Table 1 Basis of economics and equipment sizing

Column Diameter (D): Aspen tray sizing

Height (H) of a distillation column,
H=1.2 0.61 (NS - 2) (D and H are in meters)
Column shell cost ($) = 17640 (D) 1.066 (H) 0.802
Condenser:
Qc
Area (m2), Ac = UcTlm

Heat transfer coefficient (Uc) = 0.852 kW/m2K

Capital cost ($) = 7296 (Ac) 0.65
Reboiler:
Qr
Area (m2), Ar = UrTlm

Heat transfer coefficient (Ur) = 0.568 kW/m2K

Capital cost ($) = 7296 (Ar) 0.65
Cooler:
Qcooler
Area (m2), Acooler = UcoolerTlm

Heat transfer coefficient (U cooler) = 0.852 kW/m2K

Capital cost ($) = 7296 (A cooler) 0.65
Energy costs:
LP steam (433 K) = $7.72 per GJ
MP steam (457 K) = $8.22per GJ
HP steam (537 K) = $9.88 per GJ
Capital cost
TAC = + Energy cost
Payback period
Payback period = 3 years