ConstructionLinesforMcCabeThieleMethod
y
Equilibrium
curve
qline
yN
RectifyingSection:
L
D
y
x
Operatingline
V
V D
Slope=L/V=R/(R+1)<1
q
z
y
x F
q 1
q 1
StrippingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=(VB+1)/VB
yB
45line
L
B
x xB
V
V
Distillation
xD
x=zF
xB
0<q<1
q=0
q<0
V*
Overheadvapor
q>1
q=1
L
L*
L+V
Rectifyingsectionstages
x=y
q
x=zF
Feed
LL
F
Totalcondenser
Strippingsectionstages
1
2
f
N
Refluxdrum
Distillate
Reflux
FeedStage
Boilup
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
ConstructionfortheMcCabeThieleMethod
1.
2.
equilibrium
curve
equilibrium
curve
45line
Step1:Plotequilibriumcurveand45degreeline.
Step2:Plotgivencompositions(F,B,andD)
Step3:DrawqlinefromLFandVF
Step4:DetermineRminfromintersectionofthe
rectifyingsectionOLandtheequilibriumcurve.
Step5:DetermineRfromR/Rmin
Step6:DrawOLforRectifyingsection
Step7:DrawOLforStrippingsection
45line
xB
x=zF
xD
3.
xB
x=zF
xD
equilibrium
curve
equilibrium
curve
equilibrium
curve
equilibrium
curve
7.
5.and6.
4.
xB
x=zF
Rmin/(Rmin+1)
xD
xB
x=zF
R/(R+1)
xD
xB
x=zF
xD
FeedLocationfortheMcCabeThieleMethod
Equilibrium
curve
Equilibrium
curve
1
y
2
3
yN
yB
yN
4
5
yB
6
xB
x=zF
Feedstagelocatedonetraytoolow.
xD
xB
x=zF
xD
Feedstagelocatedonetraytoohigh.
OptimumFeedLocationforMcCabeThiele
Equilibrium
curve
1
y
yN
4
yB
xB
x=zF
xD
Optimumfeedstagelocation.
DeterminationofNandxBforMcCabeThiele
Equilibrium
curve
Construction:
Step1:Plotequilibriumcurveand45degreeline.
Step2:Plotgivencompositions(F,B,andD)
Step3:DrawqlinefromLFandVF
Step4:DetermineRminfromintersectionofthe
RectifyingsectionOLandtheequilibriumcurve.
Step5:DetermineRfromR/Rmin
Step6:DrawOLforRectifyingsection
Step7:DrawOLforStrippingsection
1
y
yN
Solution:
4
yB
xB
x=zF
xD
Step1:FromxDlocatex1andy1drawingahorizontalline
totheequilibriumconditionforstage1.
Step2:Findy2drawingaverticallinetotherectifyingOL
locatethemassbalanceconditionbetweenx1andy2.
Step3:Fromy2drawahorizontallinetotheequilibrium
conditionforstage2tolocatex2.
Step4:Returntostep2andcyclethroughsteps2and3until
xi<zF.DrawsubsequentverticallinestothestrippingsectionOL.
Step5:Endafterpredeterminednumberofstages,orwhenx iis
lessthanxB.
MinimumNumberofStagesforMcCabeThiele
Equilibrium
curve
1
y
yN
4
yB
xB
Byreturningalltheexitingvaporas
refluxandalltheexitingliquidas
boiluptheoperatinglineshaveslopeof
one.
x=zF
xD
Althoughthisistheminimumnumber
ofstages,noproductisproduced(note
thefeedmustthen
gotozero).
MinimumRefluxforMcCabeThiele
Equilibrium
curve
yN
yB
xB
Byreturningnoexitingvaporasreflux
andnoexitingliquidasboilupthe
operatinglineintersectionisasfarto
theleftasequilibriumallows.
x=zF
xD
Althoughthisistheminimumamount
ofreflux,ittakesinfinitestages(note
thepinchpointbetweentheoperating
linesandequilibrium).
MinimumRefluxforNonidealMcCabeThiele
Equilibrium
curve
y
yN
yB
xB
x=zF
xD
Althoughthisistheminimumamount
ofreflux,ittakesinfinitestages(note
thepinchpointbetweentheoperating
linesandequilibrium).
Example:DeterminationofNandxBforMcCabeThiele
Given:
100Kmol/hrofafeedof60%benzeneand40%heptaneistobeseparatedbydistillation.Thedistillateistobe90%benzeneand
Thebottoms10%benzene.Thefeedentersthecolumnas30mol%vapor.UseR1.5timestheminimum.Assumeaconstantrelative
Volatilityofof4andthatthepressureisconstantthroughoutthecolumnat1atm.
