The study is to improve control configurations of hexane recovery distillation for high density polyethylene (HDPE) production using a commercial simulator, Aspen Engineering Suite. The Aspen Dynamics was also employed for capturing process behaviors by using step test method. The improved control configurations were tested by process simulation. The values of Integral of Absolute error (IAE) were employed for indicating the best control performance. There are three proposed control configurations. Regarding stripper column control, one is the hexane feed ratio configuration and the other is the low polymer concentration configuration. On the other hand, the reflux ratio configuration was modified for the dehydrator column. Considering the IAE approach, the low polymer concentration configuration in accompanies with the reflux ratio configuration can enhance the control performances by reducing the IAE values. In addition, the reboiler duty of the dehydrator column, being controlled by the reflux ratio configuration, can be reduced more than 11.33% while maintaining the water impurity in hexane product lower than 10 ppm.
