An approximation formula for evaluating the number of possible schemes for 1FmP separation problems

Abstract Currently, the only formula available in the literature for calculating the number of possible separation schemes is limited to cases where products are pure components. For a general separation problem, however, products with multicomponents need be considered. This necessitates the development of a more general formula. In the current work, a definition for a separation scheme is proposed. This has led to the derivation of an approximation formula to calculate the number of possible alternative schemes for a one-feed, m-product (1FmP) separation problem involving simple sharp separators and multicomponent product streams. The resultant formula is useful for estimating the search space or effort in finding the optimal separation scheme for the problem.