Distillation column¶
syn001.column is a countercurrent equilibrium-stage column with a total condenser and a partial
reboiler, solved by Newton's method on the stage equations (MESH) as one unit of the flowsheet. It
binds on the SYN-001 and Wilson bases. The
methanol–water example solves one.
Ports¶
| Port | Direction | Use |
|---|---|---|
feed |
inlet, one or more | side feeds, each on its own stage |
top, bottom |
inlet | optional end feeds (a stripping or absorption section) |
distillate, bottoms |
outlet | the products |
Parameters¶
| Parameter | Meaning |
|---|---|
stage_count |
number of equilibrium stages, counted from the top |
feed_stage.<connection id> |
the stage each side feed enters |
stage_pressure.<k> |
the pressure of stage k, for every stage |
one condenser_<kind> |
condenser_reflux_ratio, condenser_distillate_rate, condenser_duty, or (SYN-001 only) condenser_purity.<component>, condenser_recovery.<component>, condenser_temperature.<stage> |
one reboiler_<kind> |
reboiler_boilup_ratio, reboiler_bottoms_rate, reboiler_duty, or (SYN-001 only) the same three inverse kinds |
The end specifications are instance parameters, so a change set edits them like any other
parameter. Two specifications for one end are refused specification_conflict; an end
specification not offered (for example a mole fraction or a reflux rate) is refused by name.
What the column does not do¶
- No side draws, pump-arounds, stage efficiencies or hydraulics; no inside-out or rate-based method.
- A total condenser returns saturated liquid (no subcooling); there is no total reboiler.
- Side feeds are single-phase and declared, one per stage.
- On the Wilson basis, purity, recovery and temperature ends are refused at binding.
- No uniqueness or multiplicity claim: a certificate holds at the converged state.
- A column under the PTC policy (
T08-ptc-v1) is refused before any attempt.
SYN-001 columns are synthetic, so their results are verified, never validated. Columns were compared blind with IDAES, DWSIM and BioSTEAM on shared cases; those tools share the equations, so the agreement is verification too.