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Distillation Column Design Principles

Distillation is a process used to separate mixtures into purified components or fractions through differences in their volatilities. Distillation columns are cylindrical pressure vessels containing internals to enable the cost-effective separation of liquid mixtures into pure products or specified fractions. The design of a new distillation column begins with specifying the required purity and recovery of top and bottom products for a given feed mixture. Column performance calculations then determine the optimal stage and reflux requirements based on vapor-liquid equilibrium data to achieve the product specifications.

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Raviyank Patel
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88 views2 pages

Distillation Column Design Principles

Distillation is a process used to separate mixtures into purified components or fractions through differences in their volatilities. Distillation columns are cylindrical pressure vessels containing internals to enable the cost-effective separation of liquid mixtures into pure products or specified fractions. The design of a new distillation column begins with specifying the required purity and recovery of top and bottom products for a given feed mixture. Column performance calculations then determine the optimal stage and reflux requirements based on vapor-liquid equilibrium data to achieve the product specifications.

Uploaded by

Raviyank Patel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

What is distillation?

Distillation operations are carried out in columns, that is, cylindrical pressur
e vessels
with large height to diameter ratios, containing various kinds of internals chos
en and
arranged appropriately to enable cost-effective separation of binary or multicom
ponent,
mainly liquid, feed mixtures into desired pure products or specified fractions.
As mentioned by Stichlmair and Fair in the preface of DistillationdPrinciples
and Practice, which focuses on understanding of the principles and their transla
tion
into basic design practices, distillation columns are the workhorses of the petr
oleum,
petrochemical, chemical, and related process industries [1]. A complementary, mo
re
pragmatic view is given by Kister in Distillation Design, with emphasis on the p
ractical
aspects and reliability as encountered and required during the design of distill
ation
columns [2].
The outgoing point for design of a new distillation column is the top and/or bot
tom
product specification (required purity and/or recovery) for a given feed mixture
, with
known composition, flow rate, and thermal state at a given pressure and temperat
ure.
Upon choosing the operating pressure and assuming column pressure drop, detailed
column performance calculations deliver optimum stage and reflux requirements,
all based on appropriate vaporeliquid equilibrium data. The next, column dimensi
oning
step is concerned with determining column diameter(s) and height for the chosen
type of vaporeliquid contacting device. Critical positions are the top and botto
m
stage of rectification and stripping sections, and the column shell diameter is
usually
based on the stage with the maximum vapor load; and to complete the design calcu
lations
properly, one or more iterations on pressure drop are required.
Upon completing stage and reflux requirement calculations, the internal flow
rates of vapor and liquid as well as corresponding values of relevant physical p
roperties
(densities and viscosities of two phases and surface tension) are known per
stage and serve as the basis for the determination of column diameter(s). Howeve
r,
the number of theoretical plates or equilibrium stages, which is by definition t
he
number of times the mass transfer equilibrium has to be established between
ascending vapor and descending liquid streams above and below the feed to achiev
e
desired separation, cannot be directly translated into column height. Namely, al
ong
an operating distillation column the equilibrium between vapor and liquid is nev
er
fully established. The column height required to produce the degree of mass tran
sfer
equivalent to the given number of equilibrium stages will depend on the type and
performance characteristics of equipment (internals) chosen to generate interfac
ial

area, that is, to enable mass transfer to occur so that for each component the r
equired
number of moles is transported accordingly, from vapor to liquid and reverse wit
hin
the contact time available.

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