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The document discusses two main types of condensers used in distillation columns: - Total condensers fully condense all vapor leaving the top tray so the vapor and distillate compositions are the same. - Partial condensers only partially condense the vapor, producing streams with different compositions for the vapor, distillate, and reflux. A partial condenser acts as an additional equilibrium stage in the column.

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204 views

Partial

The document discusses two main types of condensers used in distillation columns: - Total condensers fully condense all vapor leaving the top tray so the vapor and distillate compositions are the same. - Partial condensers only partially condense the vapor, producing streams with different compositions for the vapor, distillate, and reflux. A partial condenser acts as an additional equilibrium stage in the column.

Uploaded by

Nova Rachmadona
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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There are two main categories of condenser, differentiated by the extent of condensation.

In a total condenser, all of the vapor leaving the top of the column is condensed. Consequently, the composition of the vapor leaving the top tray y 1 is the same as that of the liquid distillate product and reflux, xD.

In a partial condenser, the vapor is only partially liquefied. The liquid produced is returned to the column as liquid, and a vapor product stream is removed. The compositions of these three streams (V1, D, and R) are different. Normally, D (composition yD) is in equilibrium with R (composition xD).

A partial condenser functions as an equilibrium separation stage, so columns with a partial condenser effectively have an extra ideal stage. The "reflux ratio" is an important parameter in column operation. It is normally defined as the ratio of reflux to distillate (L/D), although other formulations (L/L+D, etc.) are occasionally used. Most reboilers are partial reboilers, that is they only vaporize part of the liquid in the column base. Partial reboilers also provide an ideal separation stage. Reboilers take several forms: they may be "thermosiphon" types that rely on the thermal effects on density to draw liquid through the heat exchanger, "forced circulation" types that use a pump to force liquid through, or even "stab-in" types that come through the side of the column into the liquid reservoir.

In large, complex columns, sidestream reboilers can be used. These draw liquid off a tray, heat it, and then return the vapor liquid mixture to the same or a similar trays

Distillation
5.1 Partial condenser The condenser is partial. It acts as a flash drum. The first stage in the McCabeThiele construction represents the condenser. Let's consider the red envelope around the condenser. In this case the partial condenser acts as a further flash drum, hence it can be seen as a further equilibrium stage.

The distillate is a vapor stream with composition yD, which is now given as a specification as it was xD for a total condenser. Of course yDy1 since a further equilibrium stage takes place in the condenser. The mass balances around the condenser remain the same: 1) overall mass balance: V = L + D; 2) mass balance on the more volatile component: V y1 = L x0 + D yD; Consequently the working line for the rectification section is: From a graphical point of view, nothing changes for the McCabe-Thiele graphical construction for the number of stages calculation since the working line passes through the point x=y=yD, as it was for the case of the total condenser. However from a conceptual point of view, the first stage is not anymore a physical plate of the column but represents the partial condenser.

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