a5c-ai Distillation Designer Skill
Purpose
The Distillation Designer Skill performs distillation column design including tray and packing selection, hydraulic calculations, and column optimization for vapor-liquid separations.
Capabilities
- McCabe-Thiele and Ponchon-Savarit methods
- Shortcut design calculations (Fenske, Underwood, Gilliland)
- Tray hydraulics (flooding, weeping, entrainment)
- Packing selection and sizing (HETP, pressure drop)
- Feed location optimization
- Reflux ratio optimization
- Side draw design
- Azeotropic and extractive distillation
Usage Guidelines
When to Use
- Designing new distillation columns
- Rating existing columns
- Optimizing column performance
- Evaluating tray vs. packing
Prerequisites
- VLE data available
- Feed composition defined
- Product specifications set
- Thermodynamic model validated
Best Practices
- Validate VLE predictions
- Consider turndown requirements
- Allow for design margins
- Evaluate energy integration
Process Integration
This skill integrates with:
- Distillation Column Design and Optimization
- Separation Sequence Synthesis
- Heat Integration Analysis
Configuration
distillation-designer:
internals:
- sieve-trays
- valve-trays
- structured-packing
- random-packing
design-methods:
- rigorous
- shortcut
Output Artifacts
- Column specifications
- Tray/packing datasheets
- Hydraulic analysis
- Operating envelopes
- Optimization recommendations