Distillation is the most important thermal separation process in the chemical industry. Its energy consumption therefore also contributes significantly to overall energy consumption - estimates are around 3 %. The motivation to use this major lever as a contribution to climate protection is correspondingly high. For this reason, research on dividing wall columns has been carried out worldwide for several years, including at the Institute of Chemical Engineering at the University of Ulm.
Dividing wall columns are special intensified distillation columns. They can separate multi-component mixtures, which are normally separated in several successive columns, within just one column shell with an evaporator and a condenser. For this purpose, a partition wall is installed inside the column, which reduces back-mixing effects. This reduces the energy requirement compared to conventional distillation variants consisting of several interconnected columns.