Construction:
Step1:Plotequilibriumcurveand45degreeline.
Theequilibriumcurveisfoundusing:
1
0.9
0.8
Step2:Plotgivencompositions(F,B,andD)
Step3:DrawqlinefromLFandVF.Use
0.7
0.6
y 0.5
0.4
L L L LF L LF
0.7
F
F
F
tofindq.Thenplottheqlineusing:
0.3
q
z
y
x F 2.333x 2
q 1
q 1
0.2
0.1
0
x
1 x 1
Step4:DetermineRminfromintersectionofthe
rectifyingsectionOLandtheequilibriumcurve.
Thishappensataslopeofabout.25
0.25
Rmin
Rmin 0.333
Rmin 1
Example:DeterminationofNandxBforMcCabeThiele
Given:
100Kmol/hrofafeedof60%benzeneand40%heptaneistobeseparatedbydistillation.Thedistillateistobe90%benzeneand
Thebottoms10%benzene.Thefeedentersthecolumnas30mol%vapor.UseR3timestheminimum.Assumeaconstantrelative
Volatilityofof4andthatthepressureisconstantthroughoutthecolumnat1atm.
Construction:
Step5:FromRmin=0.333andR=3RminwehaveR=1
AndtheslopeofrectifyingsectionOLis0.5
Step6:Drawthelinewithslope0.5whichistherectifying
sectionOL.
Step7.Drawthestrippingsectionoperatinglinefromthe
Bottomscompositiontotheintersectionoftherectifyingsection
OLandtheqline.
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
Solution:
y 0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Step1:FromxDlocatex1andy1drawingahorizontalline
totheequilibriumconditionforstage1.
Step2:Findy2drawingaverticallinetotherectifyingOL
locatethemassbalanceconditionbetweenx1andy2.
Step3:Fromy2drawahorizontallinetotheequilibrium
conditionforstage2tolocatex2.
Step4:Returntostep2andcyclethroughsteps2and3until
xi<zF.
Results:
Feedatstagebetween2and3.
5stages(minimumstages=3.2)
xB=0.05%benzene
Example:DeterminationofNandxBforMcCabeThiele
Given:
100Kmol/hrofafeedof60%benzeneand40%heptaneistobeseparatedbydistillation.Thedistillateistobe90%benzeneand
Thebottoms10%benzene.Thefeedentersthecolumnas30mol%vapor.UseR3timestheminimum.Assumeaconstantrelative
Volatilityofof4andthatthepressureisconstantthroughoutthecolumnat1atm.
Minimumnumberofstagesisdeterminedbysteppingoff
betweentheequilibriumcurveandthe45degreeline.The
resultis3.2stages.
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
y 0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
McCabeThieleMethod:SubcooledReflux
DistillationColumn
(subcooledreflux)
Totalcondenser
Overheadvapor
Refluxdrum
Distillate
Reflux
Feed
Boilup
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
Iftheliquidrefluxiscolderthanthebubblepointtemperature,then
itwillcondensesomevaporinthetopstage.Thischangesthereflux
ratiototheinternalrefluxratio.
McCabeThieleMethod:SubcooledReflux
Theamountofextrarefluxthatisproduceddependson
theheatcapacityoftheliquid,andtheheatofvaporization
ofthevapor.
R' H
vap
Totalcondenser
Overheadvapor
L
P
RC Tsub
Feed
Boilup
Rint R R'
CPL Tsub
Rint R(1
)
H vap
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
P1
P2
L
Tm
Bubblepointline
Pcr
HV
Tb
Distillate
Reflux
Thetotalamountofreflux,calledtheinternalrefluxis
thesumoftherefluxratioandthevaporcondensedby
thesubcooledreflux:
Refluxdrum
dH C P dT V 1 T dP
X1(V)
XB
XD(L)
1
McCabeThieleMethod:PartialCondenser
DistillationColumn
(partialcondenser)
Partialcondenser
Overheadvapor
Vapor
Distillate
Reflux
Feed
Boilup
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
Iftheliquidrefluxisobtainedfromapartialcondenser,then
therefluxisproducedastheliquidinequilibriumwiththe
vapordistillateinthecondenser.
McCabeThieleMethod:PartialCondenser
Partialcondenser
Thevapordistillatecompositionthendetermines
theyDandstagesaresteppedofffromtheintersection
ofyDandtheequilibriumcurve.
Vapor
Distillate
Overheadvapor
Reflux
Feed
Boilup
yD
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
Equilibrium
curve
yN
qline
q
z
y
x F
q 1
q 1
45line
yB
xB
x=zF
McCabeThieleMethod:MultipleFeeds
DistillationColumn
(multiplefeeds)
Totalcondenser
Overheadvapor
Refluxdrum
Distillate
Reflux
Feed1
Feed2
Boilup
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
TheMcCabeThielemethodforcascadescanbeappliedtosystemswithmorethan
twosections.Here,weshowacascadewith2feeds:A3sectioncascade.
