Simulated-Experimental Cross Validation of Multistage Batch Distillation for Water/Propylene Glycol Separation as Educational Exercise

This study describes an educational exercise concerning the multistage batch distillation of the mixture water-propylen glycol (PG). The research study consisted of three primary components: practical experimentation using a batch distillation setup, computer simulations, utilizing the AVEVA PRO/II™ software, and the development and operation of a multistage system. The initial experiment was centred around the process of distillation involving mixtures of n-heptane/toluene and water/PG. This phase aimed to establish a fundamental understanding that would be crucial for conducting further simulations using the AVEVA PRO/II™ platform. The utilisation of these simulations is the basic background in customizing the design and optimizing the performance parameters of the multistage distillation plant, hence guaranteeing the highest possible level of separation efficiency.