You are on page 1of 17

Design of Columns for Distillation, Absorption, Stripping, & Liquid Extraction

Dr. Avinash R. Sirdeshpande


Process Solutions Engineer

BOC Gases
Murray Hill, NJ

Separation Process Principles - 1 Mixtures


 

Mixtures: 2 or more components Mixture classification:




Homogeneous - single phase, gas or liquid  Air - N2, Ar, O2  Dry syngas: CO/H2/CH4/CO2 Heterogeneous - multiple, immiscible phases  Liquid + liquid, e.g. oil + water  solid + liquid  solid + gas  liquid + gas

Mixing - spontaneous, irreversible

Separation Process Principles - 2 Separation Types




Separation:
Mixture p Products that differ in composition

Classification:


Force field (mechanical)  Gravity, pressure, electrical field, centrifugal force  Heterogeneous mixtures Physical - exploit differences in physical properties  vapor pressure, solubility, molecular geometry, surface activity, freezing point Chemical - based on differences in reactivity

Separation Process Principles - 3 Design




Select appropriate separation process


 

Distillation: differences in boiling points Absorption/Stripping/Liquid Extraction: solubility Solvent for absorption, e.g. H2O for NH3/air Reflux, reboiling by adding/removing heat in distillation Proposal/Budgetary stage Letter of intent Construction

Mass or Energy Separating Agent


 

Design equipment for process


  

Column Design Process


Process Simulation Column Design Calculations Prepare Process Specification

Review Vendor Drawings

Detailed Mechanical Design

Prepare P&IDs

Fabricate Column and Components

Commission and Operate

Column Process Design: Four Basic Principles




Extent of separation
   

# of equilibrium stages, predicted with high confidence Hand calculation - McCabe-Thiele method Approximate methods - Kremser equation, FUG method Rigorous methods - computer simulation Rate = (Driving force)/Resistance Driving force = departure from equilibrium Resistance (difficult to predict)
  

Time of phase contact


  

operating conditions: T, P, composition physical properties of both phases velocity, flow regime

Column Process Design: Four Basic Principles




Permissible pressure drop




Fixes diameter of column

Energy requirements


Heat  producing temperature changes  creating a new phase  overcoming heat of solution effects Mechanical/Electrical  moving fluids from one location to another  dispersing liquids and gases  operate moving parts of machinery

Efficiency
 

Actual Trays or Height= Theoretical Stages/Efficiency (Murphree) efficiency for tray columns
 

Apply efficiency factor for actual trays Apply safety factor for final number of trays

Height equivalent of a theoretical stage (HETP) for packed columns




Multiply by HETP to get total height of packed section Depends on contacting device, system, hydraulics Experimental data and correlations Vendor information (see brochure)

Difficult to predict from first principles


  

Characteristics of Tray Columns


     

Predictable hydraulic and mass transfer behavior Moderate to high pressure drop per tray Can be scaled to large diameters Low cost Suitable for fouling service Feed point flexibility is easy

Characteristics of Packed Columns


 

Low pressure drop / smaller diameter Random packing scale-up for HETP is difficult; structured packing scale-up is predictable HETP prediction less well developed than for trays Low to moderate cost for random packing; high cost for structured packing Not suitable for fouling service Feed point flexibility is difficult

 

 

Specification of a Tray Column


        

Number of actual stages Feed tray location Type of trays Tray spacing Tray layout Column diameter Column height Feed / Offtake arrangements / Nozzle sizes Reboiler / Condenser details

Packed Column Specification




Type of packing
  

Random packing Structured packing Trade-off pressure drop vs. HETP vs. cost

  

Column diameter Height of packing Feeds and offtakes

Tray Column Height


Column Height = # actual stages x tray spacing + space allowance for feed/draws + sump + top volume  Tray spacing for most applications is 18-24 inches  Rule of thumb could be to add 1- 2 nozzle diameters to the total height for feeds and draws  Sumps sized on liquid residence time. Two to five minutes is typical.


Packed Column Height


HETP Replaces Tray Efficiency  Bed Height = No of Theoretical Stages x HETP



HETP = height equivalent to a theoretical plate

HETP is difficult to generalize and is a function of the type of packing, the system being separated and the hydraulics of the column. Experimental or vendorsupplied values are used.

Flooding and Weeping


Weeping Flooding

Flow weeps through the holes at low vapor velocity

Liquid cannot get down the column at high vapor velocity

Column Diameter


   

Column diameter is chosen to provide a comfortable range of operating between flooding and weeping. A typical operating range is about 70% of the flooding velocity. The flooding velocity is determined by correlations An approach to flooding is used to get the actual superficial velocity (based on column diameter). Downcomers take up about 5-20% of column area Diameters should be rounded to standard dimensions

Additional Topics in Column Design


   

Process Control - Steady state vs. Unsteady state P&ID development Synthesis of separation sequences Separation of difficult mixtures
 

Azeotropes Multiple liquid phases

Novel distillation designs

You might also like