NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CONTINUOUS-CONTACT SEPARATION PROCESSES (PACKED COLUMNS, ABSORPTION, DISTILLATION, ALGORITHM)

An examination of the literature pertaining to the simulation of packed-column separation processes reveals that deficiencies remain in several key areas. Perhaps the most significant type of deficiency, prevalent in most currently-available algorithms, is the problem of poor convergence characteristics when dealing with anything but the simplest of physical systems. Some other areas of a problematical nature include: (1) the need for more built-in flexibility in the algorithms being developed so that a variety of separation processes may be simulated, (2) the unavailability of simulation procedures capable of addressing unsteady-state operating conditions, and (3) the complete lack of algorithms dealing with batch processes such as batch distillation.The objective of this research effort, then, is to develop a numerical approach that will address each of the problem areas mentioned above, paying particular attention to the need for an assured stability of convergence in the rigorous simulation of complex physical systems.