CHAPTER 3

FLASH
DISTILLATION
 FLASH DISTILLATION
• Flash distillation is used to separate components in a

mixture making use of the difference in their

volatilities.

• The operation consists of partially vaporizing or

condensing the mixture by either heating or cooling the

feed and separating the vapor from the liquid in a tank,

called a flash drum (see Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Flash Drum
 Flash Drum
• The more volatile or light components tend to go to
the vapor stream V so that their concentration in the
vapor is higher than their feed concentration, that is
yL > xFL, while the less volatile or heavy
components tend to go to the liquid stream and
their concentration in the liquid is higher than their
concentration in the feed, xH > xFH.
 Flash Drum
• A flash drum is commonly assumed to be
an equilibrium stage, that is, the liquid and
vapor leaving the drum are assumed to be
in equilibrium.
 Flash Drum
Variables and Specifications
As in any design problem, the feed rate, composition
and enthalpy are usually specified. These are C + 1
variables, where C is the number of components in the
feed:
• C – 1 component mole fractions xF (they must add to
unity)
• The feed rate F
• The enthalpy HF, specified as
Temperature and pressure
Temperature and saturated liquid or vapor, or
Pressure and saturated liquid or vapor
 Flash Drum
Variables and Specifications
There are then 2C + 3 variables associated with the
drum

• The vapor and liquid product rates, V and L (2)

• The vapor and liquid mole fractions, y and x (2C –

2)

• The vapor and liquid enthalpies, HV and HL (2)

• The exchanger heat duty, q.

 Flash Drum
Variables and Specifications
• On the assumption of equilibrium, the vapor and
liquid enthalpies are functions of the temperature,
pressure and compositions, and can be calculated
from them, but this still give us the temperature and
the pressure as the design variables.
How many equations can we write on the flash drum?
2C + 1:
• C independent mass balances (there are C
components)
• An enthalpy balance
• C equilibrium relationships, one for each component.
Therefore, two specifications are required to determine
the variables of a flash drum. These can be two of the
following three:
The operating pressure P
The operating temperature T
The fraction of the feed that is vaporized, V/F.
• Notice that the number of required specifications is
independent of the number of components.

• Because the equilibrium relations are expressed in

molar units, the flows and compositions must be in
molar flows and mole fractions.
 Flash Drum
Balances and Equations
• We can write C independent mass balances on the drum,
usually one total mole balance, C - 1 component mole
balances, and an enthalpy balance. By inspection of Fig.
1, and an enthalpy balance:
Total mole balance: F = V + L (1)
Component mole balances: FxFi = Vyi + Lxi (2)
Enthalpy balance: FHF + q = VHV + LHL (3)
Where subscript i refers to component i, and only C – 1
component mole balances are independent when the total
mole balance is used.
• The equilibrium relationships result from the
minimization of the free energy of each component at
equilibrium, but they are usually expressed in terms of
the K factors or distributions coefficients:

Equilibrium: yi = Ki(T,P,x)xi (4)

• There are C of these relationships, one for each

component.

•In general, as indicated, the K factor is a function of

the temperature, the pressure and the liquid
composition.
 Equilibrium Relations
The basic equilibrium relationship is the equality of
the chemical potentials of each component in the
vapor and the liquid:

µVi = µLi (5)

This results in the equality of the fugacities in the

liquid and the vapor as µ = RTln(f), so fVi = fLi
Then,
vViPyi = γivI°Pi°(T)xi (6)
Where
vVi = vapor fugacity coefficient of component i at T
and P
vI° = fugacity coefficient of component i saturated
at T
P = the total absolute pressure of the drum
γi = activity coefficient of component i at T, P, and x
Pi°(T)xi = vapor pressure of component i at T
• Equation (6) is the general equation used by process
simulators (Aspen Plus, HySys, Process, etc.) to carry out
precise flash calculations. Depending on the
thermodynamic models used it can represent equilibrium
for very non-ideal mixtures and predict azeotrope and
more than one liquid phase. The calculations are simpler
for:
• Mixtures of non-polar compounds such as
hydrocarbons for which the activity coefficients,
γ, are unity and the K factors are available in
the literature for many compounds as functions
of temperature and pressure, that is,
independent of the liquid compositions and the
other components in the mixture.
• Ideal mixtures with similar intermolecular forces for
which the activity and fugacity coefficients are unity
and the K factors become the ratio of the
component vapor pressure to the total absolute
pressure. This is known as Raoult’s law:

(7)
The vapor pressure is obtained as a function of pressure
from a correlation known as the Antoine equation:

(8)

Where the constants, Ai, Bi and Ci, are available in the

literature for many compounds.
 Enthalpy Balance
• The enthalpy balance gives the heat duty of the
exchanger required for the separation.

