Reboiler

What is a Reboiler

The energy requirement for distillation is provided using a reboiler.

In classical fractional distillation services all the vapor to drive the
separation comes from the reboiler ((Alternate systems may use externally
generated vapor, feed preheat, or inter-reboiler systems). With a reboiler,
vapor is generated from the bottom product by raising the temperature. The
maximum amount of vapor generated is limited by the reboiler capacity.
Reboiler takes liquid stream from the bottom of the distillation column (or
from the last tray of the column) as inlet. Inside the reboiler it gets heated
up and vapor (or vapor/liquid) outlet is given back to the column.

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 Selection of Reboiler Type
The most critical element of reboiler design is the selection of the proper type of
reboiler for a service. Since shell-and-tubes are so common, most of the
discussion focuses on them
1. Cleanability (Fouling) -Tube-side is easier to clean than shell-side.
2. Corrosion - corrosion or process cleanliness may dictate the use of expensive
alloys; therefore, these fluids are placed inside tubes in order to save the cost
of an alloy shell.
3. Pressure - high pressure fluids are placed on tube side to avoid the expense of
thick walled shells. For very low pressures (vacuum) other factors involved in
the selection of reboiler type determines the tube-side fluid.
4. Temperatures - very hot fluids are placed inside tube to reduce shell costs.
The lower stress limits at high temperatures affect shell design the same as
high pressures.

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 5. Heating medium requirements may be more important than the boiling liquid
requirements.
6. Boiling fluid characteristics: Temperature sensitive liquids require low
holdup design. Boiling range and mixture concentration together with
available ∆T affect circulation requirements to avoid stagnation. Foaming
can be better handled inside tubes.
7. Temperature difference and type of boiling (film or nucleate) affects the
selection.
8. Space constraints; e.g., if head room is limited then vertical units would be
inappropriate or the limitation of space for internal reboilers.

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 Ways of Providing energy to distillation

The ways in which heat is provided can be one of the

following, see also figure
1. Direct steam/vapor heating,
2. Kettle reboiler,
3. Thermosyphon reboiler
 natural circulation
 forced circulation
4. Column Internal reboiler

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 Direct steam
When direct steam/vapor heating is used, no actual reboiler exists, but
a bottom sump to provide liquid level for control purposes is needed.
This arrangement is quite common in stripping operations. The
column might have plates, structured or random packing. The vapor
entering the column might need a vapor distributor to eliminate
potential mal-distribution. Otherwise the separation performance of
column would be degraded.

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 kettle reboiler
 Kettle type of reboiler requires an extenal force for circulate the
liquid. In most cases, a pump will be used to circulate liquids. Kettle
type is more suitable when there is large heat duty requirements.
sually a horizontal U-bundle is placed at the bottom of an oversized
shell. The liquid level over the bundle is controlled by means of a
baffle. Excess liquid (bottoms or blow-down) overflows the baffle
into the end section where the level is controlled by means of a level
controller. The space above the baffle-liquid level is used to
disengage the vapor from the splash and spray above the bundle.
One or more vapor nozzles are used to remove the vapors.

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 Kettle Reboiler

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 Advantages are: insensitive to hydrodynamics and therefore reliable and easy
to size. High heat fluxes are possible, can operate at low ΔT, can handle
high vaporization up to 80%, simple piping, unlimited area.

Disadvantages are: all the dirt collects here and non-volatiles accumulate
unless an adequate draw-off is maintained; shell side is difficult to clean;
difficult to determine the degree of mixing and, thus, determine the correct
Temp. diff. for wide boiling range liquids; the oversize shell is expensive.

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 Thermosyphon reboiler
Thermosyphon type works mainly by density difference (caused by
temperature difference) between the inlets and outlets of the
reboiler. Thermosyphon reboilers provide a simple, low-
maintenance design for distillation tower reboiler systems.
Thermosyphon are mainly of two types:
1. Natural Thermosyphon Reboilers
 Vertical Thermosyphon Reboilers
 Horizontal Thermosyphon Reboilers
2. Forced Thermosyphon Reboilers

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 Vertical Thermosyphon reboilers

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 Vertical Thermosyphon.
General characteristics of this vaporizer are a large exit pipe with a cross sectional area
about equal to the total cross sectional area of the tubes and arranged to minimize
the vertical distance between the top tube sheet and the column nozzle. The liquid
level in the column is usually kept at the top tube sheet level in order to provide for
maximum circulation.

Advantages are:
 circulation is relatively high and tends to minimize fouling;
 tube-side fouling is easier to clean;
 the shell and connecting piping is relatively inexpensive, easily supported, and
compact.

The disadvantages are:

 requires more head room and column height; maximum heat flux may be lower than
kettle reboilers;
 the hydrostatic head effect on the boiling point may be a problem at low pressures
and/or vacuum service,
 maximum reboiler area is limited.

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 Types of Vertical Thermosyphon Reboilers

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 Horizontal Thermosyphon Reboilers.

Horizontal Thermosyphon reboiler,

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 Horizontal Thermosyphon Reboilers.
A driving force for circulation is established by the density differences between
the liquid in the column and the two-phase mixture in the exit piping. The
heating medium flows in the tubes in single or multiple passes.

Advantages are: Higher circulation rate can give a better ∆T than a kettle
reboiler; column skirt height is less than for a vertical thermosyphon; high
velocity and low exit vapor fractions decrease the effect of residual high
boilers and reduce fouling.
Disadvantages are: multiple nozzles and complicated piping is required;
baffles may be needed to prevent flashing of low boilers near the inlets and
concentration of heavies at the exchanger ends; little design information is
available and hydrodynamic problems are not well defined; requires large
plot area, and high structural costs.

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 Forced circulation reboiler,

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 Forced circulation reboiler

It is similar to a “once-through” design,

but equipped with a pump to impose circulation.

Advantages:

1. Careful calculation of circuit ΔP is not critical.

2. Can overcome large Δ Ps in the reboiler circuit.

Disadvantages: Wastes energy.

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 Internal reboiler.

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 Column Internal Reboiler.
It acts the same as a kettle reboiler but
doesn't have the shell and connecting piping.

The disadvantages are the limited amount of surface

area that can be installed, tubes are short hence a costly
bundle, and the column must be shut down in order to
clean as no alternate operation is possible.

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 Design Steps
Problem Identification

Selection of a Basic Type of Exchanger

Selection of a tentative set of exchanger design parameters

Modification
Rating of the design thermal performance pressure drops
of the
Evaluation of the design Heat Duty, Pressure drop design
Not parameter
Acceptable Acceptable
Mechanical design , costing, etc

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