HowdoyoumaketheMcCabeThielegraphical
constructionforsuchacascade?
McCabeThieleMethod:MultipleFeeds
First,notethateachfeedstreamchangestheslope
oftheoperatinglinefromsectiontosection.
Thefeedstreamchangestheflowratesinthestages
aboveandbelowit.Consequently,itchangesthe
massbalancesandtheslopesoftheoperatinglines.
Feed1
Distillate
Reflux
Feed1
Feed2
Distillate
Reflux
Feed2
Boilup
Boilup
Bottoms
Bottoms
McCabeThieleMethod:MultipleFeeds
Totalcondenser
TheflowratesaboveFeed1areconstantduetoconstantmolar
overflow(CMO).Thefeedchangestheslopedependingonthe
feedcondition.Flowratesintheintermediatesectionareconstant,
butchangewhenFeed2isintroduced.
Overheadvapor
Feed1
Refluxdrum
Distillate
Reflux
Feed2
Boilup
Partialreboiler
y
Equilibrium
curve
yN
RectifyingSection:
OperatingLine
ConstantSlope(CMO)
Feed1introduced
Feed2introduced
yB
Intermediatesection:
OperatingLine
ConstantSlope(CMO)
StrippingSection:
OperatingLine
ConstantSlope(CMO)
xB
xD
Bottoms
McCabeThieleMethod:MultipleFeeds
Example:Feed1asaturatedvaporofcompositionzF1,
andFeed2asaturatedliquidofcompositionz F2
0<q<1
Saturatedvapor
q=0
q<0
V*
RectifyingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=R/(R+1)<1
Equilibrium
curve
yN
Intermediatesection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V
yB
Saturatedliquid
StrippingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=(VB+1)/VB
xB
x=zF2
x=zF1
xD
q>1
q=1
L
L*
L+V
x=y
q
x=zF
LL
F
McCabeThieleMethod:SideStream
Occasionallyacascadeisconfiguredsuchthatan
intermediatesidestreamofintermediatecomposition
isremovedfromthecolumn.
Howdoweanalyzethisconfiguration?
Usethemultiplemassbalanceenvelopesand
assumeaconstantmolaroverflowcondition.
Distillate
Reflux
Ls
Feed
Boilup
Ifweperformamaterialbalanceinthelightkey
aroundthestagesabovethesidestream
includingthecondenser:
Bottoms
Vn1y n1 Ln x n DxD
Whichwecanrearrangetofind:
yn1
Ln
D
xn
x
Vn1
Vn1 D
ForLandVconstantfrom
stagetostage,then:
L
D
x xD
V
V
Distillate
Reflux
Ls
Feed
Boilup
Operatinglineabovesidestream
Bottoms
McCabeThieleMethod:SideStream
Ifweperformamaterialbalanceinthelightkey
aroundthestagesabovethesidestream
includingthesidestreamandcondenser:
Whichwecanrearrangetofind:
yn 1
Ls
Feed
L x Dx D
Ln
xn s s
Vn1
Vn1
Boilup
Bottoms
ForLandVconstantfrom
stagetostage,then:
L x Dx
L'
x s
V
V
Thetwooperatinglinesintersectat:
xx
Distillate
Reflux
Vn 1yn 1 Ln xn Ls x s Dx D
Operatinglinebelowsidestream
McCabeThieleMethod:SideStream
y
SideStream:
Liquidwithdrawn
RectifyingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=R/(R+1)<1
Equilibrium
curve
yN
Saturatedliquidfeed
yB
Intermediatesection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V
StrippingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=(VB+1)/VB
Totalcondenser
xB
x=zF
x=xs
Distillation
xD
Overheadvapor
Rectifyingsectionstages
1
2
Refluxdrum
Distillate
Reflux
SideStreamxs
Feed
Strippingsectionstages
Boilup
Partialreboiler
Bottoms
McCabeThieleMethod:OpenSteam
Totalcondenser
Considerthecascadeshownontheleft:
Inthisexample,thereboilerisreplacedbya
sourceofhotsteamoraninertgas.Inthiscase,
thevaporenteringthebottomstageofthecolumn
hasnolightkeyandsoyBiszero,althoughxBis
nonzero.
Distillation
Overheadvapor
Rectifyingsectionstages
1
2
Feed
Strippingsectionstages
Reflux
Distillate
FeedStage
N
Steamorinerthotgas(y=0)
Bottoms
Doestheslopeoftherectifyingsectionoperatingline
increaseordecrease?
