Distillation Column Design

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The report discusses the design of two distillation columns (T-202 and T-204) including calculating dimensions, number of stages, efficiency, diameter, etc.

The purpose of the report is to carry out the design of two distillation columns (T-202 and T-204) including determining specifications like diameter, height, number of trays, efficiency, etc.

The main steps in designing a distillation column include determining the number of stages, feed stage location, efficiency, diameter, operating velocity, length, and material of construction.

2013

King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals


DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CHE 495 Term 131

DISTLATION COLUMN DESIGN

Author:
Ageel Buhlaigah 200872740

Group (5)

Submitted to:

Dr. Muataz Ali Atieh

AL-ABDUL-QADER ABDUL-AZIZ AHMAD


[Type the company name]
1/1/2013
DISTILLATION COLUMN DESIGN

Abstract:

In this report, the design of distillation columns was carried out. The number
of stages (trays), the stage on which the feed enters, reflux ratio, diameter of both
stripping and rectify sections, the operating velocity, overall efficiency of the
column ,the length of the tower and the material of construction are calculated and
tabulated in table 1and 2.

INTRODUCTION

A distillation column (fractionating column or fractionation column) is an essential


item used in the distillation of liquid mixtures so as to separate the mixture into
its component parts, or fractions, based on the differences in their volatilities.
Fractionating columns are used in small scale laboratory distillations as well as for
large-scale industrial distillations. Multi-stages columns are used to enhance the
separation process by increasing the contact area between the vapor and the
liquid inside the column. The concept of the separation in distillation processes is
to vaporize the more volatile component and collect it from the top of the column
in its simplest form (binary mixture).
The most commonly used method in the design of Distillation column is by
McCabe-Thiele technique which is a graphical based on vapor-liquid equilibrium
data and a mass balance. The main assumption made in the McCabe-Thiele
method is that there must be equi-molar overflow through the tower between
the feed inlet and the top tray and between the feed inlet and the bottom tray.

In designing distillation towers, several parameters should be determined such as:


 Diameter of the tower.
 Height of the tower.
 Overall efficiency of the tower.
 Hydraulic design of the internal trays.

Figure 1: The basic equipment required for continuous distillation.

Theoretical Background:
A.1.Distillation Column Design:
For the minimum number of trays:

Using Fenske equation:

( )

( )
(1)

Where: A Light key and B (the reference) is Heavy key.


For the theoretical number of stages (N):

Using Gilliland correlation:

( ) ( )
(2)
( )

For 0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.90

(3)

For the theoretical feed stage:

Using Kirkbride’s correlation:

( ) { ( )* + } (4)

For the overall efficiency of the column, the following equation is used:

(5)

Where:

To find the diameter of the column, the following equation will be used:

[ ] (6)

Where Uop is the operating vapor velocity in ft/s, and can be found by the
following formula:

(7)

The fraction is typically lays in between 0.65 to 0.9, and good performance at 75
% of flooding velocity.
The flooding vapor velocity based on net area of vapor flow is determined from
the following relation:

( ) √ (8)

is the surface tension of liquid in dynes/cm, and is tha capacity factor and a
function of flow parameter FP

 For 18-in tray spacing (as recommended from heuristics for tower trays):

(9)

Where is the flow parameter and the following relation is used to find it:

(10)

WL and WV are the mass flow rate of liquid and vapor and densities are mass
densities.

will be calculated by the use of the following formula:

(11)

A.2.Sieve tray layout and tray hydraulics:

Sieve tray designs probably provide the majority of installed tray types used in the
process industry and are widely accepted due to their excellent operating
characteristics, low cost Investment and low maintenance requirements. As a
result, sieve tray was chosen for constructing the internal stages.
Figure: A photo for a sieve tray.

The total cross sectional area of the column is:

(12)

The active area can be estimated for two downcomers:

( ) (13)

Where is the fraction of the column cross-sectional area that is available for
vapor flow above the tray. Typically lies between 0.85 - 0.95 and 0.9 will be
used.

Obviously, can be determined from tray layout:

(14)

Or

(15)

Where corresponds to a value of . The average value of is between


7% and 16%, with 10% a reasonable first guess.
The vapor velocity through the holes, , in feet per second (ft/sec) can be
calculated from

(16)

Where V is Ib moles/hr

The downcomer area Ad can be determined from

(17)

Or

(18)

Combining equations (13), and (14), we can solve for angle and length of the
weir

The head of clear liquid in the downcomer, , can be determined from the sum
of heads that must be overcome.

(19)

On sieve trays, the liquid gradient , across the tray is often very small and is
usually ignored.

