Distillation column reboiler control system

Claim 1

A control system for regulating the heat input to the reboiler section of a distillation column which comprises, in cooperative combination: a. a chamber in said reboiler section for receiving liquid bottoms material from the fractionation section of said column; b. a reboiler heater having feed input means thereto connected to said chamber, flow regulating means for controlling the flow of said liquid bottoms from said chamber to said reboiler heater in accordance with the liquid level in said chamber; c. conduit means in interconnection with said reboiler heater for passing heated, mixed-phase bottoms material from said heater into a paRtitioned and segregated portion of said chamber in said reboiler section; d. fuel-varying means in a fuel input means in interconnection with said heater for adjusting the fuel input to said heater; e. vapor flow-measuring means in said reboiler section responsive to the total quantity of upward flowing vapor from said mixed-phase bottoms material passing from said segregated portion of said reboiler section upwardly into the fractionation section of said distillation column, said flow measuring means being internally disposed within said segregated portion of said reboiler section; and f. signal-generating means in said segregated portion of said reboiler section for establishing a signal representative of the volumetric flow rate of vapor from said segregated portion passing into said fractionation section, and signal transmitting means for modifying and transmitting the resulting signal to said fuel varying means, whereby fuel input through said fuel input means to said heater is decreased in response to increasing flow rates of said vapor and increased in response to decreasing flow rates of said vapor; said control system being further characterized in that said reboiler section is partitioned to provide two inventory chambers of said liquid bottoms material, the first of which is said segregated portion which has said vapor flow measuring means disposed therein and the second of which is connected to said freed input means.

Claim 5

A method for controlling the heat input to the reboiler section of a distillation column, in response to variations in the steady-state operation of said column, which method comprises the steps of: a. regulating the quantity of liquid bottoms material withdrawn from one side of a partitioned reboiler section in response to the liquid level in said one side and introducing same into a reboiler heater; b. passing heated, mixed-phase bottoms material from said heater into the second side of said partitioned reboiler section; c. measuring within said second side of said reboiler section the quantity of vapor in said heated, mixed-phase bottoms, which passes from said second side of said reboiler section into the fractionation section of said distillation column; d. regulating the fuel input to said reboiler heater in response to a signal representative of the said measured quantity of vapor flowing into said fractionation section, said regulation comprising reducing the fuel input with reduced vapor flow and vice versa; and, e. withdrawing excess liquid bottoms material out of said distillation column from the second side of said partitioned reboiler section in response to the liquid level in said second side maintained below the point of measuring vapor flow.

Claim 6

A method for controlling the heat input to the reboiler section of a distillation column, in response to variations in the steady-state operation of said column, which method comprises the steps of: a. regulating the quantity of liquid bottoms material withdrawn from one side of a partitioned reboiler section in response to the liquid level in said one side and introducing same into a reboiler heater; b. passing heated, mixed-phase bottoms material from said heater into the second side of said partitioned reboiler section; c. measuring within said second side of said reboiler section the quantity of vapor in said heated, mixed-phase bottoms, which passes from said second side of said reboiler section into the fractionation section of said distillation column; d. regulating the fuel input to said reboiler heater in response to a signal representative of the said measured quantity of vapor flowing into said fractionation section, said regulation comprising reducing the fuel input with reduced vapor flow and vice versa; and, e. withdrawing excess liquid bottoms material out of said distillation column from the second side of said partitioned reboiler section in response to the liquid level in said second side maintained below the point of measuring vapor flow.