McCabeThieleMethod:OpenSteam
y
RectifyingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=R/(R+1)<1
Equilibrium
curve
yN
Saturatedliquidfeed
yB
StrippingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V
Totalcondenser
Distillation
Overheadvapor
xB
x=zF
xD
Rectifyingsectionstages
1
2
Feed
Strippingsectionstages
Refluxdrum
Reflux
Distillate
FeedStage
N
Steamorinerthotgas(y=0)
Bottoms
NonequilibriumMcCabeThiele:MurphreeEfficiency
Equilibrium
curve
Actualseparation
attained
E
B
Forthevaporefficiency:
EMV
yN
yB
TheMurphreePlateEfficiencygivestheratioof
theactualcompositiondifferencebetweentwo
sequentialplates,andthatpredictedby
equilibrium.
yn yn1 AB
yn* yn1 EB
Fortheliquidefficiency:
A
EML
B
xB
x=zF
xD
Componentdistributionobtainedless
thantheoreticallimitdescribedby
equilibrium
xn x n1 A' B'
McCabeThieleAlgebraicMethod
WehavealreadydevelopedtheMcCabeThieleGraphicalMethodforcascades.Thesame
equationsweusedfortheoperatinglines,qline,andequilibriumcurvecanbeusedtosolve
forthecompositionsineachstagealgebraically.
Equilibrium
curve
y
yN
RectifyingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=R/(R+1)<1
StrippingSection:
Operatingline
Slope=L/V=(VB+1)/VB
yB
45line
xB
x=zF
qline
xD
x
1 x 1
R
1
x
x
R 1
R 1 D
L
B
x xB
V
V
q
z
y
x F
q 1
q 1
McCabeThiele:MinimumReflux
Tocarryoutthealgebraicmethodweneedtodeterminetheslopesoftheoperatinglines
algebraically.Thiscanbedonefindingtheintersectionsbetweentheqlineandequilibrium
curve,andtheqlineandtherectifyingsectionoperatingline.
yD
x
1 x 1
q
z
y
x F
q 1
q 1
yB
q
z
x
y
x F
1 x 1
q 1
q 1
45line
xB
x=zF
xD
McCabeThiele:RectifyingSectionOperatingLine
Theslopeoftheoperatinglinefortherectifyingsectionwithminimumrefluxcanbedetermined
fromtheriseoverrun.Wecanthenalsofindtheminimumrefluxfromthisslope.
q
z
x
y
x F
1 x 1
q 1
q 1
y
yD
y D yq
Rmin
x D x q Rmin 1
yq
45line
Fromtheminimumreflux,andR/Rminwecan
determinetherefluxR.
yB
Wedeterminetheslopeoftherectifyingsection
operatinglinefrom:
slope
xB
xq
x=zF
xD
R
R 1
McCabeThiele:RectifyingSectionOperatingLine
Wecanfindtheintersectionoftheoperatinglineandtheqlinetodeterminethestripping
sectionoperatingline:
q
z
R
1
y
x F
x
xD
R 1
R 1
q 1
q 1
y
yD
slope
yQR
45line
R
R 1
Fromtheminimumreflux,andR/Rminwecan
determinetherefluxR.
Wedeterminetheslopeofthestrippingsection
operatinglinefrom:
yQR y B
slope
xQR x B
yB
xB
xQR
x=zF
xD
McCabeThiele:AlgebraicMethod
Equilibrium
curve
1.Intotalcondensery1=x0
2.x1isdeterminedfromtheequilibriumcurve:
1
y
y1
yN
x 1
1 x 1 1
3.y2isdeterminedfromoperatinglinefor
therectifyingsection:
y2
R
1
x1
x
R 1
R 1 D
4.Repeatsteps2and3untilxnislessthan
xQR(youareonapointoftheequilibrium
curvetotheleftoftheintersectionoftheOL
andtheqline).
4
yB
xB
xQR
x=zF
xD
5.y3isdeterminedfromoperatinglinefor
thestrippingsection:
y3
L
B
x2 xB
V
V
6.x3isdeterminedfromtheequilibriumcurve:
y3
x 3
1 x 3 1
7.Repeatsteps5and6untilxnislessthanxB
McCabeThieleAlgebraicMethod:Examples
Equilibrium
curve
xD=0.9,xB=0.1,zF=0.5,q=0.8
1.Alpha=4,R=Rmin
2.Alpha=4R=2Rmin
3.Alpha=4R=4Rmin
4.Alpha=4R=20Rmin
5.Alpha=1.1R=3Rmin
1
y
yN
4
yB
xB
xQR
x=zF
xD