Shortcut Column: Problem Statement

SHORTCUT COLUMN
Problem Statement:
A 100 kmol/hr stream of ethanol (50 mol%) and n-propanol (50 mol%) is fed to a
continuous distillation column at room temperature (298 K) and atmospheric pressure.
The pressure drop across the column is negligible and a reflux ratio of 1.5 is used. About
93 mol% of ethanol in feed and 5 mol% of n-propanol in feed is desired to be present in
the distillate stream.
Design a continuous distillation column to meet the desired specifications using Shortcut
column in CHEMCAD and report the total number of stages, minimum number of stages,
feed stage location, minimum and calculated reflux ratios, final distillate and bottom
stream concentrations and the reboiler and condenser heat duties.
Procedure:
Step 1: Creating the flow sheet

Step 2: Entering the components and engineering units
Step 3: Entering the composition of feed stream
Step 4: Entering the shortcut column specs
Step 5: Running the simulation and retrieving the results
Step 1: Creating the flow sheet
Go to new on the File menu and save the blank simulation. Click on Shortcut column on
the CHEMCAD palette and click once on simulation window to paste it. Click on the
feed icon on the palette and paste it on the workspace. Similarly, click on the product
icon and place it on the workspace (do the product twice as there are two product
streams). After making sure that all the necessary icons are placed on the workspace, they
can be connected by using stream. CHEMCAD automatically assigns numbers to streams
and unit operations the order in which they are placed on the workspace. After
completing the flow sheet, click once in the S/G icon found on the menu bar so that the
simulation is changed from edit mode to run mode. The same icon can be used to toggle
between these two simulation modes. Alternatively, one can toggle between Edit
Flowsheet and Run Simulation on the menu bar to achieve the same.
Step 2: Entering the components and engineering units
Go to the Thermophysical on the menu bar and click on Components List. Find ethanol
and n-propanol from the CHEMCAD components list and add them to the component
list. Go to the Format menu and click on Engineering Units and select the desired units
for such properties as temperature, pressure etc. Click OK to continue.
Step 3: Entering the composition of feed stream
Double click on the feed stream and enter the feed information (temperature, pressure,
total flow rate and component mole fractions) given in the problem statement. Click once
on Flash to get the feed stream enthalpy and vapor fraction in feed at the feed conditions.
Step 4: Entering the Shortcut column specs
Double click on the ShortCut Column.
1. Select mode:
The Shortcut column can be used for both design and rating of a distillation column. As
we need to design a column, option 2 or option 3 can be used for the design mode. Select
one of these two and continue.
2. Select condenser type:

As this is not explicitly stated in the problem statement, the condenser can be assumed to
be total and can be left to this default option.
3. Column pressure:
As there is negligible pressure drop across the column, one can enter the same pressure as
that of the feed stream in this field (1 atm). This can also be left blank and CHEMCAD
sets the pressure to default, which is the pressure of the feed stream.
4. Column pressure drop:

This can be left blank.
5. Number of stages:
CHEMCAD calculates the number of stages and stores the calculated number in this box.
The user needs to leave this box blank.
6. Reflux ratio:
Enter the value ‘1.5’ in this field.
7. R/Rmin:
One needs to enter only one of the two specs, reflux rato or R/Rmin. As the reflux ratio is
specified, this field needs to be left blank.
8. Case study:
This is optional and can be left blank for our purpose.
9. Key component specifications:

a. Light key component: Select ‘Ethanol’
b. Light key split: Enter ‘0.93’
c. Heavy key component: Select ‘n-propanol’
d. Heavy key split: Enter ‘0.05’
10. Calculated results:

These are the parameters that CHEMCAD calculates and stores the values of. All these
fields need to be left blank.
Click Ok when finished.

Step 5: Running the simulation and retrieving the results
After entering the available information on the workspace as described in the previous
steps, one can run the simulation by clicking on R on the menu bar. Alternatively, one
can run the simulation by clicking on Run on the menu bar and selecting Run all. The
simulator indicates the same warnings regarding the estimates as before and one can
ignore them again and continue with the simulation by clicking on Yes. The status of the
simulation can be found at the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The message, Run
Finished appears in this place if the run is successfully completed. To view the product
stream compositions, one can either double click on the individual product streams or by
clicking Results on the menu bar and selecting Stream Compositions and further selecting
All Streams. The results obtained from the latter method will be in a WordPad file.
All the results associated with the shortcut column can be found by clicking on Results
menu and selecting Unit Op’s and then the shortcut Column. The results will then be
available in a WordPad file.

Shortcut Column: Problem Statement

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Shortcut Column: Problem Statement

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SHORTCUT COLUMN

Step 1: Creating the flow sheet

Step 1: Creating the flow sheet

Double click on the ShortCut Column.

2. Select condenser type:

4. Column pressure drop:

9. Key component specifications:

10. Calculated results:

Click Ok when finished.

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