Letter to Readers: How to Read This Book xiii Introduction xv Contents Chapter 1. How Trays Work: Flooding Downcomer Backup 1 Tray Efficiency 2 Downcomer Backup 2 Downcomer Clearance 5 Vapor-Flow Pressure Drop 7 9 10 ‘Tower Pressure Drop and Flooding 12 Chapter 2, How Trays Work: Dumping Weeping Through Tray Decks 15 Tray Pressure Drop 16 Other Causes of Tray Inefficiency 19 Bubble-cap Trays 21 Chapter 3. Why Control Tower Pressure Options for Optimizing Tower Operating Pressure 25 Selecting an Optimum Tower Pressure 26 Raising the Tower Pressure Target 27 Lowering the Tower Pressure 28 The Phase Rule in Distillation 32 Chapter 4. What Drives Distillation Towers Reboiler Function 35 The Reboiler 35 Heat-Balance Calculations 37vi Contents Chapter 5. How Reboilers Work Thermosyphon, Gravity Feed, and Forced 45 Thermosyphon Reboilers 47 Forced-Circulation Reboilers 53 Kettle Reboilers 54 Chapter 6. How Instruments Work Levels, Pressures, Flows, and Temperatures 57 Level 57 Foam Affects Levels 62 Pressure 65 Flow 67 Temperature 70 Chapter 7. Packed Towers: Better than Trays? Packed-Bed Vapor and Liquid Distribution 73 How Packed Towers Work 73 Maintaining Functional and Structural Efficiency in Packed Towers 79 Advantages of Packing vs. Trays 85 Chapter 8. Steam and Condensate Systems Water Hammer and Condensate Backup Steam-Side Reboiler Control 87 Steam Reboilers 88 Condensing Heat-Transter Rates 89 Maintaining System Efficiency 92 Carbonic Acid Corrosion 95, Condensate Collection Systems 96 Deaerators 99 Surface Condensers 102 Chapter 9. Bubble Point and Dew Point Equilibrium Concepts in Vapor-Liquid Mixtures 107 Bubble Point 107 Dew Point N12 Chapter 10. Steam Strippers Source of Latent Heat of Vaporization 115 Heat of Evaporation 115 Stripper Efficiency 17 Chapter 11. Draw-off Nozzle Hydraulics Nozzle Cavitation Due to Lack of Hydrostatic Head 125 Nozzle Exit Loss 126 Critical Flow 128 Maintaining Nozzle Efficiency 129 Overcoming Nozzle Exit Loss Limits 132Contents. ix Chapter 12, Pumparounds and Tower Heat Flows Closing the Tower Enthalpy Balance 135 The Pumparound 135 Vapor Flow 140 Fractionation 143 Chapter 13. Condensers and Tower Pressure Control Hot-Vapor Bypass: Flooded Condenser Control 147 ‘Subcooling, Vapor Binding, and Condensation 148 Pressure Control 155 Chapter 14. Air Coolers Fin-Fan Coolers 163 Fin Fouling 164 Fan Discharge Pressure 164 Effect of Reduced Airflow 166 Adjustments and Corrections to Improve Cooling 167 Designing for Efficiency 168 Chapter 15. Deaerators and Steam Systems Generating Steam in Boilers and BFW Preparation 173 Boiler Feedwater 174 Boilers 179 Convection Section Waste-Heat Steam Generation 183 Chapter 16. Vacuum Systems: Steam Jet Ejectors Steam Jet Ejectors 185 Theory of Operation 186 Converging and Diverging Compression 187 Calculations, Performance Curves, and Other Measurements in Jet Systems 188 ‘Optimum Vacuum Tower-Top Temperature 200 Chapter 17. Steam Turbines Use of Horsepower Valves and Correct Speed Control 203 Principle of Operation and Calculations 203 Selecting Optimum Turbine Speed 209 Chapter 18. Surface Condensers The Condensing Steam Turbine 215 The Second Law of Thermodynamics 216 Surface Condenser Problems 221 ‘Surface Condenser Heat-Transfer Coefficients 227