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First-Pass Distillation Estimates with Aspen HYSYS V8.0
1. Lesson Objectives
Short cut distillation modeling
Initial column sizing
2. Prerequisites
Aspen HYSYS V8.0
Introduction to vapor liquid equilibrium
3. Background
Short Cut Distillation Block
The Short Cut Column performs Fenske-Underwood short cut calculations for simple refluxed towers. The
Fenske minimum number of trays and the Underwood minimum reflux are calculated. A specified ref lux ratio
can then be used to calculate the vapor and liquid traffic rates in the enriching and stripping sections, the
condenser duty and reboiler duty, the number of ideal trays, and the optimal feed location. The Short Cut
Column is only an estimate of the Column performance and is restricted to simple refluxed Columns. For more
realistic results the rigorous Column operation should be used. This operation can provide initial estimates for
most simple Columns
Heavy and Light Keys
In two-component distillation, the column splits the feed so a single component is enriched in each exit stream.
In multi-component distillation, there are more components than effluent streams, so there are multiple
components enriched in at least one of the exit streams. The key components are the components that are split
by the column. The light key is the least volatile component enriched in the distillate stream; the heavy key is
the most volatile component enriched in the bottoms stream. If there are components A, B, C, and D with
decreasing volatility, a column can create the following separations:

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The examples presented are solely intended to illustrate specific concepts and principles. They may not
reflect an industrial application or real situation.
4. Problem Statement and Aspen HYSYS Solution
Problem
A stream containing 68.5 wt% ethylene and 31.5 wt% ethane with a total flowrate of 7.3 million lb/day must be
separated. Report a reasonable starting point for a more detailed design including an estimate of the number of
theoretical stages and reflux ratio required to achieve a separation of 99.9% recovery of ethylene and 99.0%
recovery of ethane.
Aspen HYSYS Solution
Initial estimation for distillation of relatively ideal components like ethane and ethylene can be done using
graphical methods and semi-empirical equations like the equations described in the background section. In
Aspen HYSYS, the Short Cut Column uses these equations. The user must input which components are the light
and heavy keys and the recovery of each of these components, the pressure in the condenser and reboiler, and
the reflux ratio. These equations are good starting points, but the Shortcut Column is not a rigorous calculation
block; it does not directly use thermodynamics to solve for the reflux ratio or required number of stages. A
more rigorous look at this separation problem is available in Dist-001_C2Splitter.

4.01. Create a new case in Aspen HYSYS V8.0.

4.02. Create a component list. In the Component Lists folder select Add. Add Ethane and Ethylene to the
component list. You may need to type ethene in the Search for field to find ethylene.


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4.03. Define property package. In the Fluid Packages folder select Add. Select Peng-Robinson as the
property package.

4.04. Go to the simulation environment by clicking on the Simulation button below the navigation pane.



4.05. Add a Short Cut Distillation model to the flowsheet from the Model Palette.



4.06. Double click on the column (T-100). Create an Inlet called Feed, a Condenser Duty called Q-Cond, a
Distillate called Dist, a Reboiler Duty called Q-Reb, and a Bottoms called Bot. Check the Liquid radio
button under Top Product Phase, which specifies a total condenser.

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4.07. Define feed stream. Go to the Worksheet tab. Enter a Vapour Fraction of 1, a Pressure of 350 psig
(25.14 bar), and a Mass Flow of 7,300,000 lb/day (1.38e+005 kg/h).



4.08. In the Composition form enter Mass Fractions of 0.315 for Ethane and 0.685 for Ethylene. The feed
stream should solve.

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4.09. Go to the Parameters form under the Design tab in the Shortcut Column window. Using the recovery
percentages specified in the problem statement along with a simple mass balance, it can be determined
that the mole fraction of ethane in the distillate stream will be approximately 0.004, and the mole
fraction of ethylene in the bottoms will be approximately 0.002. Enter these values into the
Components grid in the Parameters form.

4.10. Specify the Condenser and Reboiler Pressures to both be 300 psig (21.698 bar). You can see that HYSYS
has now calculated the Minimum Reflux Ratio required to complete the specified separation with an
infinite number of stages.



4.11. You may now enter a Reflux Ratio and the Shortcut Column will calculate the number of stages, feed
stage location, condenser and reboiler temperatures, and material and energy flows. For example,
enter 4.5 as the External Reflux Ratio.
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4.12. In the Performance tab you will see the following results.

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5. Conclusions
Estimation using the Short Cut Column can be done very quickly, even for complex distillation systems. The
results can then be used as a starting point for more complex analysis, such as a with a rigorous distillation
model.
6. Copyright

Copyright 2012 by Aspen Technology, Inc. (AspenTech). All rights reserved. This work may not be
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