Changes in feed composition during distillation operations
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How can the sensitive plate be maintained when the fine material composition changes? For example, if the feed components become lighter, should the sensitivity plate be increased or decreased? As the feed composition becomes heavier, should the sensitivity plate be increased or decreased?
As the name implies, a sensitivity plate is used to identify the point where the temperature change deltaT on the tray is greatest under certain feed disturbances. Regardless of whether the feed is light or how the heavy components change, the sensitivity plate generally remains unchanged; as long as the temperature of the sensitivity plate is brought back to its set value as quickly as possible through appropriate operations, the concentration at the corresponding position can be maintained. There may be fluctuations in the products at the top and bottom of the tower, but these fluctuations will still ensure that the purity requirements are met.
If the changes in the feed composition are not short-term fluctuations but rather long-term alterations in conditions, a more optimized approach would be to adjust the selection of sensitive plates in a timely manner based on these changes (if possible), or to adjust the temperature difference control values for those plates. It is necessary to carry out new simulations based on the altered feed conditions in order to make full use of the existing tray setup and reduce operating costs.