 kJ/min and a variable reflux ratio having an initial value of
1.01. The steady state is attained at 1.596 h (=95.76 min) with a pu-
rity of 99.99 mol%. Subsequently, the production phase commences
with the withdrawal of product in such a way that the product
purity in the distillate does not fall. The reflux ratio is constantly
varied to achieve the constant product purity. The corresponding
dynamic profiles (reflux ratio) are provided in Fig. S7 (Supplemen-
tary file).
This corresponds to the production period of 2.486 h
(=149.16 min). Accordingly, we obtain 1746 batch cycles per year
and thus, the yearly operating hours reduces from 80 0 0 to
7127 h/year [=80 0 0 h/year – 1746 batch cycles/year × 0.5 h/batch
cycle = 7127 h/year].
5.3. Performance improvement
A comparative analysis between optimal CBD and VRBD con-
figurations is briefly discussed in this section. Several performance
indicators are used to quantify the improvements in terms of an-
nual production and cost. These indicators include energy sav-
ings, TAP, TAC savings and operating cost savings/kg of product.
As stated, the optimum configurations are proposed both for ex-
isting CBD and new plant with VRBD as shown in Table 6. It is ob-
vious that adding a compressor with the VRBD column increases
the investment over the CBD. It is confirmed that the retrofitted
VRBD and optimal VRBD achieve 61.3% and 59.5% energy savings,
respectively (Table 7), and 61.4% and 60.7% savings in operating
cost/kg of product (Table 8). Although the capital cost/kg of prod-
uct/year is increased for both the retrofitted and optimal VRBD,
overall they secure 17% and 16.2% TAC savings, respectively. Al-
though the retrofitted VRBD scheme provides better TAC savings as
compared to optimal VRBD but the later provides 0.9% increment
in TAP and 1.2% reduction in capital cost/kg of product/year. From
the physical and process intensification point of view, the optimal
VRBD has reduced number of trays and column size as compared
to optimal CBD without compromising the TAP. But installation
space increased with the inclusion of installing compressor. As the
 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196 193

Fig. 5. Decision variable space showing the variation of number of trays (NT ) with total annual cost (TAC) (plot 5a), NT with total annual production (TAP) (plot 5b), reboiler
heat duty (QR ) with TAC (plot 5c), QR with TAP (plot 5d), reflux ratio (RR) with TAC (plot 5e), and RR with TAP (plot 5f) of the non-dominated solutions obtained from MOO
by NSGA-II.

Table 6
Optimal design and operating conditions.

Optimal CBD Retrofitted VRBD Optimal VRBD

No of trays 49 49 46
Reboiler heat duty, kJ/min 18,208 18,208 19,198
Reflux ratio (initial), mole basis 0.94 0.94 1.01
Steady state purity 0.9999 0.9999 0.9999
194 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196

Fig. 6. Dynamic profiles of optimal VRBD: distillate composition (plot 6a), reflux ratio (plot 6b) and compression ratio, CR (plot 6c), and of retrofitted VRBD: QR (plot 6d),
external heat supply, QE (plot 6e) and overhead vapor split (V49C ) (plot 6f).

Table 7
Comparative analysis of energy consumption.

Quantity Optimal CBD Retrofitted VRBD Optimal VRBD

External heat duty, kW 303.46 3.02 3.2

Internal heat duty, kW – 300.44 316.8
Compressor duty, kW 38.2 39.87
Total energy consumption, kW 303.46 117.5 122.8
Energy saving, % – 61.3∗ 59.5∗
∗
with reference to CBD.
 S.S. Parhi, G.P. Rangaiah and A.K. Jana / Computers and Chemical Engineering 124 (2019) 184–196 195

Table 8
Comparative cost analysis.

Cost component Optimal CBD Retrofitted VRBD Optimal VRBD

Capital cost ($)

Column shell 406,335 406,335 396,287
Trays 32,396 32,396 31,575
Reboiler 99,164 99,164 102,036
Condenser 108,831 27,186 27,360
Compressor – 296,504 307,433
Total 646,726 861,585 865,291
Operating cost ($/year)
Coolant 9599 1136 1147
Steam 66,237 659 701
Electricity – 25,639 26,796
Total 75,836 27,434 28,644
TAC $/year 240,755 199,751 201,703
TAC savings, % – 17.0∗ 16.2∗
Capital cost/kg of product/year 0.127 0.170 0.168
Operating cost/kg of product 0.014 0.0054 0.0055
∗
with reference to CBD.

column height decreases for optimal VRBD as compared to opti- References

mal CBD, the reboiler heat duty increased marginally. However, for
the optimal VRBD, the external energy requirements are reduced
significantly leading to reduction in TAC.
Finally, optimal design and operating conditions for the case
study investigated are as follows. For setting up the new plant,
process and operating conditions for optimal VRBD configuration
are: total 46 trays (excluding reboiler and total condenser), con-
stant reboiler heat duty of 19,198 kJ/min and a variable reflux ra-
tio having an initial value of 1.01. For the existing plant scenario,
process and operating conditions for optimal retrofitted CBD with
VRC configuration are slightly different and are as follows: total 49
trays (excluding reboiler and total condenser), reboiler heat duty of
18,208 kJ/min and a variable reflux ratio having an initial value of
0.95.
6. Conclusions
This work proposes an energy efficient cost effective vapor
recompression batch distillation with its optimal configuration
operated at variable reflux ratio mode. This optimal scheme is
presented for both existing and new plants. A multi-objective
optimization strategy having three steps is employed in this study.
The selection of dominating variables by full-factorial analysis and
using these variables for formulating the optimization problem
form the first step. The second step deals with the optimization
performed by NSGA-II. Finally, the ‘true’ Pareto-optimal front is
constructed by non-dominated sorting (NDS) followed by the
selection of one optimal point using TOPSIS method along with
weighting using entropy information. The proposed optimization
framework is implemented successfully on the separation of a
wide-boiling system with three decision variables for a variable
reflux mode of operation. A substantial energy savings is achieved
for both retrofitted VRBD (61.3%) and new optimal VRBD (59.5%)
with 61.4% and 60.7% savings in terms of operating cost/kg of
product, respectively. They also secure 17% and 16.2% savings in
TAC, respectively. Although the retrofitted VRBD scheme provides
better savings compared to optimal VRBD in terms of TAC savings
and operating cost/kg of product, the later provides 0.9% increment
in TAP and 1.2% reduction in capital cost/kg of product/year over
the former one.
Supplementary material
Supplementary material associated with this article can be
found, in the online version, at doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2019.
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