DISTILLATION: PRIME TARGET FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION.

There are many inefficiencies inherent in the petroleum refinery's distillation process. In effect, all but 5% of the process energy is wasted. In this brief article, potential areas for energy conservation in the distillation process are highlighted. For example, there is potential for energy conservation by means of tray retrofit in the distillation column. Savings of only 10% of the energy used in distillation in the United States would be equivalent to nearly 100,000 b/d of oil.