Separation of Homogeneous Azeotropic Mixtures by Pressure Swing Distillation – Analysis of the Operation Performance

The complex separation of a homogenous azeotropic mixture by pressure swing distillation is analyzed based on a rigorous dynamic model considering the system acetonitrile/water. The model is validated with our own experimental data. Investigations showed that the process can be operated in a very stable and robust manner even when large disturbances set the feed concentration to the other distillation region.