Abstract
A World surplus of mixed butanes coupled with an increased need for gasoline extenders has raised the demand for isobutane. Isobutane is readily separated from an admixture with normal butane by conventional distillation techniques. However, application of the heat pump principle to this separation can reduce energy consumption by over 50%, though capital costs increase. The conventional fractionation scheme is compared to two different methods of applying the heat pump principle; overhead compression and bottoms flash compression. For both heat pump designs, payout time is less than one year for a Middle East location, based upon a detailed study of an actual case.
Barnwell, J.; Morris, C. P. (1982). Efficient Energy Usage in Butane Splitters. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /94257.