K VALUE AND RELATIVE VOLATILITY

The K value of a component in a liquid-vapor equilibrium is the ratio of its molar concentration in the vapor, yi,
to its molar concentration in the liquid phase, x i.

yi
Ki =
xi

It materializes the behavior of the component:

K i > 1 corresponds to a light or volatile behavior
K i < 1 corresponds to a heavy or non-volatile behavior

s
Pi
and can be obtained approximately by the equation: Ki =
P

In the distillation columns, K values vary. But it is interesting, in order to characterize the volatile interval
between 2 substances, to calculate the ratio of their K values.

iC 5
Ki αij
tête tête
3,5 70
iC5

nC5
DEISOPENTANIZER
Mixture
iC5 - nC5 - C6
Ki αij
fond fond

iC5
95
D PCD 1820 C

nC5
nC5 - C6

The relative volatility for a component i in relation to a component j is defined as:

s
Ki Pi
α ij = Kj = s
Pj

In a distillation column, αij is roughly constant for hydrocarbons.

This equation allows the volatility interval between two substances to be measured simply by comparing
their vapor pressures.

BA ELV - 00177_A_A - Rev. 1 09/01/2007

„ 2007 ENSPM Formation Industrie - IFP Training