Lecture 11.

Binary Distillation (1)

[Ch 7]
[Ch.
• Distillation
- Overview
O i & Industrial
I d t i l use
- Operation
• McCabe
McCabe-Thiele
Thiele Method
- Rectifying section
- Stripping section
- Feed-stage considerations
- q-line
- Optimal and nonoptimal locations of feed stage
• Limiting Conditions
- Minimum number of equilibrium
q stages
g
- Minimum reflux ratio
- Perfect separation
 Distillation
• Distillation (fractionation) vs. absorption and stripping
: the second fluid phase is usually created by thermal means
(vaporization and condensation) rather than by introduction
• 11th century, distillation was used in Italy to produce alcoholic
b
beverages (b
(batch
t h process))
 16th century, it was known that separation could be improved by
multiple vapor-liquid
vapor liquid contacts (stages)
 20th century, multistage distillation became the most widely used
industrial method for separating liquid mixtures
 Distillation: Industrial Use
• Distillation is technically
th mostt mature
the t separation
ti
operation
• Distillation is very energy
intensive, especially when
the relative volatility, , is
low (< 1.50)
• Most significant distillation
energy has
h b been
consumed by petroleum
refiningg to separate
p crude
oil into petroleum fractions,
light hydrocarbons (C2’s to
C5’s)
s), and aromatic
chemicals
 Distillation Operation
• Total condenser: the
Total condenser overhead vapor leaving the
Overhead vapor top stage is totally
Reflux drum condensed  liquid distillate
Reflux Distillate (D) product + liquid reflux that is
Top stage 1
Light-key mole returned to the top stage
fraction = xD
Rectifying section
stages
• Partial reboiler
reboiler: liquid from
Feed
the bottom stage is partially
Light-key f Feed stage vaporized  liquid bottoms
mole fraction = zF
S i i section
Stripping i product + vapor boilup that
stages is returned to the bottom
Bottom stage
N
Boilup stage
• Multiple, countercurrent
Partial contacting stages can
reboiler
achieve a sharp separation
Bottom (B)
Light-key mole unless an azeotrope is
fraction = xB formed
 Phase Equilibrium of Binary Mixture
• Goal of distillation: from the feed to produce a distillate, rich in
ht kkey ((xD  1.0),
th lilight
the 1 0) and
dabbottoms
tt product,
d t rich
i h iin th
the h
heavy
key (xB  0.0)
volatility 
• Relative volatility,
1,2  K1 / K 2
Raoult’s
’ law
K1  P1s / P and K 2  P2s / P
1,2  P1s / P2s
y1 / x1 y1 (1  x1 )
1,2  
y2 / x2 x1 (1  y1 )
1,2 x1
y1 
1  x1 (1,2  1) For ideal binary mixtures of components with close boiling
points, T changes are small and  is almost constant
McCabe-
McCabe-Thiele Method
Graphical equilibrium-stage
method
h d ffor trayedd towers
 Rectifying Section

<1

Assuming R=L/D
constant L/V = R/(R+1) R: reflux ratio
Vn 1 yn1  Ln xn  Dx D molar overflow D/V=1/(R+1)

Ln D L D R 1
yn  1  xn  xD y  x  xD y x xD
Vn1 Vn1 V V R1 R1
 Stripping Section

>1
Boilup

Assuming VB  V / B
constant L / V  (VB  1) / VB VB: boilup ratio
Lm xm  Vm 1 ym 1  BxB molar overflow B / V  1 / VB
L B VB  1 1
Lm B y  x  xB y x xB
ym 1  xm  xB V V VB VB
Vm 1 Vm 1
 Feed-
Feed-Stage Considerations
• xD and xB can be selected independently
• R and VB are related by the feed phase condition
Subcooled-liquid feed Bubble-point liquid feed Partially vaporized feed
L VV  V L VV  V L V V V  VF
F F F VF

