2015
FOODOPS 2015 Proceeding
Operating strategies to minimise the methanol content in distillates obtained in alembics
Authors: R. Luna, J.R. Pérez-Correa, F. López, M. Fernández-Fernández
Abstract
The aromatic composition of fruit distillates not only depends on the raw material, but also on the distillation system and its operating conditions. One of the several compounds recovered during distillation is methanol, which is toxic for human consumption. In this paper, a multi-objective optimal control problem is formulated to minimise methanol?s recovery and maximise ethanol?s recovery in a batch distillation system, by adapting the heating trajectory. The dynamic optimisation problem is solved using orthogonal collocation on finite elements. Compared with a standard operation policy, the optimal heating trajectory reduced the methanol concentration in the distillate by 50%, without significantly affecting the ethanol recovery.
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