Caballero, José A., Labarta, Juan A., Grossmann, Ignacio E. A Sequential Algorithm for the Rigorous Design of Thermally Coupled Distillation Sequences Computer Aided Chemical Engineering. 2015, 37: 1019-1024. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-63577-8.50015-2 URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/52997 DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63577-8.50015-2 ISSN: 1570-7946 Abstract: A sequential design method is presented for the design of thermally coupled distillation sequences. The algorithm starts by selecting a set of sequences in the space of basic configurations in which the internal structure of condensers and reboilers is explicitly taken into account and extended with the possibility of including divided wall columns (DWC). This first stage is based on separation tasks (except by the DWCs) and therefore it does not provide an actual sequence of columns. In the second stage the best arrangement in N-1 actual columns is performed taking into account operability and mechanical constraints. Finally, for a set of candidate sequences the algorithm try to reduce the number of total columns by considering Kaibel columns, elimination of transfer blocks or columns with vertical partitions. An example illustrate the different steps of the sequential algorithm. Keywords:Distillation, Thermally Coupled Distillation, MINLP, Process Integration, Process intensification Elsevier info:eu-repo/semantics/article