2015

Bernay Cifuentes Vanegas

201415600

Gas plant simulation

Acetone is a common solvent in the industry and is easily accumulate in the environment
[1]. In this study, a plant to remove acetone of an air stream was designed in Aspen Plus
7.3. In Figure 1 the process diagram is shown. Process specifications were obtained from
appendix 12 of the book Separation process engineering [2]. According to that reported
in the literature [3], NRTL thermodynamic package was used. Wilson package is also
recommended. Desired specification was 0.003 or less mole fraction of acetone in the
exiting air.

Figure 1: Diagram of a plant to remove acetone of an air stream

First, air containing acetone is treated in an absorber with a stream of water. The
temperature profile in absorber is showed in Figure 2. The temperature change is due to
the absorption is an exothermic process.

27

26

25

24
T (C)

23

22

21
1 2 3 4 5 6
Stage
Figure 2: Temperature profile in each stage of absorber
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The profile of the liquid and gas phases compositions are shown in Figure 3. In the first stage
(<4) more acetone is removed, which explains the increase in temperature (Figure 2).
Acetone composition in air is 0.008 mole fraction, then the desired specification is not
satisfied under these conditions. Note that in the first stage a portion of the water is also
carried by the air stream. An increase in the number of stages and reduction of temperature
not significantly change acetone removal. In contrast, an increase in pressure reduces the
concentration of acetone in the air output. With 2 atm. specification is achieved (< 0.001
mole fraction). So, the acetone concentration in the liquid stream depends on the amount
of water fed, operational conditions and the thermodynamic equilibrium.

0,03 0,98 0,02 1,00

Acetone (mol fraction)

Water (mol fraction)

Acetone (mol fraction)

Air (mol fraction)

0,02 Air 0,97 0,99

H2O
0,01
Acetone

0,98
0,01 0,96
Acetone

0 0,98
0 0,95 1 3 5
1 3 5
Stage
Stage

Figure 3: Composition profile of gas (left) and liquid (right) phases in each stage of absorber

Second, the water-acetone stream is heated and brought to a stripper in order to remove
acetone. In this case, desired specification was 1*10-4 mole fraction of acetone in the exiting
water. An increase in inlet steam improves removal of acetone. A sensitivity analysis
showed that 8*10-5 mole fraction of acetone is obtained with 1.85 kmol-steam per kmol-
feed, which comply with the specification. The effect of pressure on the process was also
studied (Figure 3). In general, a decrease in pressure favors the removal of acetone.
However, a low operating pressure (< 0.5 atm.) could generate problems like drying column.
Therefore, an increase in the flow of stream drag and decrease on the operating pressure
improves the desorption process.

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0,020

Acetone in water (mole fraction)

0,016

0,012

0,008

0,004

0,000
0,5 2,5 4,5
Column pressure (atm)

Figure 2: effect of pressure in the stripper on the acetone concentration in the water stream

Finally, water with traces of acetone is recirculated to the absorption tower. A purge and a
pump are required to ensure the mass balance and operating conditions in the food,
respectively. In the splitter, a separating fraction of 0.5 was set in order to of avoiding
accumulation of mass. Flow of water fed to the absorption tower can be decreased up to
1.46 kmol/h. below this value, drying of columns may occur because some of the water is
entrained with the air in the absorber or evaporate in the stripper. 10% of feed water can
be recovered without occur mass accumulations in the system. Under these conditions, the
concentration of acetone in the air leaving the absorber and the vapor leaving the stripper
are 0.026 and 0.006 mole fraction, respectively.

Conclusion

A plant to treat 100 kmol/h of air containing acetone (0.03 mole fraction) was designed in
Aspen Plus. 100 kmol/h of water are required to remove acetone (<0.001 mole fraction) of
air in an absorption tower that operates at 2 atm. Also, the water stream can be cleaned
with 185 kmol/h of steam in a stripper operating at 0.5 atmospheres. Up to 10% of water
can be recirculated. The pressure is a variable that has a strong influence on the absorber
and stripper. The mass balance and drying of the columns are aspects to be taken into
account in the design process.

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References

[1] Lindinger, W., Hansel, A., & Jordan, A. (1998). On-line monitoring of volatile organic
compounds at pptv levels by means of proton-transfer-reaction... International Journal of
Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes, 173(3), 191-241.

[2] Wankat, P. C. (2006). Separation process engineering. Pearson Education.

[3] Michelsen, M. L. (1990). A modified Huron-Vidal mixing rule for cubic equations of state.
Fluid Phase Equilibria, 60(1), 213-219.

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