DISTILLATION SYSTEM

Distillation - a process in which a liquid or

vapour mixture of two or more substances is

separated into its component fractions of

desired purity, by the application and removal

of heat.

DISTILLATION SYSTEM
 For any liquid, the individual
molecules within the
Atmospheric pressure, P atm liquid are continuously in
motion

A small percentage of these

molecules attain enough
kinetic energy to leave the
liquid phase

This exerts an opposing

pressure on the
Vapor Pressure, P
atmosphere above the
solution known as the
vapor pressure, P

DISTILLATION SYSTEM
 When enough energy, in the form of heat, is imparted
to the solution the vapor pressure becomes equal to
the atmospheric pressure and the liquid begins to
boil

P < P atm P ≥ P atm

DISTILLATION SYSTEM
 The vapor
obtained
from a
boiling
liquid,
once
cooled,
will re-
condens
e to a
liquid
known
as the
distillate

The
complet
DISTILLATION SYSTEM e
 Separation of one liquid from another

A + B C + D
bp 60 oC bp 100 oC

Pure C?

Pure D?
C + D
Mixture of C + D?

DISTILLATION SYSTEM
TYPES OF DISTILLATION
SYSTEM
 TYPES OF DISTILLATION COLUMNS

Batch Columns
• In batch operation, the feed to the column is introduced
batch-wise.

Continuous Columns
• continuous columns process a continuous feed stream. No
interruptions occur unless there is a problem with the
column or surrounding process units.

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

 CLASSIFICATION OF CONTINOUS COLUMNS
 Nature of feed
◦ Binary column
◦ Multi component column

 Number of product streams

◦ Multi product column

 Feed exits
◦ Extractive distillation
◦ Azeotropic distillation

 Column Internals
◦ Packed columns
◦ Tray columns

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Simple Distillation

◦ Vapors produced are

immediately channeled
into a condenser which
cools and condenses
the vapors
◦ Used only to separate
liquids whose boiling
points differ by 25C

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Fractional Distillation

◦ Utilizes two or more vaporization

condensation cyclces, in succession,
to effect separation
◦ The fractionating column causes the
vaporization-condensation cycle to
repeat by providing multiple surfaces
for the cycle to take place

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

 Fractional Distillation

As the hot vapors leave the distilling flask,

they condense on the first cold surface,
completing one vaporization-
condensation cycle.

Vapors from the

Distilling flask

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

Fractional Distillation
• Each vapor-condensation (or mini-
distillation) cycle is known as one theoretical
plate

• The length of distillation column required to

provide one theoretical plate of separation is
known as the height equivalent theoretical
plate (HETP)

This cycle will continue until the top of the

column is reached

Vapors from the

Distilling flask

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Steam Distillation
◦ Methods for distilling compounds which are heat
sensitive
◦ Involves a process using bubbling steam through
heated mixture of the raw material
◦ Applied for aromatic herbs and flowers

 Vacuum Distillation
◦ For compounds that have high boiling points

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES  Air-sensitive
vacuum distillation

◦ For compounds that

have high boiling
points as well as air
sensitive

◦ Perkin Triangle
apparatus can be used

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Short Path Distillation
◦ Use for compounds which are unstable at high
temperature
◦ Heating temperature can be considerably lower

 Destructive Distillation
◦ involves the strong heating of solids (often organic
material) in the absence of oxygen (to prevent
combustion) to evaporate various high-boiling
liquids

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Pervaporation Distillation
◦ method for the separation of mixtures of liquids by
partial vaporization through a non-porous
membrane.

 Dry Distillation
◦ a chemical reaction known as pyrolysis in which
solid substances are heated in a strongly reducing
atmosphere and any volatile fractions are collected.

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Extractive Distillation
◦ distillation in the presence of a miscible, high
boiling, relatively non-volatile component, the
solvent, that forms no azeotrope with the other
components in the mixture

 Flash evaporation
◦ partial vaporization that occurs when a saturated
liquid stream undergoes a reduction in pressure by
passing through a throttling valve or other
throttling device

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM

OTHER TYPES
 Freeze Distillation
◦ analogous method of purification using freezing
instead of evaporation
◦ It is not truly distillation, and does not produce
products equivalent to distillation

 Codistillation
◦ distillation which is performed on mixtures in which
the two compounds are not miscible.

TYPES OF DISTILLATION SYSTEM