06-361 page 1 Spring, 2001

Review of Lectures 13-24

Chapters 8-13 oI Notes
OUNTERCURRENT ASCADES
Equal Molar Overflow Assumption
Neglecting sensible heat eIIects and assuming molar latent heat oI
vaporization is the same Ior both components, then
H
x,i
0
and H
v,i1

The main consequence is that the molar Ilowrates oI liquid and vapor are
constant throughout the cascade
J
a
J
1
J
2
...J
N
J
b
( J, say)
L
a
L
1
L
2
...L
N
L
b
( L, say)
Operating Line
a relationship between the mole Iraction oI the more volatile component
in the vapor v
i1
and the mole Iraction oI the more volatile component in the adjacent liquid
stream x
i
, which is imposed by mole balances around a subset oI the cascade. Eor example, a
mole balance around the top i stages in the cascade ( line in the Iigure above) yields
v
i1
(L/J)x
i
|v
a
-(L/J)x
a
|
where we have also applied the assumption oI equal molar overIlow.
Equilibrium Curve
v*(x) - a relationship between the mole Iraction oI the more volatile component in the vapor v
and the mole Iraction oI the more volatile component in the liquid x, when the two phases are in
thermodynamic equilibrium
v v*(x)
06-361 page 2 Spring, 2001
Ideal Stage
The dashed line in the Iigure at right connects vapor and liquid streams
leaving a given stage which are usually assumed to be in
thermodynamic equilibrium with each other. Eor the n
th
stage this
means
v
n
v*(x
n
)
x
R

+1
x

QL
CABEHIELE ETHOD
Rectifying Operating Line (ROL)
- relationship between v
n1
and x
n
imposed by mole balances in the rectiIying cascade oI a
distillation column.
v
L
J
x
D
J
x
n n D
= +
1
To draw the operating line, you need either one point and the slope or two points:
slope:
L
J
R
R
=
+1
2 points: (x
D
, x
D
) and (0,
x
R

1
)
06-361 page 3 Spring, 2001
Reflux ratio
deIinition: R
L
D
=
II (x, v) is any point on the ROL, then the reIlux ratio can be computed Irom
R
x v
v x
D
=
'
' '
Q-Line
- locus oI points oI all possible intersections (x,v) between the operating lines Ior two adjacent
cascades:
v
q
q
x
:
q
F
=

1 1
To draw the Q-line, you need one point and a slope:
slope oI Q-line
q
q 1
one point on Q-line: (:
F
, :
F
)
q is a dimensionless number characterizing the thermal condition oI the Ieed:
q
H H
H H
J F
J L

=
energy required to completely vaporize Ieed
latent heat oI vaporization
When the Ieed is a two-phase mixture (oI vapor and liquid), q is also the (molar) Iraction oI the
Ieed which is liquid. Using a enthalpy balance (assuming equal molar overIlow), q also
represents the Iraction oI Ieed which adds to the vapor Ilowrate (Irom the cascade below the
Ieed) and the Iraction oI Ieed which adds to the liquid Ilowrate (Irom the cascade above the
Ieed):
L -L qF and J-J (1-q)F
06-361 page 4 Spring, 2001
Flow Rates
Mole balances can be used to relate the distillate, Ieed and bottoms Ilowrates:
D
F
: x
x x
F B
D B
=

Knowing the distillate Ilowrate, we can use the deIinition oI the reIlux ratio to calculate the
liquid and vapor rates in the rectiIying section
L RD and J (R1)D
The Ilowrates in the stripping section are determined Irom
L L qF and J J (q-1)F
Stripping section operating line
- relationship between v
n1
and x
n
imposed by mole balances in the stripping cascade oI a
distillation column.
1 n n B
L B
v x x
J J

