CFD-based Shape Optimization of Structured Packings for Enhancing Separation Efficiency in Distillation

TL;DR

This paper explores CFD-based shape optimization of structured packings to improve separation efficiency in distillation columns, demonstrating a nearly 20% increase in mass transfer and efficiency validated through 3D-printed prototypes.

Contribution

It introduces a CFD-driven shape optimization approach for structured packings, validated by experimental testing, to enhance distillation separation efficiency.

Findings

Mass transfer increased by nearly 20%

Optimized shape validated experimentally

Good agreement between simulation and experiment

Abstract

Free-form shape optimization techniques are investigated to improve the separation efficiency of structured packings in laboratory-scale distillation columns. A simplified simulation model based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for the mass transfer in the distillation column is used and a corresponding shape optimization problem is formulated. The goal of the optimization is to increase the mass transfer in the column by changing the packing's shape, which has been previously used as criterion for increasing the separation efficiency of the column. The computational shape optimization yields promising results, with an increased mass transfer of nearly 20 %. For validation, the resulting optimized shape is additively manufactured using 3D-printing and investigated experimentally. The experimental results are in good agreement with the performance improvement predicted by the computational model, yielding an increase in separation efficiency of around 20 %.