Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of hydrodynamic performance of divided fixed-valve tray in distillation columns

Wang Peng; Yuan Xing; Wang Kehan; Xu Shiji; Xue Jiaxing; Wang Huan; Wu Xiuhua; Zhao Hongkang; Li Qunsheng

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Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of hydrodynamic performance of divided fixed-valve tray in distillation columns

Updated：2026-09-17

- Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of hydrodynamic performance of divided fixed-valve tray in distillation columns
- Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 95, Issue 7, Pages: 10-22(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
  Engineering Research Center of Preparation Technology of Ultra-Pure Chemicals for Integrated Circuits, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
  No.7 Research & Design Institute Co., Ltd., China National Nuclear Corporation, Taiyuan 030032, China
  Uranium Purification and Conversion Engineering and Technology Research Center, China National Nuclear Corporation, Taiyuan 030032, China
- Author bio：
  
  *Corresponding authors. State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.E-mail addresses:zhaohk@mail.buct.edu.cn(H. Zhao)
  *Corresponding authors. State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.E-mail addresses:liqs@mail.buct.edu.cn(Q. Li).
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Received：30 November 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-11，
  
  Accepted：16 January 2026，
  
  Online First：08 April 2026，
  
  Published：2026-07
- Accepted：
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Wang Peng, Yuan Xing, Wang Kehan, et al. Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of hydrodynamic performance of divided fixed-valve tray in distillation columns[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 95(7): 10-22.
DOI：

Wang Peng, Yuan Xing, Wang Kehan, et al. Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of hydrodynamic performance of divided fixed-valve tray in distillation columns[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2026, 95(7): 10-22. DOI：

摘要

Abstract

Accurate prediction of tray hydrodynamics is essential for the design and optimization of modern distillation equipment. Conventional empirical correlations often show limited generalizability across diverse operating conditions

restricting their practical applicability. In this study

a data-driven modeling (DDM) framework integrated with Interpretable machine learning (ML) was developed to predict the hydrodynamic characteristics of a divide

d fixed-valve tray

including wet pressure drop

clear liquid height

weeping rate

and entrainment rate. A total of 760 experimental data points were obtained from cold-model experiments. Four machine learning algorithms―Random Forest

Extreme Gradient Boosting

Support Vector Regression

and a shallow Multilayer Perceptron―were trained and compared. Model performance was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (

)

root mean square error (RMSE)

and a composite

-based index (

com

). Among these

the SVR model achieved the highest predictive accuracy

with

com

values of 0.9750 and 0.9834 for the test and extension sets

respectively. Building upon the best-performing SVR model

an expanded feature set was constructed using physically informed transformations of the orifice kinetic energy factor and overflow strength. Pearson correlation and SHAP analyses were applied to quantify each feature's contribution

revealing the dominant hydrodynamic drivers and clarifying their positive or negative influences on tray behavior. The integrated modeling and interpretability framework not only enhances predictive reliability but also provides actionable insight for guiding tray design and operational optimization.

关键词

Keywords

references

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