• In general, as mentioned before, the molar

enthalpies are functions of the temperature, the
pressure and the compositions.
• Process simulators have correlations to very
accurately estimate the enthalpies of very non-ideal
solutions, but for most hydrocarbon mixtures very
good approximations are obtained neglecting the
temperature and pressure dependence, which is small
except at very high pressures.
 Liquid Feed
When the feed is in the liquid state, the enthalpy balance,
Eq. (3), can be simplified by solving for L from Eq. (1)
and substituting into Eq. (3):
(9)

where λV is the latent heat of the vapor and CpF is the

molar heat capacity of the feed (assumed liquid). The
latent heat is calculated using the vapor mole fractions
and the component molar latent heats:
where λi is the molar latent heat of component i. The
molar heat capacity of the feed is calculated using the
feed mole fractions and the molar heat capacities of
the components:

Where Cpi is the liquid molar heat capacity of

component i.
 Vapor Feed
If the feed to the flash drum is vapor, the equation
must be modified by solving for V from Eq. (1) and
substituting into Eq. (3) to get:

In this case the liquid mole fractions xi must be used

to calculate λV in Eq. (10) and the component molar
heat capacities in Eq. (11) must be those of the vapor
feed. In this case the heat duty q will usually be
negative, meaning that heat must be removed in the
heat exchanger to partially condense the vapor feed.
 Boiling Point Diagram
Figure 2 shows the boiling point diagram for a
mixture of benzene and toluene at 1 atm. We will
use this diagram to introduce some very important
concepts on flash distillation.
Figure 2. Boiling point diagram for
benzene-toluene at 1 atm
• The lower line in the figure represents the boiling
temperature of the saturated liquid as a function of
composition.
This temperature is known as the bubble point of
the mixture, because it is the temperature at which
the liquid is in equilibrium with a bubble of vapor,
too small to change the composition of the liquid.
•The upper line is the condensation temperature of the

saturated vapor as a function of composition.

This temperature is also known as the dew point of

the mixture because the vapor is in equilibrium with

a small drop of the liquid, too small to change the

composition of the vapor.

• Between the two lines the mixture is part liquid and part
vapor and the two phases can be separated in a flash
drum.

• The mixture is said to be partially vaporized.

• Below the saturated liquid (bubble point) line the

mixture is said to be a sub-cooled liquid and above the
saturated vapor (dew point) line the mixture is said to be
a superheated vapor.

• It is evident that for a flash drum to work it must

operate at a temperature between the bubble point and
the dew point of the feed.
Let us use Fig. 2 to look at how a flash drum works.
Starting with a sub-cooled liquid with 50% benzene
and 50% toluene, let us heat it up gradually.

1. As the figure shows, when the temperature reaches

about 92.5°C the liquid reaches saturation, that is, the
first bubble of vapor forms. So the bubble point of a
50% mixture at 1 atm pressure is 92.5°C.
2. As we continue to heat the mixture to 95°C it partially
vaporizes. If we now separate the two phases in a flash
drum, the vapor has a benzene mole fraction of 0.63 and
the liquid has a benzene mole fraction of 0.40. That is,
the benzene is more concentrated in the vapor and less
concentrated in the liquid than the original mixture. It
follows that the toluene is more concentrated in the liquid
and less in the vapor than the original mixture. This is
how the flash drum separates the components in a
mixture according to their volatility.
3. If instead of separating the phases we continue to
heat the mixture, when the temperature reaches about
98°C it becomes saturated vapor. Thus the dew point
of the 50% mixture at 1 atm pressure is 98°C. If
heated to higher temperatures the mixture becomes a
superheated vapor.
• The boiling point diagram of Fig. 2 shows the bubble point and
dew point as functions of the benzene mole fraction at 1 atm
pressure.

• Notice that when the benzene concentration is zero the bubble

point and dew point are the same and equal to 110.6°C.

• This is the normal boiling point of pure toluene. On the right

side the bubble point and dew point are equal to the normal
boiling point of pure benzene, 80°C.

• Notice also that near the two ends, when the mixture is close to
pure toluene or benzene, the difference between the dew point
and the bubble point is much lower than near the middle.
 Countercurrent Stage Distillation
• The operation of a countercurrent stage distillation
column consists of contacting the vapor and liquid
phases in opposite directions in trays.
• Each tray effects a flash separation between the
vapor and the liquid phases with the composition of
the light components in the vapor phase increasing
as it flows through the trays up the column and the
composition of the heavy components in the liquid
phase increasing as it cascades from tray to tray
down the column.
• When the vapor contacts the liquid in a tray part of
it condenses providing the heat to partially vaporize
the liquid.
 Non-ideal Solutions
Not all solutions are ideal as the benzene-toluene solution
of Fig. 2. Some solutions form azeotropes and have
boiling diagrams similar to that of Fig. 3.

