III Year B. Tech. Petrochemical Engineering I Sem.

Mass Transfer Operation I

Ponchon Savarit Method
Presentation by

Prof. K. V. Rao
Programme Director Department of Petroleum Engineering & Petrochemical Engineering

Lever Arm Rule L F V

0.0

z Concentration (a)

1.0

Enthaply,Btu /unit mass

HV F hL L hF

y Concentration (b)

Vyi + Lxi =Fzi

It can be seen that the relative amount of stream V is represented by the line segment xz while the relative amount of stream L is represented by the segment zy. The addition point F is represented by the entire line segment between L and V.

Slope of Slope of

z=

Slope of

PONCHON-SAVARIT METHOD The over-all balances for a distillation column with one feed (see Fig. 1) are

Fig. 1: Distillation column with one feed, total condenser, and partial reboiler.

Where qr is the total energy input (Btu per hour or KJ per hour) to the reboiler and qc is the total energy removed (Btu per hour / KJ per hour) by the condenser. The enthalpy balance assumes adiabatic operation except in the condenser and reboiler. Representation of the energy streams qr on the enthalpy-concentration diagram requires that they be expressed as Btu per unit mass. (The tern unit mass as used here can be a unit weight, a mole, or a unit volume.) The change from Btu per hour to Btu per unit mass is accomplished most conveniently as follows:

The condenser and reboiler loads can, of course, be related to any stream in the column if desired.
The over-all enthalpy balance can now be written as

or

or

Fig. 2: Over-all sectional balances represented on an enthalpy-concentration diagram.

All pairs of passing stream below the lowest side stream or feed are related in similar manner to the point B. The enthalpy balance for envelope 2 in Fig. 3 is

or

The difference point now obtained when Ln-1 is subtracted from Vn is the addition point obtained when S, D, and qc are added. Equation (4) illustrates the fact that whenever energy is added to or withdrawn from the column, pairs of passing streams on opposite sides of the addition or withdrawal points are not related to the same difference point. The straight line drawn through pairs of passing streams to the respective difference point are called operating lines.

Enough information must be included in the specification of the distillation problem to permit the location of the various difference points.
The operating lines can then be used along with the equilibrium tie lines to step off the equilibrium stages as shown in the next section.

EQUILIBRIUM STAGES

Fig. 3 illustrates the equilibrium and balance relationship involved in an equilibrium stage. Assume that by same means the composition of the liquid overflow Ln+1 to the equilibrium stage n is known. As shown in the previous section, Ln+1 is related by an enthalpy balance to its passing stream Vn and a difference point . The location of is fixed by certain specifications in the distillation problem (condenser load, overhead product rate, etc.). A straight operating line from the known Ln+1 to the fixed locates Vn on the saturated-vapor curve. By definition, Vn is in equilibrium with Ln and Ln can be located by means of the equilibrium tie line (dotted) which passes through Vn.

If stage n is assumed to be adiabatic, and since no material is added or withdrawn through the column wall, no changes in the difference point will occur across stage n therefore, Vn-1 can be located by means of a straight operating line from Ln to . The over-all balance around stage n is

The sum of Ln and Vn must lie on the tie line which connects them, and the addition point is found at the intersection of the tie line with the straight line between Vn+1 and Ln-1

Fig. 3: Representation of a single equilibrium stage.

TOP SECTION IN COLUMN It has been shown that the difference point for that section of the column above the uppermost feed or side stream is given by

The D in this expression refers to the total overhead product withdrawn from the column. Depending upon the type of condenser employed, the overhead product may be withdrawn as (a) liquid, (b) a vapor, or (c) a combination of liquid and vapor. The construction for each of these cases will be discussed separately.