The head of liquid required to overcome the pressure drop of gas on a dry tray,
, can be measured experimentally or estimated (Ludwig, 1995) from

( ) (20)

The orifice coefficient, , can be determined (in inches )from the correlation of
Hughmark and O’Connell (1957). This correlation can be fit by the following
equation (Kessler and Wankat, 1987):

( ) (21)
Where is the tray thickness. The minimum value of ⁄ is 1.0. The weir
height, , is the actual height of the weir. The minimum weir height is 0.5 inch
with 2 to 4 inches more common.

The height of the liquid crest over the weir, , can be calculated from the
Francis weir equation.

( ⁄ ) (22)

Where is in inches. In this equation is the liquid flow rate in gal/min that
is due to both L and e. the factor is a modification factor.

There is a frictional loss due to flow in the downcomer and under the downcomer
onto the tray. This term, , can be estimated from the empirical equation
(Ludwig, 1997; Bolles, 1963).

( ) (23)

Where is in inches and is the flow area under the downcomer apron in
ft2. The downcomer apron typically has a 1-in gap above the tray.

(24)

The condition for avoiding excessive weeping can be determined from estimation
of (Kessler and Wankat, 1987) as

(25)

where . Equation (25) is valid for ranging from 0.06 to


0.14.
The surface tension head can be estimated from the following eqation

(26)
Results:
Table 1: Summary for distillation column T-202
Distillation Summary Table for T-202

Diameter (m) 2.48


Height (m) 58.63
Orientation Vertical
Internals Sieve trays
Number of trays 78
Pressure (bar) 6.3
Material of Construction Carbon Steel

Table 2: Summary for distillation column T-204


Distillation Summary Table for T-204

Diameter (m) 3.1


Height (m) 20.8308
Orientation Vertical
Internals Sieve trays
Number of trays 46
Pressure (bar) 6.2
Material of Construction Carbon Steel
Table3: Distillation column calculation summary table for T-202

F Z Top Xd Bot Xb
ac 1.4588 0.0004 1.28592 0.0285 0 0
eth 169.9502 0.0466 28.23158 0.6257 141.9188 0.0394
ea 3.2823 0.0009 3.384 0.075 0.10806 0.00003
h2o 3466.474 0.9505 12.21398 0.2707 3454.318 0.959
bu 3.2823 0.0009 0 0 3.2418 0.0009
aa 2.1882 0.0006 0 0 2.1612 0.0006
3646.635 45.11549 3601.748

Density 8.373 Uo 0.72542 Nf 41.6


V
Density 824.5 Anet 4.374241 Nact 78
L
WL 6.92E+04 n 0.9 Nfact 51
WV 95676 Di 2.487627 L (m) 58.63
Fp 0.072844571 Vol 1.45 ψ 0.05
Csp 0.273050091 Nmin 24.4613 Atot 4.83
σ 46.13 Nfmin 15.28359 Ad 0.483
Uflood 3.186187616 N 65 A_activ 3.864

Table4: Distillation column calculation summary table for T-204

F Z Top Xd Bot Xb
eth 141.9188 0.0394 137.3882 0.6897 4.53056 0.0013
ea 0.10806 0.00003 0 0 0.10806 0
h2o 3454.318 0.959 61.752 0.31 3392.566 0.997
bu 3.2418 0.0009 0.05976 0.0003 3.18204 0.0009
aa 2.1612 0.0006 0 0 2.1612 0.0007
199.2 3402.548

Density V 7.34E+00 Uo 0.849 Nf 16.5


Density 828.5 Anet 6.97E+00 Nact 46
L
WL 6.17E+04 n 0.9 Nfact 23
WV 1.56E+05 Di 3.139753 L (m) 35.208
Fp 0.037141336 Vol 1.95764 ψ 0.08
Csp 0.295856382 Nmin 11.0788 Atot 7.74
σ 47.28 Nfmin 5.942495 Ad 0.774
Uflood 3.72E+00 N 32.5 A_activ 6.192
Calculation Procedure:
For distillation column( T-202 )
Assumptions:
1. Binary mixture.
2. Constant molal overflow (CMO).
3. No heat leak.

= 1.45

 For the minimum number of trays:

Using Fenske equation:

( )

( )

So = 25 equilibrium stages including reboiler

 For the theoretical number of stages (N):

where ( ) from heuristics and ( )

Therefore,

N = 2.5 (25+1)
 For Nfmin

Nfmin = (ln((0.075/0.2707)/(0.0009/0.9505))/ln( )) = 15.28 trays

 For the theoretical feed stage:

Nf = ( )

 For the overall efficiency of the column, the following equation is used:

For

6 = 83.8%

The Diameter, entrainment and weeping For the rectifying section:


For 18 inch spacing:

( )

= 0.273

Surface tension:

( ) √

* +

Hence, column length:

From heuristics:

 For towers about 0.9 m dia, add 1.2 m at the top for vapor disengagement,
and 1.8 m at bottom for liquid level and reboiler return.
Material of construction (MOC):

Since the liquid and gas mixtures are not corrosive and the column temperature
under 400 C. The carbon steel is the appropriate MOC.
Figure: 3 Entrainment correlation from Fair (1963)

With 75% flooding and Flv = 0.0728,

below 0.1. Hence, no entrainment in the rectifying section.

