Abstract: To address the drawbacks of traditional liquid paraffin production—high energy consumption, low capacity, and complex operations, this study uses light liquid paraffin as feedstock to produce high-purity C₁₀–C₁₃ n-alkane monomers via distillation. The separation process was simulated, and process parameters were optimized to determine optimal operating conditions for large-scale production. The distillation separation process was preliminarily simulated using Aspen Plus software, and pilot-scale separation experiments were conducted to validate the simulation results. The effects of the theoretical number of trays,feed point,overhead flow rate,and reflux ratio on the distillation separation process were investigated to determine the optimal operating parameters and separation results.Experimental validation confirmed that the simulated values for product quality and yield were in close agreement with the experimental data. The distillation separation scheme is feasible, and the simulation results are relatively accurate. Through subsequent simulation optimization, optimal operating parameters and simulation results were obtained, providing a basis for subsequent industrial-scale production.

Key words: alkane, distillation, simulation, optimal design