Abstract
A number of algorithms have been proposed to get component distribution profiles of steady state distillation columns. In general these algorithms are time-consuming because of their iterative features. The present method are used to obtain a family of temperature and component distribution profiles of distillation columns without trial and error, starting from a profile calculated by a previous step or by an other algorithm.
The algorithm is as follows; differential increments respect to an actual parameter are obtained by solving a simultaneous equation. To solve this equation a new modified Gaussian elimination method is presented. New variables are calculated by adding the increments to old variables. If a new variable, which should be positive from a physical sense, becomes negative due to the large negative increment, the new variable is converted to a positive one by a mapping technique.
In numerical examples from the stand point of practical applications, the reflux ratio and temperature on a given plate are selected as an actual parameter. The calculated results are compared with those obtained by tridiagonal method. Good agreements between them demonstrate the effectiveness of the present method.
