Dr.-Ing. Kai Kruber

Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 4 (C)

21073 Hamburg

Building: C - Room: 2.008

eMail: Kai Kruber

Phone:++49 (0)40 42878-3148

Short biography

Kai Kruber studied B.Sc. of Chemical Engineering from 2010 – 2015 and M.Sc. of Chemical Engineering from 2015 – 2016 at TU Dortmund University. From 2016 – 2020, he worked as a Ph.D. student at the Laboratory of Fluid Separations at TU Dortmund University. Since November 2020, he continues his Ph.D. studies at the Institute of Process Systems Engineering.

Field of research

In his research, Kai Kruber focusses on the development of efficient optimization-based methods supporting process synthesis and design. Especially, the optimization of solvent-based separation processes is part of his work.

Publications

[170327]
Title: Topology-Based Initialization for the Optimization-Based Design of Heteroazeotropic Distillation Processes.
Written by: Kruber, K. and Skiborowski, M.
in: <em>Processes</em>. (2022).
Volume: <strong>10</strong>. Number: (8),
on pages: 1482
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DOI: 10.3390/pr10081482
URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/10/8/1482
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Abstract: Distillation-based separation processes, such as extractive or heteroazeotropic distillation, present important processes for separating azeotropic mixtures in the chemical and biochemical industry. However, heteroazeotropic distillation has received much less attention than extractive distillation, which can be attributed to multiple reasons. The phase equilibrium calculations require a correct evaluation of phase stability, while the topology of the heterogeneous mixtures is generally more complex, comprising multiple azeotropes and distillation regions, resulting in an increased modeling complexity. Due to the integration of distillation columns and a decanter, even the simulation of these processes is considered more challenging, while an optimal process design should include the selection of a suitable solvent, considering the performance of the integrated hybrid process. Yet, the intricate mixture topologies largely impede the use of simplified criteria for solvent selection. To overcome these limitations and allow for a process-based screening of potential solvents, the current work presents a topology-based initialization and optimization approach for designing heteroazeotropic distillation processes. The systematic initialization enables an efficient evaluation of different solvents with different mixture topologies, which is further exploited for optimization-based sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization. Three case studies are analyzed with about 170 individually optimized process designs, including stage numbers, feed locations, phase ratios, and heat duties.