P R E F A C E

O ne of the most important tasks in the chemical industry is the separation of mul-
ticomponent liquid mixtures into one or more high-purity products. Several tech-
nologies are feasible for this task, either alone or in combination, such as distil-
lation, extraction, crystallization, etc. Among these, distillation is by far the most
widespread and has a long history in chemical technology. However, until recently,
there has been no systematic approach for understanding complex mixtures where
azeotropes, multiple liquid phases, and simultaneous reactions may occur. This book
describes such an approach including the basic data and models for understanding
separation systems based on distillation. Some of the ideas and models are classi-
cal, but many are new and based on geometric methods of nonlinear analysis. This
approach is made practical by modern methods for computer solution of these non-
linear models. The approach is suitable for simple as well as complex mixtures and
can replace attempts to understand azeotropic, extractive, and reactive systems as
separate and arcane topics. The ideas developed for distillation can be extended to
other technologies such as liquid extraction and absorption.
The models developed here are the basis for software tools for conceptual de-
sign which are complementary to more detailed simulation methods developed in
the last two decades. A major task in conceptual design is the generation and com-
parison of process alternatives, from which a promising subset is selected for more
detailed study. Tools for computer-aided conceptual design of distillation systems
have been developed and tested by several research groups, including our own at the
University of Massachusetts. These or similar tools are available as part of at least
two commercial products that are available for faculty and student use at reasonable
cost. Although this book stands alone, our experience in teaching this material to
both undergraduate and graduate students and to hundreds of industrial practition-
ers shows that these tools are valuableprobably more for the insight than for the
numbers!1
There are advocates for introducing more design concepts and problems through-
out the engineering curriculum as an alternative to the traditional approach of a sep-
arate senior capstone course in design. It is our opinion that both are needed. The
capstone course should provide a systems approach to whole plants, in which liquid
separation systems are often a major component. In addition, this capstone course
must reinforce the idea that students are expected to make and to justify decisions
and must build on materials from earlier courses to offer a logical and manageable
approach to such decision making. The systems approach is essential for this and,

1
Paraphrasing Richard Hamming, who said The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.

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we think, cannot be learned without a dedicated course. It makes more sense to

us that elements of economics and optimization be introduced alongside the more
fundamental material in earlier courses.
We have used the material in this book to teach a rst undergraduate course in
separations, which is followed by a second course on other separation technologies,
many of them rate-controlled. The second course has more breadth than the rst,
but we do nd that depth in the technology described in this book gives students
con dence that they will be able to develop similar depth in other technologies on
their own. The undergraduate course is preceded by a mass and energy balance course
and two courses in thermodynamics; a heat transfer course is taken concurrently, but
is probably not essential. One typical outline for an undergraduate course appears
on page xii. A typical graduate course might cover almost all of the material, with
approximately one hour of lecture on Chapter 1, two hours on Chapters 2, 3, and
6, and three hours each on the remaining chapters. For more information, or with
questions, please e-mail to cdds@ecs.umass.edu.
Amherst, Massachusetts
July 14, 2000