Published studies have been focused mainly on the energy integration of continuous distillation columns. In this contribution, a novel heat integrated batch distillation column (HIBDC) is proposed. Aiming to improve the thermodynamic efficiency and reduce the total annual cost (TAC), a thermally coupled column configuration is explored with introducing heat integration between the rectifying tower and concentric reboiler. A compressor is employed to provide the necessary temperature driving force for the heat transferred from the rectifier to the reboiler. Investigating the feasibility of energy integration in the simulated batch process, a number of sensitivity tests have been conducted to select the value of operating compression ratio. An economic comparison between the proposed HIBDC and the conventional stand alone column is also performed. It is observed that the HIBDC system appears overwhelmingly superior to its conventional counterpart providing about an energy savings of 56.1% and cost (TAC) savings of 40.53%.
