Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
and M. N. SOVILJ
S. M. MAUHAR**, B. G. BARJAKTAROVIC,
Optimization of distillation process, based on the real operating data taken from the factory, was
carried out using Aspen Plus simulation engine. A need for the optimization came from the fact
that the feed stream quality had been signicantly changed recently, together with some of the
process parameters. The right combination of pressure and reux rate was to be found in order to
minimize the energy consumption in the reboiler and to obtain the required product purity. The
real column eciency was found and the possibility of column capacity enlargement was tested.
*Presented at the 31st International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatransk Matliare,
2428 May 2004.
**The author to whom the correspondence should be addressed.
Table 1. Column Internals Data and Temperature and Pressure Ranges Measured in the Column
Diameter/m 2.1
Number of stages 241
Tray type Sieve + valve (each fourth plate is with valves), 2 passes, hole diameter 0.039 m, 388 holes per tray
Tray spacing/m 0.45
Weir height/m 0.0545
Downcomers Side Centre
Width at a top/m 0.35 0.28
Width at a bottom/m 0.35 0.28
Clearance/m 0.0445 0.0445
P/MPa 1.5951.756
t/ C 35.749.2
xD,propylene
librium stages, it is possible to specify Murphree e-
ciency to match plant performance. Two columns used
in the polypropylene plant are considered as one by 0.992
the simulation program since the column 2 acts as an
extension of the column 1 (the column division into 0.990
two parts comes as a physical restriction of the RAD-
FRAC unit operation model). 0.988
The column eciency was unknown parameter.
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
For this system propylene was considered as a light key
/%
component and propane as a heavy key component.
In Design Specs of the Flowsheeting Options menu Fig. 2. The propylene mole fraction in the distillate as a func-
propylene and propane mass fractions in the distillate tion of the column eciency.
and bottom stream were used as design specications
while the column eciency was the manipulating vari-
able. Determined stage eciency was used for all other 17
0.994
simulation runs.
0.992 16
The reux rate was the manipulating variable in a
sensitivity analysis performed in order to estimate its 15
0.990
inuence on some important process parameters such
as the reboiler duty and the product purity. These 14
Q reb/(GJ h-1)
0.988
x D,propylene
FF
9000 72000 25.73 2.86
0.75
0.70
0.65
the reboiler duty (Qreb ) and the propylene purity
(xD,propylene ) with the reux ow rate, the indepen- 0.60
dent variable R was varied from 30000 kg h1 to 46000 0.55
kg h1 . Fig. 3 summarizes the results of this simula- 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240
tion. As expected, variation of the reboiler duty with
NS
the reux ow rate was linear. It is obvious that the
energy consumption in the reboiler is reduced decreas- Fig. 4. The ooding factor as a function of the plate number
ing the reux ow rate. On the other hand, this de- for the feed ow rates of 5496 ( ), 7000 (), and 9000
crease aects the product purity by reducing it. As it () kg h1 .
is shown in Fig. 3, the minimum reux ow rate to
obtain the required distillate purity of 99.2 mole %
of propylene is 39600 kg h1 ( = 0.4075), to which 1.2
corresponds the reboiler energy consumption of 14.15
GJ h1 . 1.1
In order to investigate the column capacity the dis-
tillate to feed and bottom to feed mass ow ratios were 1.0
kept unchanged (D/F = 0.96, B/F = 0.033) while the
Ki,K1/K2
propane K factors) increases with the pressure de- R gas constant in eqns (1) and
crease. (11) J K1 mol1
The following analysis should give a path for the R reux mass ow rate kg h1
pressure adjustment at the top of the column. If the vm molar volume m3 mol1
goal is to obtain the distillate with 99.3 mass % of x mole fraction in liquid phase
propylene, then the adjusted reux ow rates for ob- y mole fraction in vapour phase
taining this purity are given in Table 4 (for the pres- zRA Racketts compressibility factor
sures at the top of the column of 1.4 MPa and 1.2
MPa and D/F and B/F unchanged). Also, Table 4 Greek Letters
shows the temperatures at the top and the bottom
of the column, together with the reboiler heat duty. Murphree eciency
However, some process limitations, such as the lowest acentric factor
cooling water temperature which can be achieved, do
not permit to operate under the pressure at the top of Subscripts
the column lower than 1.2 MPa. On the other hand,
working under the pressure of 1.4 MPa would result bottom bottom of the column
in signicant energy saving (14.31 GJ h1 instead of c critical
15.43 GJ h1 ). m molar
i, j components
reb reboiler
SYMBOLS top top of the column
w water
a parameter of SRK equation of state J mol1
B bottom mass ow rate kg h1 REFERENCES
b parameter of SRK equation of
state m3 mol1 1. Polypropylene Plant Process Documentation. Mitsubishi
Petrochemical Engineering Co., 1980.
c parameter of SRK equation of
2. Aspen Plus 11.1 Documentation, Unit Operation Mod-
state m3 mol1 els and Physical Property Methods and Models. Aspen
D distillate mass ow rate kg h1 Technology Inc., 2001.
F feed mass ow rate kg h1 3. Seider, W. D., Seader, J. D., and Lewin, D. R., Process
FF ooding factor Design Principles. Wiley, New York, 1999.
G the sum of the group contribution of groups 4. Peneloux, A., Rauzy, E., and Freze, R., Fluid Phase
which make up a molecule of hydrocarbon Equilib. 8, 7 (1982).
G gas mass ow rate kg h1 5. Kabadi, V. and Danner, R. P., Eng. Chem. Process
g mass fraction Des. Dev. 24, 537 (1985).
K K factor (K = y/x) 6. Smejkal, Q. and o, M., Chem. Eng. Process. 41, 413
k binary interaction coecient for SRK equa- (2002).
7. Raschety osnovnykh protsessov i apparatov neftepe-
tion of state
rerabotki. Spravochnik pod redaktsiei E. N. Sudakova.
NS tray number (Calculations of the Principal Processes and Appara-
T thermodynamic temperature K tuses at the Oil Processing. A Handbook Edited by E.
t Celsius temperature C N. Sudakov.) Khimiya, Moscow, 1979.
P pressure MPa 8. McWilliams, M. L. and Charlestone, W. V., Chem.
Q heat duty GJ h1 Eng. 29, 138 (1973).