Choosing More Controllable Configuration for an Internally Heat-Integrated Distillation Column

Seeking internal heat integration between the whole rectifying section and the whole stripping section gives rise to two alternatives for the arrangement of a reboiler in an internally heat-integrated distillation column. One is to locate it at the bottom of the process (scheme A) and the other on the pipeline of the feed flow (scheme B). Although the former appears to be less thermodynamically efficient than the latter, it is generally preferable to scheme B from the viewpoint of process dynamics and operation. A detailed simulation study justifies the conclusion.