Complex Engineering Problem (CEP)

CH411 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer (SHMT)

1. CEP on Distillation Column
The course is designed for leaning of process involved both heat and mass transfer. The present
complex engineering problem is designed to accommodate the design of distillation column with
requirement of cooling water and steam.

1.1 CEP Statement

A petroleum refinery produced a number of alkanes for its petrochemical complex. For this, a
distillation plant for separation of n-hexane from produced alkanes is shown in Figure 1 as a proposed
scheme. The mixture (Feed composition is given in Figure 1) of alkanes is heated in furnace to its
boiling point and is fed to distillation column at 1 atm. For recovery of 98 percent of hexane and 1
percent of heptane in distillate:

1. What is the minimum reflux ratio?

2. Design the complete distillation plant with given purity of n-hexane, Calculate:
a. required number of plates,
b. heating/cooling requirement of feed and products,
c. the column height and diameter.
3. Calculate the operational and fixed cost of the plant and recommend if plant is feasible for
profit?

Figure 1 Illustrative diagram for distillation plant for separation of n-hexane from different alkanes
Rubrics for Evaluation of Complex Engineering Problem