Dynamic Control of Liquid-Only Transfer Stream Agrawal Divided-Wall Column

The distillation columns with no vapor–liquid-coupled flow streams are easier to control and operate, especially for the few industrial implementations of the Agrawal divided-wall column (ADWC). This work focuses on the dynamic control of the liquid-only transfer stream Agrawal divided-wall column (LTS-ADWC) for separating the quaternary alcohol system. First, the composition control structure (CCS) is proposed, and the dynamic results show that CCS could handle ±15% feed disturbance, and the purity of most products can be returned to the specified value. Subsequently, the temperature control structure (TCS) is designed on account of the control logic of the CCS. When facing ±15% feed disturbances, good dynamic performance can be achieved through TCS. The product's purity stabilizes and returns to the near-nominal value in a shorter time. In brief, these works provide an attractive substitute for ADWC in academic research and industrial practice.