CHEN 4470 Process Design

Practice
Dr. Mario Richard Eden
Department of Chemical Engineering
A!rn "ni#ersit$
%ectre No. &' Re!oiler (election and Design
)e!rar$ *+, *0&'
Material De#eloped !$ Dr. -e.re$ R. (ea$, "ni#ersit$ of /entc0$ 1
Padcah
Distillation Modeling
2#er#ie3

Purpose of Reboilers

Provide vapor fow up a column and acts as an

additional theoretical stage below the
trays/packing

Types of Reboilers

Thermosyphon

Forced circulation

ettle

!nternal reboiler "rarely used in continuous

columns#
Proper re!oiler design is critical to the
optimm operation of a colmn4
5hermos$phon Re!oiler
2-Phase
Flow Region
All-Liquid
Flow Region
Return piping to the column
must be si$ed for two%phase
fow&
Thermosyphons operate
based on thermodynamic
principles' rather than
gravity&
Therefore' design detail is
important&
Thermosyphon operation is
simple' but they are often
di(cult to design for a wide
operating range&
Proper elevation is critical)
)orced Circlation Re!oiler
Forced circulation reboilers
are designed to operate li*uid
full&
Flashing occur as the li*uid
crosses the control valve&
+alve should be located close
to the column shell&
Forced circulation reboilers
o,er greater operational
fe-ibility than thermosyphons'
yet have a smaller footprint
than kettle reboilers&
.levation is less critical due
to pump and control valve&
/ettle Re!oiler
+apor%/i*uid
disengagement occurs in
the vapor space' therefore
return piping is si$ed for
all%vapor fow&
Proper elevation is critical
to kettle reboiler operation&
ettles have a large
footprint' but re*uire less
elevation than a
thermosyphon&
0orks by gravity' rather
than thermodynamics&
Cross Section of
Kettle
All-Vapor
Flow Region
All-Liquid
Flow Region
Re!oiler Design
Re!oiler (election )lo3chart
Thermosyphon
Kettle
Forced Circulation
Cost Comparison of Re!oiler 5$pes
Re!oilers in A(PEN Pls