Figure 3. Low-boiling azeotrope: benzene-ethanol at 1 atm

• As the figure shows, the azeotrope consists of 57
mole% benzene and 43 mole% ethanol. At this
composition the bubble point and dew point are the
same and lower than the boiling points of pure
ethanol and pure benzene, hence the “low-boiling”
designation. Other mixtures form high-boiling
azeotropes.
• Because of the azeotrope it is not possible to
separate a mixture into its pure components by
simple distillation. Notice that to the left of the
azeotrope the benzene has a higher composition in
the vapor than in the liquid while to the right of the
azeotrope the benzene composition is higher in the
liquid than in the vapor.
 Secant Method
Define the iteration error as e = ∑ xi - 1 . Then:
1. Assume two initial temperature values, T1 and T2
2. Calculate Ki and xi for each component for each
temperature and determine e1 for T1 and e2 for T2
3. Estimate the next temperature as follows

4.Stop the iteration when the next value of the

temperature varies by less than 0.1° from the previous
value.
 The secant method is very efficient and
converges within four or five iterations. It definitely
beats trying values of the temperature at random.
You should add this method to your arsenal of
computation methods.
 Example 1.
Design of a Flash Drum
A liquid mixture containing 38 weight% of propane
and the balance n-octane is to be separated in a
flash drum operating at 3.5 atm. The feed rate is
950 kg/min and enters at 30°C. Using a reasonable
vaporization fraction determine the temperature and
product flows and compositions, the exchanger heat
duty, and the recovery of each component.
Solution. Because the equilibrium relationship is given in
molar units we must first convert the weight fractions
and mass flow to molar basis. The molecular weights are
44 for propane and 114 for octane.

Design variable: As the two components have very

different volatilities it is expected that most of the
propane goes to the vapor and most of the n-butane
goes to the liquid. So set the vaporization fraction to
61% on a molar basis:
V = (0.61)(802) = 489 kmole/hr
L = 802 – 489 = 313 kmole/hr
The rest of the iterations are summarized in the
following table:
 This example shows that when the relative volatility
of the components is high (in this case 8.71/0.0706 =
12.3) the product compositions can be relatively pure
and the recoveries high. This would not be the case if
the relative volatility were nearer 1.0 which case a
countercurrent stage distillation column would be
required to obtain pre products and high recoveries.
 Bubble Point
The bubble point of a mixture is the liquid saturation
temperature. It is obtained by solving the flash
equations for V = 0, thus L = F and xi = xFi. The
solution procedure is as follows:
1.Assume a temperature and calculate Ki for each
component
2.Calculate yi = Kixi for each component
3.Repeat steps 1 and 2 until ∑ yi = 1.0

Again there are several ways to solve the iteration

and the Secant method is one of them.
 Example 2.
Enthalpy Balance for Liquid Feed
Calculate the heat duty for Example 1 if the feed is
saturated liquid at 4.2 atm (3190 mm Hg).
Start the iteration:
 Notice the conditions in the flash drum are
not changed. The feed is at a higher pressure
than the drum to allow for pressure drop in the
heat exchanger.
 Dew Point
The dew point of a mixture is the vapor saturation
temperature. It is obtained by solving the flash
equations for L = 0, thus V = F and yi = xFi. The
solution procedure is as follows:
1.Assume a temperature and calculate Ki for each
component
2.Calculate xi = yi/Ki for each component
3.Repeat steps 1 and 2 until ∑ xi = 1.0

Again there are several ways to solve the iteration

and the Secant method is one of them.
 Example 3.
Enthalpy Balance for Vapor Feed
Calculate the heat duty for Example 1 if the feed is
saturated vapor at 4.2 atm (3190 mm Hg). Start the
iteration:
The minus sign means that the exchanger must remove this
heat to cool the feed and condense the liquid product.
 Design Variable
As any design problem, the design of a flash drum is
usually indeterminate requiring the engineer to select
some design variable. Any of the three possible
specifications can be a design variable, but recall that
only two specifications are required.

•
• Fraction Vaporized. As Example 1 shows, when the
relative volatility of the components is high the vapor
fraction on a molar basis should be near the mole
fraction of the light component in the feed. This is also
a good way to specify in other cases.
• Temperature. When specifying the flash temperature and
the feed is vapor, the temperature should be above ambient
temperature so that refrigeration is avoided in the heat
exchanger, because refrigeration is much more expensive
than cooling water or air at ambient temperature. If the feed
to the flash drum is liquid, the temperature should not be so
high that it requires higher steam pressure than necessary in
the heat exchanger because the cost of steam goes up with
its pressure.
•Pressure. The consideration for pressure follows
the same guidelines as for the temperature, because
the flash temperature depends on the pressure.
Unfortunately the temperature required at a given
pressure is not known until the problem is solved.
 These guidelines apply equally when solving the
flash distillation problem manually or with a process
simulator. When using the process simulator the
usual specifications are the temperature and the
pressure. The correct procedure is to look at the
composition of the vapor and liquid products and
keep in mind the following:
Increasing the pressure or decreasing the
temperature increases the composition of the light
components in the liquid. This reduces the recovery of
light components in the vapor.

Decreasing the pressure or increasing the

temperature increases the concentration of the heavy
components in the vapor. This reduces the recovery of
the heavy components in the liquid.
 Summary
These notes have presented the design of separation by
flash distillation. A flash drum is a single stage operation
that separates the components in the feed based on the
difference in their volatilities. The mass and enthalpy
balances allow us to compute the temperature or pressure
of the flash and the product flows and compositions.

The Secant method is recommended to solve the

iterative flash calculations when other solution tools are not
available.