=
To draw the operating line, you need two points:
intersection oI Q-line and ROL and (x
B
, x
B
)
Note that the slope oI the SOL also is the ratio oI liquid-to-vapor Ilowrates (in moles per time)
Ior that section oI the column.
Kremser`s Equation
- when both the operating line and equilibrium curve can
be approximated by a straight line over some range oI
mole Iractions, the number oI steps between them can be
calculated Irom
N
v v
v v
v v
v v
a a
b b
a b
a b
=

log
log
*
*
* *
,
,
,

06-361 page 5 Spring, 2001
In distillation, the equilibrium curve lies above the operating line: v
a
* ~ v
a
and v
b
* ~ v
b
. To
obtain N~0, you must have v
a
~ v
b
. II you inadvertently (but consistently) interchange the
subscripts a and b, you will obtain negative values Ior N, although dropping the negative sign
gives the correct result.
Plate (1ray) Efficiency
- the length oI a 'real step divided by the length oI an
ideal step
q
Mv
n n
n n
v v
v v
=

1
1
*
q
Mx
n n
n n
x x
x x
=

1
1
*
ULTICOMPONENT ISTILLATION
Key Components
Eor a sharp split, components heavier than the heavy key have negligible mole Iraction in the
distillate and components lighter than the light key have negligible mole Iraction in the bottoms.
Fenske`s Equation
Eor total reIlux, constant molar overIlow, and constant relative volatilities, the number oI
ideal steps can be calculated Irom

min
ln
ln
Di Bi
Df Bf
if
x x
x x
N
| |
|
|
\ .
=
o
OI course, iI the reboiler only partially vaporizes the bottom liquid, one oI these steps is the
reboiler. Eor purpose oI calculating the minimum number oI steps, we usually choose i LK
and f HK. Once N
min
is known, this equation can be used to x
D
or x
B
Ior other components.
Underwood`s Method
Assuming constant molar overIlow and constant relative volatilities, the minimum reIlux
ratio can be estimated Irom
06-361 page 6 Spring, 2001
R
x
i Di
i
i
min
+ =

1
o
o |
where is that root oI
o
o |
i Fi
i
i
:
q

1
which lies in the interval o | o
HK LK
< <
Gilliland`s Correlation
Once estimates are available Ior N
min
and R
min
, the number oI ideal stages N Ior some
operating reIlux ratio R ~ R
min
can be estimated Irom the Iollowing empirical correlation (see
page 113 oI 2000 Notes):
SE OF HEMSEP
Chemsep vs. McCabe-1hiele
In the McCabe-Thiele graphical method, you speciIy the Ieed, the composition oI the product
streams, and the reIlux ratio; then Mc-T gives you the number oI stages required (no trial-and-
error)
given: x
D
, x
B
and R
Mc-T Iinds: N
E
and N
S
In constrast, Chemsep is a simulator: you must speciIy the number oI trays in each section and
one detail about the distillate and one detail about the bottoms. Then Chemsep solves Ior the
remaining details:
given N
E
, N
S
, x
D
(or R) and x
B
Chemsep Iinds: R (or x
D
)
06-361 page 7 Spring, 2001
Determining the Reflux Ratio
ChemSep does not report the reIlux ratio directly, but it can be calculated Irom the Ilowrates
which can be tabulated.
Generally the liquid and vapor Ilowrates on the line Ior stage n are the rates oI the streams
leaving stage n, except that stage 1 reIers to the stage 1 plus the condenser and the stream splitter
Iollowing it. The liquid leaving 'stage 1 is the reIlux stream while the 'vapor leaving stage 1
reIers to the distillate product (regardless oI whether it is vapor or liquid). Thus the reIlux ratio
is
R
L
D
= = =
7 463
0 7654
9 75
.
.
.
Sfage Tempeafue Pessue I1oW afes |mo1/s}
|K} |afm} L1qu1d vapou Ieed Poducf
1 411.9 1.000 7.463 0.7654 0.7654 L
2 412.0 1.000 7.463 8.229
3 412.0 1.000 7.462 8.228
4 412.0 1.000 7.461 8.227
5 412.0 1.000 7.461 8.227