Steady-state and dynamic control of hydrocracking tail oil distillation process for high-valued products

Abstract

The maximum utilization of hydrocracking tail oil becomes increasingly important for petrochemical industry. The aim of this work is to develop optimized distillation processes to achieve various high-valued qualified oil products from hydrocracking tail oil. Six different oil products is produced and the steady-state distillation process, which aims to fractionate six qualified narrow distillates is established. The algorithm method incorporating divided-wall column (DWC) configuration was introduced into the steady-state design. Compared with traditional separation sequences, the DWC configuration leads to an energy-saving potential up to 11.17%. Furthermore, effective dynamic control strategies were proposed, demonstrating precise and efficient control performance. In the presence of a 15% feed disturbance, the dynamic control structure is capable of maintaining the product distillation range near the set value. This comprehensive study provides a thorough investigation into the efficient utilization of hydrocracking tail oil, establishing a robust theoretical foundation for its industrial application.