LF

L L L  F V L LL  F V L LL  LF V

Dew-point vapor feed Superheated-vapor feed

L V V V  F L V VV  F
Possible feed
F F
conditions

LL  L V LL  L V
 Relations for Reflux Ratio and
Boilup Ratio
• Relations covering feed conditions from a saturated liquid to a
saturated vapor
L V V V  VF Boilup ratio Reflux ratio
VF
F
V  V  VF  L  D  VF L  L  LF  V  B  LF
LF V L  D  VF L V  B  LF
VB   R 
L LL  LF V
B B D D
For the specification of distillation operation, R or R/Rmin is used traditionally
because the distillate p
product is often the more important
p p
product

• q: ratio of the increase in molar Feed condition Value of q

reflux rate across the feed Subcooled liquid >1
stage to the molar feed rate Bubble-point liquid 1
Partially vaporized LF/F
L L V V
q q  1 Dew-point vapor 0
F F
Superheated vapor <0
 q-Line
• q-line: one point of which is the intersection of the
rectifying and stripping operating lines
Rectifying operating line Stripping operating line
L D L B
y  x  xD y  x  xB
V V V V

y (V  V )  ( L  L) x  Dx D  BxB

 Dx D  Bx B  FzF

F  V  L  V  L
L L
q
F
q z
y x F
q 1 q 1
Optimal and Nonoptimal Locations
of Feed Stage
5 stages, The smallest number of
optimal feed total stages occurs
location when the transfer is
made at the first
opportunity after a
horizontal line of the
staircase passes over
point P

6.4
6 4 stages,
t 5.9
5 9 stages,
t
feed-stage feed-stage
location location
below above
optimal optimal
stage stage
 Minimum Number of Equilibrium
Stages
• Increasing reflux  L / V increases to limiting value 1
• Increasing boilup ratio  L / V decreases to limiting value 1

R tif i operating
Rectifying ti liline

L D
y x  xD
V V
Stripping operating line

L B
y x  xB
V V

V
Minimum number of stages
L L= V : total reflux
B=D=0 : no product
 Minimum Reflux Ratio
• The number of equilibrium stages increases when
operating line moves closer to equilibrium curve
Typical ideal or near-ideal system Typical nonideal system
Pinch point
above the feed stage
Pinch point
at the feed stage

( L / V ) min  Rmin /( Rmin  1) Rmin  ( L / V ) min /[1  ( L / V ) min ]

Minimum boilup ratio (VB ) min  1/[( L / V ) max  1]

Perfect Separation
• Perfect separation
xD = 1, xB = 0
• Number of stages : infinite
• Reflux ratio : finite value
• Slope of operating line : finite value

xB zF xD
 [Example] Distillation of a Binary
Mixture of Benzene and Toluene
A trayed tower is to be designed to continuously distill 450
lbmol/hr of a binary mixture of 60 mol% benzene and 40 mol%
toluene. A liquid distillate and bottom product of 95 mol% and 5
mol% benzene are to be produced. The feed is preheated so that
it enters the column with a molar percent vaporization equal to
the distillate-to-feed ratio. Use the McCabe-Thiele method to
compute following
following, assuming a uniform pressure of 1 atm
throughout the column.
(a) Nmin, (b) Rmin, and (c) N for R/Rmin=1.3 and the optimal
location of feed stage

• Overall material balance on benzene & total balance

D  275lbmol/h
z F F  xD D  xB B 0.60(450)  0.95( D)  0.05( B)
B  175lbmol/h
F  BD 450  B  D
D / F  0.611
[Example] (a) Minimum Number of
Theoretical Stages
Stages, Nmin

L L
 1 and  1
V V

x and y : benzene,
more volatile
more-volatile
component
xD = 0.95
0 95
xB = 0.05

⇒ Nmin = 6.7
 [Example] (b) Minimum Reflux
Ratio Rmin
Ratio,
VF / F  D / F  0.611
LF ( F  VF )
q   0.389
F F
y = 0.684
Slope of q-line x = 0.465

q 0.389
  0.637
q  1 0.389  1

Slope of operating line

95  0.684
00.95 0 684 R
 0.55 
0.95  0.465 R 1

 Rmin  1.22
 [Example] (c) Number of
Equilibrium Stages
Stages, N

R  1.3Rmin
 1.3(1.22)
( )  1.59

Slope of operating line

for rectifying section
R 1.59
  0.614
R  1 1.59  1
 N  13.2
Optimal location of feed
stage: 7
stage