alculation models

The sections of COLOM use various correlations and assumptions. These are combined to form the internal models. Specific details are available on the following column types:-

Simple Column Dividing Wall Column

The following equations are used:Underwood Equation - Used to estimate the minimum vapour flow above the feed in a column. SUM [ Alphai Xi,f / ( Alphai - Theta) ] = 1 -q Vmin = D SUM [ Alphai Xi,d /( Alphai - Theta) ] D = molar flowrate of distillate n = Number of components q = Thermal feed quality (heat to vaporize 1 mol feed / molar latent heat of feed) Vmin = Molar flowrate of vapour at minimum reflux Xi,f = Mole fraction of I in feed Xi,d = Mole fraction of I in distillate Alphai = Volatility of component I relative to heaviest component Theta = Root of equation (AlphaLK < Theta < AlphaHK) An alternative version of the equation relates the minimum vapour molar flowrate to the bottom of the column SUM [ Alphai Xi,f / ( Alphai - Theta) ] = 1 -q Vmin = -B SUM [ Alphai Xi,b /( Alphai - Theta) ] B = molar flowrate of bottoms n = Number of components q = Thermal feed quality (heat to vaporize 1 mol feed / molar latent heat of feed)
min

; i = 1-> n ; i = 1-> n

; i = 1-> n ; i = 1-> n

= Molar flowrate of vapour at minimum reflux

Xi,f = Mole fraction of I in feed Xi,b = Mole fraction of I in bottoms Alphai = Volatility of component I relative to heaviest component Theta = root of equation (AlphaLK < Theta < AlphaHK) Fenske Equation - Estimate of the number of stages in a column At total reflux : Nmin = Ln [ (XLK,D/ XHK,D )( XLK,B/ XHK,B )]/ Ln ( AlphaLK/AlphaHK) Gilland - Given Nmin and Rmin we can relate the actual reflux ratio R and the actual number of stages N. This is only valid for system near atmospheric pressure. X = (R - Rmin)/(R + 1) Y = (N - Nmin)/(N + 1)

The relationship between X and Y is determined by correlating actual data. The Molokanov correlation is used in the program Edulee: Y = 0.75 (1 - X
0.5668

)
0.5

Molokanov: Y = 1 - Exp [ (1 + 54.4X)/(11 + 117.2X) (X-1)/X

Kirkbride Equation - Estimates the location of the feed tray based on empirical data Ln (m/p) = 0.206 Ln [ (B/D) (XFHK/ XFLK)(XBLK/ XDHK) ] m = number of theoretical plates above the feed P = number of theoretical plates below the feed Reflux Scaleup - This is used to increase the reflux ratio of a column (liquid downflow rate/distillate rate) above the minimum. Reflux is can be defined for above (RAbove= Labove/D ) and below (Rbelow= Lbelow/D ) the feed. Two definitions of the scaleup value are available. The standard definition is Scaleup = RACT * RMIN, where RACT is the actual reflux, and RMIN is the minimum reflux. In some instances, where very low values of RMIN are experienced, this can result in excessively low reflux ratios, causing a high number of trays to be predicted. This can be avoided by selecting the alternative definition, Scaleup = (RACT+1) /( RMIN+1). This approximates to the standard definition for typical values of RMIN, but avoids the problem of large numbers of trays being predicted as RMIN becomes small. The value of the reflux scaleup is typically in the range 1.05 to 1.20. Larger values of scaleup decrease the number of trays, at the expense of increased condenser and reboiler duties. Hengstebeck-Geddes method - Used to estimate the composition of the products. The Fenske equation can be written in the form: Ln[ Di/Bi ] = A + B Ln( Alphai,r) Di - amount of component I in distillate Bi - amount of component I in bottoms Alphai,r - volatility of component I relative to the heavy component The parameter A & B are obtained by applying the relationship to the light and heavy components. The compositions of the non-key components can be estimated. It is based on total reflux and it is assumed that the component distributions do no depend on reflux ratio. Condenser and reboiler loads
2

Total condenser load calculations Given the distillate composition, pressure and distillate (D) and liquid return (L) flowrate the condenser heat load can be determined. It is assumed that the distillate will be at the bubble temperature (Tbub) and the overhead vapour at the dew temperature (Tdew). The molar enthalpies (DH) are obtained from physical property data. The vapour and liquid composition will be the same. V=L+D Condenser Duty = * DHTdew - L * DHTbub - D* DHTbub

Partial condenser load calculations Given the distillate composition, pressure and distillate (D) and liquid return (L) flowrate the condenser heat load can be determined. It is assumed that the distillate will be at the dew temperature (Tdew.D), the liquid return at bubble temperature (Tbub.L) and the overhead vapour at the dew temperature (Tdew.V). The molar enthalpies (DH) are obtained from physical property data. The composition of the distillate is known and it is assumed that the liquid return is in phase equilibrium with it. The overhead vapour composition is determined by mass balance. V=L+D Condenser Duty = V * DHTdew.V - L * DHTbub.L - D* DHTdew.D

Reboiler load calculations Given the bottoms composition, pressure and bottoms (B) and vapour return (V) flowrate the reboiler heat load can be determined. It is assumed that the bottoms will be at the bubble temperature (Tbub.B), the vapour return at dew temperature (Tdew.V) and the bottom liquid at the bubble temperature (Tbub.L). The molar enthalpies (DH) are obtained from physical property data. The composition of the bottoms is known and it is assumed that the vapour return is in phase equilibrium with it. The bottoms liquid composition is determined by mass balance. L=V+B Reboiler Duty = B * DHTbub.B + V * DHTdew.V - L * DHTbub.L