Modified Bounded Newton Homotopy Method in Solving Sidestream Column Configurations

This paper illustrates through distillation examples how the bounded Newton homotopy method considerably extends the area of convergence compared with the unbounded one. Sidestream column configurations with exact mole fraction specifications are used as demonstrative test cases. Starting point multiplicity is found to be a real challenge when solving distillation problems with Newton homotopy-based solving methods. When these methods cannot approach the solution from the trivial starting point, flow ratios are used to generate a more favourable initialization.