Stripping Column

HALDIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Presented by:- Arnab das

Roll no:- 16/che/059
Department:-chemical engineering
 Contents
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Types of stripping column
• 3. Air stripping columns
• 4. Packed column air strippers
• 5. Sieve tray air strippers
• 6. Diffused aeration tanks for air stripping
• 7. Usage examples
• 8. Applications
• 9. Conclusion
• 10. Reference
• 11. Bibliography
 Introduction
• Stripping is a physical separation process where one or more components
are removed from a liquid stream by a vapour stream. In industrial
applications the liquid and vapor streams can have co-current or
countercurrent flows. Stripping is usually carried out in either a packed or
trayed column.
• Trayed towers consist of a vertical column with liquid flowing in the top
and out the bottom. The vapour phase enters in the bottom of the column
and exits out of the top.
• Packed columns are similar to trayed columns in that the liquid and vapor
flows enter and exit in the same manner. The difference is that in packed
towers there are no trays. Instead, packing is used to increase the contact
area between the liquid and vapour phases.
 Types of stripping columns

Stripping column

Air stripping Steam stripping

column column

Diffused aeration
Packed column Sieve tray air
tank used for
air stripper stripper
stripping
 Air stripping columns
• Air stripping columns are most widely used for the
removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
from water. By forcing air through contaminated
water, the VOCs are evaporated from the water
and the air passing through the column absorbs
the contaminated vapour.
• The most common types of air strippers are
packed-column air strippers and sieve-tray air
strippers.
• The design of air stripping columns is governed by
differences in volatility between the volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) in the contaminated
water. The more volatile components transfer from
the water to the air stream.
 Packed-Column Air Strippers
• In these strippers water enters from the top of the
column and is misted over the porous packing
material while air is blown from the bottom of the
column. As the water and air meet, most of the
VOCs are transferred to the vapour phase and
removed from the top, while the treated water
exits through the bottom of the column.
• Equipment Design :-
• After the contaminated water enters the column, it
flows down the column and through the packing
countercurrent to the air stream. The packing
serves to increase the amount of contact between
the two streams, and enhances the stripping as a
result. After leaving the column, the air is either
distributed into the atmosphere, or is collected for
purification.
 Sieve-Tray Air Strippers
• Water enters from the top of the sieve-tray air
stripper and trickles down over multiple perforated
trays over a weir, progressing from tray to tray. Air is
bubbled up through the holes in the trays and VOCs
are transferred to the vapor phase for removal. The
treated water exits out the bottom after traveling
across the last tray.
• Equipment Design :-
• Tray types include sieve, valve, and bubble cap. The
geometry of the trays affects the extent and type of
contact between the vapor and liquid streams.
Downcomers channel the liquid flowing from one
tray down to the tray below.
 Diffused-Aeration Tanks used for Air
Stripping
• Unlike the the packed-column and sieve-tray air
strippers, in which the water flows through or
around a solid as it travels through the column,
resulting in increased water-air contact, in diffused-
aeration tanks the air travels directly through the
water as it is bubbled into the tank. Water enters at
the top of the aeration column and is allowed to
pool within the tank. Air is diffused through the
bottom of the tank and bubbled through the water,
capturing VOCs before exiting at the top. This design
is most effective when there is a greater vessel
depth and smaller air bubbles passing through.
 STEAM STRIPPING COLUMN
• Steam strippers are similar to air strippers with one exception:
instead of air, they use steam to strip volatile components from a
liquid stream. Steam strippers allow for the removal of heavy
soluble organic compounds that air strippers cannot remove. The
temperature of these columns is usually very close to the boiling
point of water.
• Equipment Design:-
• Steam stripping columns contain either trays or packing, depending
on the application. Tray types include sieve , valve , and bubble cap .
The geometry of the trays affects the extent and type of contact
between the vapor and liquid streams. Downcomers channel the
liquid flowing from one tray down to the tray below. Packing types
include dumped packing and stacked packing . The packing
channels the liquid flowing from the top to the bottom of the
column.
 Usage Examples
• Steam stripping columns are most widely used in the recovery of solvents
and solutes, and also in the removal of Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs) from water.
• Steam stripping for wastewater purification is a distillation process where
over 99% of VOCs are removed from water. Some typical VOCs are
benzene, toluene, xylenes, ethylbenzene, styrene, and chlorinated
hydrocarbons.
• The wastewater feedstream is pre-heated and put in contact with steam in
a packed or tray column. Trays or packing units facilitate contact between
the contaminated water and the steam stream. The combined effects of
the steam and heat cause the organic materials to transfer from the liquid
into the vapor phase. As contacting proceeds down the column, the vapor
becomes rich in organic materials while the wastewater gets cleaner. The
organic vapor leaves the column at the top and is condensed and
recovered. These hydrocarbons can be recycled back into the stripper or
treated with an incinerator. The purified water that leaves the bottom of
the column has very low organic contaminant concentrations and it can be
recycled back into the plant's water system.
 Applications
• Stripping is commonly used in industrial applications to remove
harmful contaminants from waste streams. One example would be
the removal of TBT and PAH contaminants from harbor soils. The
soils are dredged from the bottom of contaminated harbors, mixed
with water to make a slurry and then stripped with steam. The
cleaned soil and contaminant rich steam mixture are then
separated. This process is able to decontaminate soils almost
completely.
• Steam is also frequently used as a stripping agent for water
treatment. Volatile organic compounds are partially soluble in water
and because of environmental considerations and regulations, must
be removed from groundwater, surface water, and wastewater.
These compounds can be present because of industrial, agricultural,
and commercial activity.
 Conclusion:-
• The Stripping column is an important equipment in every
major petrochemical industry. It is basically used to separate
the different parts of crude oil . The high performance packed
stripping column is specially designed for deacidification and
deodorization of fats and oils in refining plants. It is essentially
a distillation process where the heavy product is water /liquid
and the lighter product is generally mixture of organic volatile
materials. Generally steam/air is used for heating purpose in
the column. The different types of the stripper columns are
discussed in the report.
 Acknowledgement
• In persuit of this academic endeavour we feel that we have been
singularly fortunate. Inspiration, guidance, cooperation ,love and
care all came in my way in abundance and it seems almost an
impossible task for me to acknowledge the same in adequate
terms. Yes,we shall be falling in my duty if we do not record my
profound sense of indebtness and heartfelt gratitude to my
supervisors:-
• 1)Dr. Siddhartha Sankar Boxi
• 2)Aditi Sinha
• 3)Rabindranath Jana
• 4)T.K.Manna(H.O.D)
• from Department of Chemical Engineering who guided and inspired
me in pursuance of this work. His association will remain a beacon
light to us throughout our career.
Thank you