The total cross sectional area of the column:

Downcomer area:

Table 3: Geometric relationship between η and Iweir/diameter.


η 0.8 0.825 0.85 0.875 0.9 0.925 0.95 0.975

lweir/Dia 0.871 0.843 0.811 0.773 0.726 0.669 0.593 0.478


Active area:

( )

Area of the hole:

Vapor Velocity:

Chosen tray is a std. 14 gauge tray with thickness (T tray) = 0.078 in with a common
hole diameter do= 3/16 inch for normal operation and clean service. Pitch Std.
spacing between the holes of 3.8do = 0.1725 inches. A 2.5 in space between the
edge holes and the column wall is chosen, and a space of 4 in between the edge
hole and the tray weir.

Orifice coefficient:

( ) ( )

Calculating heads on sieve tray:

( )
( )

Assume

The correction factor:

From figure (10-20) in CHE 306 (Separation Process Engineering, Wankat 2nd ed)

Fw=1

( )


( )
From the equality above, weeping would not be a problem in the rectifying section.

For distillation column( T-204 ),


Assumptions:
4. Binary mixture.
5. Constant molal overflow (CMO).
6. No heat leak.

= 1.957

 For the minimum number of trays:

Using Fenske equation:

( )

( )

So = 12 equilibrium stages including reboiler

 For the theoretical number of stages (N):

where ( ) from heuristics and ( )


Therefore,

N = 2.5 (12+1)

 For Nfmin

Nfmin = (ln((0.075/0.2707)/(0.0009/0.9505))/ln( )) = 5.9 trays

 For the theoretical feed stage:

Nf = ( )

 For the overall efficiency of the column, the following equation is used:

For

1 = 73%

The Diameter, entrainment and weeping For the rectifying section:


For 18 inch spacing:

( )

= 0.2958

Surface tension:

( ) √

* +

Hence, column length:

From heuristics:
 For towers about 0.9 m dia, add 1.2 m at the top for vapor disengagement,
and 1.8 m at bottom for liquid level and reboiler return.

Material of construction (MOC):

Since the liquid and gas mixtures are not corrosive and the column temperature
under 400 C. The carbon steel is the appropriate MOC.
Figure: 3 Entrainment correlation from Fair (1963)

With 75% flooding and Flv = 0.0371,

below 0.1. Hence, no entrainment in the rectifying section.


The total cross sectional area of the column:

Downcomer area:

Table 3: Geometric relationship between η and Iweir/diameter.


η 0.8 0.825 0.85 0.875 0.9 0.925 0.95 0.975

lweir/Dia 0.871 0.843 0.811 0.773 0.726 0.669 0.593 0.478

Active area:

( )
Area of the hole:

Vapor Velocity:

Chosen tray is a std. 14 gauge tray with thickness (T tray) = 0.078 in with a common
hole diameter do= 3/16 inch for normal operation and clean service. Pitch Std.
spacing between the holes of 3.8do = 0.1725 inches. A 2.5 in space between the
edge holes and the column wall is chosen, and a space of 4 in between the edge
hole and the tray weir.

Orifice coefficient:

( ) ( )

Calculating heads on sieve tray:

( )

( )
Assume

The correction factor:

From figure (10-20) in CHE 306 (Separation Process Engineering, Wankat 2nd ed)

Fw=1

( )


( )

From the equality above, weeping would not be a problem in the rectifying section.
Process control:

1- Control level in the reflux drum is by manipulation of distillate flow rate.


2- A flow controller has been placed on the reflux line (to ensure steady flow of
reflux to the column).

Figure : Process Control Diagram for the distillation column.

Conclusion:

To sum up, the design of distillation columns (T-202 and T-204) was carried
out. Details of staged column design such as stage geometry, determination of
column efficiency, calculation of column diameter, downcomer sizing, and tray
layout were discussed and estimated. The dimensions of T-202 were found to be
D=2.48 m,L= 58.63 m and n= 78 trays. Also, dimensions of the column T-204
were found to be D=3.14 m,L= 35.2 m and n= 46 trays. Moreover, the sieve tray
specifications, weir length, vapor flooding velocity, and liquid weeping were
calculated. The flooding velocity of the vapor was ensured to be in the acceptable
range. Also, the weeping would not be a problem as shown.

Reference(s):

 Wankat, Phillip “Separation Process Engineering”, Prentice Hall, 2nd Ed.


 Hysys database.

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