A 100 mole liquid mixture containing 60 mole% acetone and 40 mole% water at 26.

7 oC
is to be separated by distillation at atmospheric pressure, such that 30 mole% of the
feed is vapourised.

a) Simple (differential) distillation is used, determine the composition of the residue

liquid and the combined distillate.
X-Y* Distribution data for the Acetone Water Mixtures
Temp Mole
o
C Mole Fraction Fraction
in Vapour -
in Liquid - X Y
100.0 0.00 0
91.7 0.01 0.253
86.6 0.02 0.425
75.7 0.05 0.624
66.6 0.10 0.755
63.4 0.15 0.798
62.2 0.20 0.815
61.0 0.30 0.83
60.4 0.40 0.839
60.0 0.50 0.849
59.5 0.60 0.859
58.9 0.70 0.874
58.2 0.80 0.898
57.5 0.90 0.935
57.0 0.85 0.963
56.5 1.00 1.00
Differential mode 30% differentially vaporized

The more volatile component is acetone. Thirty percent of the feed is vaporized in deferential
mode and the final composition of the liquid in the tank is unknown!
Assumption. Unsteady state process but assume that there is equilibrium between the liquid
left in the tank and the differential amount of vapour (dV) vaporized and removed.
Let dL be amount of liquid vaporized. Then dV=dL.
Let the mole fraction of acetone in the liquid be X before incremental vaporization of dL and X-
dX be the mole fraction after removal of the above amount. Let Y be the mole fraction of
acetone in the vaporized amount.

Total balance:
the amount of liquid vaporized equals the amount of vapour formed: dV = dL
Component balance:
Amount of acetone in tank before vaporization = amount in tank after vaporization
+ amount removed in vapor
X*L = (X-dX)*(L-dL) + Y*dL. Which after expanding and simplifying gives Rayleigh’s equation thus:
𝐿1
𝑋1
𝑑𝐿 𝐿2 𝑑𝑥
∫ = ln⁡( ) = ⁡ ∫
𝐿 𝐿1 𝑋2 𝑦 −𝑥
𝐿2

Either choose a basis of L1=100 or maintain L1 as a variable; 30% of L1 is evaporated therefore V = 0.30L1= 30 and
L2 = L1 – 0.30L1 or L2= 0.70L1= 70; but X2 is unknown.

L1/L2 = L1/0.70L1 = 100/70 = 1.4286.  ln(L1/L2) = ln(1.4286)= 0.3566 ≅ 0.357

The data has been plotted on the axes whose scale is such that each box has area 0.1*0.01 = 0.001

Rayleigh Plot

X Y Y-X 1/(Y-X) From the choice of scale on axes, and with X1=0.60, the
0.010 0.253 0.243 4.115 value of X2 should be found such that the number of boxes
0.020 0.425 0.405 2.469 counted is 0.357/0.001 = 357. When X2 = 0.50 the no of
0.050 0.624 0.574 1.742 boxes=328.4 but when X2=0.49, no of boxes = 357.
0.100 0.755 0.655 1.527 X2 = 0.49 L1*X1 = (L1-L2)*Yav + L2*X2 
0.150 0.798 0.648 1.543
0.200 0.815 0.615 1.626 Yav = (100*0.60 – 70*0.49)/30 = 0.857
0.300 0.830 0.530 1.887 The composition of the distillate is only slightly purer than
0.400 0.839 0.439 2.278 the single stage flash! There is not a great deal of
0.500 0.849 0.349 2.865 difference. However one can collect fractions of distillate
0.600 0.859 0.259 3.861 of varying levels of purity when the differential methods is
0.700 0.874 0.174 5.747 employed.