Total Condenser: A total condenser condenses all the overhead vapor Vn to liquid. The condensate will be a saturated liquid if the condenser load qc is exactly equal to the latent heat of Vn, and in this case hD will fall on the saturated-liquid curve at xD. If the condenser load is somewhat higher than the latent heat of Vn, the condensate will be sub-cooled and hD will fall below the saturated-liquid curve. Or A balance around the condenser gives

Since yN = xD = x0 for a total condenser, the operating line which represents this balance on the enthalpy-concentration diagram is a vertical line at xD as shown in Fig. 4a. The various segments of this vertical balance line can be used to represent the reflux ratios. The VN can be eliminated from eq. 5, and the equation rearranged to give the external reflux ratio.

If D is eliminated,

Equation (7) can be written for any stage in the top section as

Equation (8) describes the internal reflux in terms of the various segments of the operating lines.

Fig. 4 Construction on enthalpyconcentration diagram for a) Total condenser with sub-cooled reflux, b) Partial condenser with vapor product only c) Partial condenser with both vapor and liquid products withdrawn.

Partial Condenser: A partial condenser condenses only part of the overhead vapor V1. The vapor and liquid from the condenser can be considered to be at equilibrium.

Normally the vapor is withdrawn as the overhead product D while the equilibrium liquid is returned to the column as the reflux L0.
The enthalpy balance around the condenser is again given by Eq. (5), but now yN yD x0 and the three steams do not all fall on the same straight line. Figure 4b shows the construction for a partial condenser with only a vapor product withdrawn. The stream D and L0 are connected by the equilibrium tie line which passes through the saturated-vapor curve at yD. The streams L0 and Vn are related by the operation line which corresponds to Eq. 5.

If both a vapor product DV and a liquid product DL are withdrawn, the total overhead product D is given by D = DV + DL. In this case D is the addition point obtained by adding DV and DL and must fall on the equilibrium tie line which connects DV and DL. The difference point D lies on a vertical line through D, since D = D(hD + QD) Where QD = qc/D and D refers to the total overhead product whether it is liquid, vapor, or a combination of both. The construction for a partial condenser with both a vapor and liquid product is shown in Fig. 4c.

The reflux ratios for a partial condenser are given by Eqs. 6 and 7, but now the operating line on which the segments are measured is not a vertical line as it was for a total condenser.

Bottom Section in Column A partial reboiler vaporizes only part of the liquid fed to it. The remained of the liquid is withdrawn as the bottoms product B. Such a reboiler is shown in fig. 5a. The vapor VN+1 is usually considered to be in equilibrium with the product B. An enthalpy balance around the reboiler relates the two equilibrium streams to LN and qr as follows:

LNHN VN+1HN+1 = B(hB QB) = B

(9)

Equation 9 represents the operating line which connects VN+1 and LN to B. The difference point B has the coordinates (xB, hB QB) and therefore lies on a vertical line through xB. Also, B and VN+1 are connected by an equilibrium tie line. These various relationship are shown graphically in Fig. 5a. Note the similarity between a partial reboiler as represented by Fig. 5a and the partial condenser represented in Fig. 4b.

Figure 5: Construction on an enthalpy-concentration diagram for

(a) a partial reboiler and (b) a column with open steam where the steam V0 is slightly superheated.

Open Steam: When the less volatile component in a binary mixture is water, it may be advantageous to eliminate the reboiler and add heat to the column by injecting open steam beneath the bottom stage. The construction when open steam is used is shown in Fig. 5b. The enthalpy of the entering steam (denoted as VN+1) is located on the ordinate at x = 0, where x refers to the more volatile component.

From an over-all enthalpy balance around the column,

FhF = D(hD + QD) + BhB VN+1H N+1 Defining B = BhB VN+1H N+1 for this case, the balance can be rewritten as F = D + B

It can be seen that B lies at the intersection of a line through D and F with another line through VN+1 and B.
The replacement of a partial reboiler with open steam reduces the separation obtained with a given column. Elimination of the reboiler reduces the number of equilibrium stages by one. Also, the steam acts as a diluent and a fraction of a stage is required to overcome this effect. The net effect is that one and a fraction stages must be added to the column when the switch to open steam is made if the same separation as that obtained with the partial reboiler is desired.

