Research Projects

Distillation is a crucial separation technique in the petroleum, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Tray or packed bed columns are typically used, but their efficiency is only 24 to 40%. Distillation consumes about 95% of total energy in the chemical industry. Intensification of distillation can significantly reduce energy consumption. Microchannels, small capillary devices less than 1 mm in shape, can significantly reduce dimensions and increase mass and heat transfer efficiencies. Velocys Inc., USA, has successfully demonstrated microchannel distillation to separate methanol-water feed from a biodiesel plant, resulting in a 38% energy reduction. Scaleup in microchannels is done by numbering up individual channels. Recent studies have demonstrated the distillation of hexane-propionic acid mixture in a single microchannel, with solvents recovering with a high percentage separation of 98% and 73%, respectively. The experimental energy demand of an MDU was compared to that of a flash distillation unit (FDU), showing that MDU consumed half of the energy need. The capital cost of a stack-based MDU was estimated to be 20-25% of the total annual cost (TAC), significantly less than conventional distillation units. This work aims to develop a high throughput MDU employing several round capillaries. The percentage separation, efficiency, energy demand, and TAC will be evaluated by validating distillation experiments performed in a single microchannel. The project's expected outcome will be a highly energy-efficient, low-cost, miniaturized distillation unit.