Understanding Temperature Profiles of Distillation Columns

Temperature profiles of distillation columns can be measured comparatively easily and can, at the same time, provide detailed information about their operating point. Thus, it is often stated that these profiles are suitable tools to troubleshoot distillation columns. However, the literature also lacks a comprehensive explanation of how temperature profiles should look and what can be read from them. This article systematically investigates temperature profiles of distillation columns with one feed containing two or more components and two product streams. Based on the results, seven simple rules are derived that in the end are used to interpret example profiles in a column with a four-component feed. The rules are found to be suitable tools to understand and interpret temperature profiles properly.