Prof M.

Mazzotti
Thermische Verfahrenstechnik I liquid-liquid extraction

Liquid-Liquid extraction
Waste water, containing phenol, is traded in a counter-current extraction column using benzol to
separate the phenol. The phenol concentration of the feed stream is 8 kg/m3 , the one of the extract
is 0.5 kg/m3 . The raffinate (benzol) has a phenol concentration of 25 kg/m3 . The process is
performed at 25C and atmospheric pressure (1bar).

1. Calcultate the amount of needed solvent, when the waste water stream (feed stream) is 10
m3 /h. Assume that Vwastewater = Vwater .

2. How many theoretical stages are needed, when benzene and water are assumed to be com-
pletely immiscible (apply the McCabe-Thiele method)?
3. What is the minimum amount of solvent to obtain the wanted purity of the water?

Data:
H2 O = 997, 1kg/m3 ; benzol = 879kg/m3

Equilibrium data (25C, 1 bar):

 
kg,phenol
ZA,B = 0.4272 103 0.1.595 103 5.757 103
 kgH2 O 
kg,phenol
ZA,B = kg,benzol 1.108 103 4.97 103 53.128 103

Table 1: equilibrium data

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Prof M. Mazzotti
Thermische Verfahrenstechnik I liquid-liquid extraction

Guideline for the solution

Notation: V = volumetric flow rate; M = mass flow rate;

Figure 1: Process Scheme

Given data
kg
XH2 O,in = 8 (1)
m3
kg
XH2 O,out = 0.5 (2)
m3
kg
Ybenzol,in = 0 (3)
m3
kg
Ybenzol,out = 25 (4)
m3
further
kg
MH2 O = VH2 O H2 O = 9971 (5)
h

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Prof M. Mazzotti
Thermische Verfahrenstechnik I liquid-liquid extraction

Amount of solvent
Mass balance:

VH2 O Xin + Vbenzol,in Yin = VH2 O Xout + Vbenzol Yout (6)

this leads to

Xin Xout m3
Vbenzol = VH2 O =3 (7)
Yout h
and
kg
Mbenzol = Vbenzol benzol = 2637 (8)
h

Number of stages
The equilibrium line can be drawn with the three points of table 1. To draw the balance line, the
volume fractions X and Y have to be transformed in mass fractions.
X g,phenol g,phenol
- for water: x = H2 O ; xin = 8.023 kg,water ; xout = 0.501 kg,water

Y g,phenol g,phenol
- for benzol: y = benzol ; yin = 0 kg,water ; yout = 28.44 kg,water ;

mass balance:

Mbenzol (yout yin ) = MH2 O (xin xout ) (9)

MH2 O
yout = (xin xout ) (10)
Mbenzol

Minimum amount of solvent

Mbenzol,min can be found by fitting a tangent to the equilibrium curve in picture 1, which goes
through xout /yin :

yout 28.44 MH2 O

slope = = = 4.66 = (11)
xtang xout 6.6 0.5 Mbenzol,min

MH2 O kg
Mbenzol,min = = 2140 (12)
4.66 h

m3
Vbenzol,min = 2.43 (13)
h

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Prof M. Mazzotti
Thermische Verfahrenstechnik I liquid-liquid extraction

Figure 2: Number of stages (graphical construction)