INTRODUCTION
Almost all chemical processes require the separation of
chemical species (components), to:
npurify a reactor feed
o
orecover un-reacted
t d species
i ffor recycle
l tto a reactor
t
pseparate and purify the products from a reactor
Frequently, the major investment and operating costs of
a process will be those costs associated with the
separation equipment
For a binary mixture
mixture, it may be possible to select a
separation method that can accomplish the separation
task in just one piece of equipment. However, more
commonly, the feed mixture involves more than two
components, involving more complex separation
systems.
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2 columns, C3
& 1-Butene in
distillate (Total
150 trays)
y )
Depropanizer
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SEPARATION FACTOR
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y /x K P s
SF = = = =
1 1 1
for ideal VLE
1
P
1, 2 s
y /x K
2 2 2 2
= Relative Volatility
1, 2
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EXAMPLE
A liquid mixture containing 50 mole % propane (C3-), 50 mole % propene (C3=) is
fed at a rate of 1000 mol/h to a distillation unit. Estimate the operating pressure for
a column separating C3- from C3=, assuming cooling water at 30C is available for
use.
What would be the top temperature of the column?
Column Temperature
Tdew,C Tcw
Tbub,C
T dew,R
TST
T bub,R
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T bp (K) Tc (K) A B C
n-butane 272.6 425 15.68 2154.9 -32.42
Benzene 353 562 15.9 2788.51 -52.34
Toulene 384 593 16.014 3096.52 -53.67
lnP*=A - B/(T+C)
(mmHg, K); 1 bar
bar=750
750 mmHg
Scenario 1 Scenario 2
(kmol/h) FEED D1 B1 D2 B2
n-butane 20 20 20
Benzene 30 30 30
Toulene 50 50 50
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0.99 0.99
Nm = ln . / ln lk / hk = 36.65
0.01 0.01
[2(P 1)]!
Ns =
P ! (P 1)!
P # of Separators Ns
2 1 1
3 2 2
4 3 5
5 4 14
6 5 42
7 6 132
8 7 429
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Indirect sequence
All final products but one are bottoms
products.
Least desirable in industry.
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You will likely end up with more than one sequences for further examination.
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Question:
Use heuristics to determine a
sequence of OD columns to
meet the given specifications.
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Possible Solution
Guided by Heuristic 4,
the first column in
position to separate the
key components with the
greatest SF.
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