UTILITY

ASSIGNMENT

REBOILER
Arranged By:
I MADE VIDYA PRAWIRA SATRIO 21030117190076
AWINDYA CANDRASMURTI 21030117190176

Departemen Teknik Kimia

Fakultas Teknik Universitas Diponegoro
2018
REBOILER

1. Introduction
In a pilot or plant scale production, there things that we know as boiler and reboiler.
Boiler is a steam generator used as a purpose to generate saturated or superheated steam
which further runs the turbine. Meanwhile, a reboiler is a heat exchanger that is used to
generate the vapor supplied to the bottom tray of a distillation column. The liquid from the
bottom of the column is partially vaporized in the exchanger, which is usually of the shell-
and-tube type. The heating medium is most often condensing steam, but commercial heat-
transfer fluidsand other process streams are also used. Boiling takes place either in the tubes
or in the shell, depending on the type of reboiler. Exchangers that supply vapor for other
unit operations are referred to as vaporizers, but are similar in most respects to reboilers.
Proper reboiler operation is vital to effective distillation. In a typical classical distillation
column, all the vapor driving the separation comes from the reboiler. The reboiler receives a
liquid stream from the column bottom and may partially or completely vaporize that
stream. Steam usually provides the heat required for the vaporization.

2. Types of Reboiler
a. Internal Reboiler
The simplest approach is to mount the reboiler in the distillation tower itself. Here,
boiling takes place in the pool of liquid at the bottom of the tower, the heating fluid
being inside the bundle of tubes as shown. The major problem with internal
 reboilers is the limitation imposed by the size of the distillation column. This limits
the size of the reboiler. Another problem sometimes encountered is that of mounting
the bundle satisfactorily into the column. The problem of size restriction can be
overcome if compact heat exchangers are used. Thus, Plate-Fin Exchangers are used
commonly as internal reboilers in the distillation towers of air separation plant.
Another form of compact heat exchanger which has been used for this type of duty is
the printed circuit heat exchanger which has an even higher heat transfer surface area
per unit volume.

b. Kettle Reboilers
Liquid flows from the column into a shell in which there is a horizontal tube bundle,
boiling taking place from the outside this bundle. The vapor passes back to the
column as shown. Kettle reboilers are widely used in the petroleum and chemical
industries; their main problems are that of ensuring proper disentrainment of liquid
from the outgoing vapor and the problem of the collection of scale and other solid
materials in the tube bundle region over long periods of operation. Kettle is suited for
high vaporization and vacuum services.
c. Thermosyphon Reboiler
Thermosyphons operate by passing liquid from the bottom of the tower to the reboiler
by gravity, which is then passed through the inside of the heated tubes in order to
create a two-phase liquid-vapor product. The liquid-vapor product is transferred
through a pipe back into the tower, where separation occurs before the non vaporized
liquid is passed back into the reboiler. Thermosyphon classified to 2 different
reboilers :
 Vertical Thermosyphon Reboiler
The liquid passes from the bottom of the tower into the reboiler, with the evaporation
taking place inside the tubes. The two-phase mixture is discharged back into the
tower, where the liquid settles back to the liquid pool and the vapor passes up the
tower as shown. The heating fluid (typically condensing steam) is on the outside of
the tubes. The vertical thermosyphon reboiler is less susceptible to fouling problems
and in general has higher heat transfer coefficients than does the kettle reboiler.
However, additional height is required in order to mount the reboiler.
 Horizontal Thermosypon Reboiler
Here, the liquid from the column passes in cross flow over a tube bundle and the
liquid-vapor mixture is returned to the column. The heating fluid is inside the tubes.
This design has the advantage of preserving the natural circulation concept while
allowing a lower headroom than the vertical thermosyphon type. However, there are
more uncertainties about fouling and about the prediction of the crossflow heat
transfer rates. There are 2 classification for horizontal thermosypon reboiler :
 Natural Circulation
1. Natural circulation type Thermosyphon reboiler used for the sensitive materials
with lower viscosity because here circulation is done because of the temperature
difference.
2. Operating cost is lower because we are not using pump at the bottom of the
distillation column.
3. When vaporization requirement is lower then it is suitable.
4. It is used for fouling service because process fluid is on tube side so we can easily
clean the tube.
 Forced circulation
In forced circulation we provide a pump between distillation column
bottom and reboiler.
1. It is used for the high viscosity fluid.
2. It is used when vaporization required is less.
3. It is used for fouling services.
d. Forced Circulation Reboiler
A forced circulation reboiler uses a pump to circulate the column bottoms liquid
through the reboilers. This is useful if the reboiler must be located far from the
column, or if the bottoms product is extremely viscous. Some fluids are temperature
sensitive such as those subject to polymerization by contact with high temperature
heat transfer tube walls. High liquid recirculation rates are used to reduce tube wall
temperatures, thereby reducing polymerization on the tube and associated fouling.