Feed Stages The construction on the enthalpy-concentration diagram for a feed stage is much simpler than on an x-y diagram. The enthalpy of thermal condition of the feed stream is taken into account in the location of F on the diagram. The point F will always be located on a vertical line through xF. If the feed is a sub-cooled feed, it will fall below the saturated-liquid curve as shown in Fig. 5b. If the feed is partially flashed, F will fall between the two saturation curves (see Fig. 2) on a tie line whose ends represent the equilibrium vapor and liquid portions of the feed stream. A saturated-vapor feed will fall above the curve.

It has been shown that for a single feed column, all pairs of passing stream above the feed stage are related by an enthalpy balance around the top end of the column as follows: VnHn = Ln-1h n-1 = D (10)

Pairs of passing streams below the feed stage can also be related to each other by an enthalpy balance around the top end of the column. The enthalpy balance now includes the feed stream.
VmHm = Lm-1hm-1 = D - FhF = B (11)

It can be seen that as soon as the feed is introduced, the difference point which relates passing streams immediately shifts from D to B in a single feed column. It can be seen that as soon as the feed is introduced, the difference point which relates passing streams immediately shifts from D to B in a single feed column.

Optimum Feed Location: The optimum feed-stage location is that one which, with a given set of other operating conditions, will result in the widest separation between XD and XB with the given number of stages. Or if the number of stages is not specified, the optimum location is the one which requires the fewest number of stages to accomplish a specified separation between XD and XB. Either of these criteria will always be satisfied if the feed is introduced on that stage whose tie line crosses the over-all material-balance line which passes through F, XD, and XB. The switch from one difference point to the other at that stage will always result in the maximum separation.

This fact is illustrated by Fig. 6. Stage 4 (When numbering from the bottom) is the optimum feed stage, and solid operating lines are drawn on the assumption that the feed is actually introduced on the fourth stage.
Below stage 4, Vm and Lm+1 are related to B, while above stage 4, Vn and Ln+1 are related to D. Now assume that the feed was introduced on stage 3.

Fig. 6: Illustration of the concept of optimum feedstage location. The solid operating lines correspond to the introduction of the feed on stage 4 (optimum). The dotted operating lines assume the introduction of the feed one stage below or one stage above the optimum location.

In the design of a new column, the feed-stage location is under the control of the designer and should, of course, always be located in the optimum position. In a study of an existing column, the feed-stage location is fixed and the switch from one difference point to the next one must occur at the actual feed stage which may or may not be the optimum feed stage for the separation under study. Usually whenever a column is switched to a new service, the feed stage will not be the optimum one.

Other Feed or Side-stream Stages

No new principles are involved in the construction of the diagram if the column has additional feed stages or side-stream stages.
The addition or withdrawal of material to heat anywhere along the column length merely requires that a new difference point be used to relate passing streams once the addition or withdrawal point has been passed on the diagram. The passing streams above the uppermost feed or side stream are always related by VnHn - Ln-1hn-1 = D(hD + QB) = D (12) If a side stream is withdrawn a certain number of stages below the top stage, the difference point shifts to VnHn - Ln-1hn-1 = D + Shs =

(13)

Where is the addition point lying on a straight line between D and S. The relative amounts of S and D determine the location .
If, instead of a side stream, a feed is introduced, Eq. 13 becomes

VnHn - Ln-1hn-1 = D - FhF =

Where is now found by subtracting FhF from D. The location of will lie on the other side of D from F on a straight line through the two points.

The exact location of will depend on the relative amounts of F and D.

The new difference point is used until another addition or withdrawal point is reached, at which time the new F of S is subtracted from of added to to obtain the next difference point . If this latest addition or withdrawal point is the lowest feed of side stream in the column, then must correspond to B.