Dynamic simulation of a cryogenic batch distillation process for hydrogen isotopes separation

The operational flexibility of cryogenic batch distillation may propel its application in the Isotope Separation System of the fusion reactor. The batch distillation, unlike continuous distillation, is not a steady-state process. In order to obtain improved separation efficiency, a reasonable dynamic model of batch distillation should be developed. In this paper, dynamic simulations of the batch distillation separation process of a hydrogen-deuterium mixture were performed utilizing Aspen Plus and Aspen Dynamics. The validity of the established simulation model was firstly verified by our experimental results. Following that, two dynamic control structures, i.e., composition control and temperature control, were added to improve the recovery efficiency of batch distillation light component products. In comparison with the distillation without dynamic control structure, the distillation with composition control and temperature control can improve the H2 recovery ratio by 5.45% and 5.09%, respectively.