Technological development of internal heat-integrated distillation column (HIDiC)

— Substantive research of application to a bench plant of bioethanol distillation —

Abstract

To dramatically reduce energy consumption in chemical industry, we propose to construct a database on fundamental technologies for practical applications of HIDiC, as part of a project funded by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). An application of HIDiC to the distillation process for the enrichment of bioethanol fermented from biomass has been attempted, and a bench plant has been designed and constructed to ensure practical applicability. Testing has shown that the developed HIDiC system achieves the project targets of enrichment and energy savings. We also confirmed that a compressor-free HIDiC system can be scaled to commercial plants.