Lecture 11.

Binary Distillation (1)

[Ch. 7]
• Distillation
- Overview & Industrial use
- Operation
• McCabe-Thiele Method
- Rectifying section
- Stripping section
- Feed-stage considerations
- q-line
- Optimal and nonoptimal locations of feed
stage
• Limiting Conditions
- Minimum number of equilibrium stages
- Minimum reflux ratio
- Perfect separation
 Distillation
• Distillation (fractionation) vs. absorption and stripping
: the second fluid phase is usually created by thermal
means (vaporization and condensation) rather than by
introduction
• 11th century, distillation was used in Italy to produce
alcoholic beverages (batch process)
 16th century, it was known that separation could be improved
by multiple vapor-liquid contacts (stages)
 20th century, multistage distillation became the most widely used
industrial method for separating liquid mixtures
 Distillation: Industrial Use
• Distillation is technically
the most mature
separation operation
• Distillation is very energy
intensive, especially
when the relative
volatility, , is low (<
1.50)
• Most significant distillation
energy has been
consumed by petroleum
refining to separate crude
oil into petroleum
fractions,
’ light
hydrocarbons (C2’s to C5
s), and aromatic
chemicals
 Distillation Operation
• Total condenser: the
Total condenser overhead vapor leaving the
Overhead vapor top stage is totally
Reflux drum condensed  liquid
Reflux Distillate (D) distillate product + liquid
Top stage 1
Light-key mole reflux that is returned to the
fraction = xD
Rectifying top stage
section
Feed stages • Partial reboiler: liquid from
Light-key f Feed stage the bottom stage is
mole
fraction Stripping section partially vaporized  liquid
= zF stages is returned
bottoms to the + vapor
product
N bottom stage
boilup that
Bottom stage Boilup
• Multiple, countercurrent
Partial contacting stages can
reboiler
achieve a sharp separation
Bottom (B)
Light-key mole unless an azeotrope is
fraction = xB formed
 Phase Equilibrium of Binary Mixture
• Goal of distillation: from the feed to produce a distillate, rich in
the light key (xD  1.0), and a bottoms product, rich in the heavy
key (xB 0. )
0
• Relative volatility, 
1,2  K1 / K2
Raoult’s law
K  P s / P and 2  P2s / P
K
1,2
1  P 1/ P
s s

1 2

1,2 y / x y1
 y2 / x2 1 x1 1 (1

(1y1x)1 )
y1  1,2 x1
1 x1 ( For ideal binary mixtures of components with close
boiling points, T changes are small and  is almost
1) 1,2 constant
McCabe--Thiele Method
Graphical equilibrium-stage
method for trayed
towers
 Rectifying Section

<
1

Assuming R=L/D
constant L/V = R/(R+1) R: reflux ratio
molar D/V=1/(R+1)
Vn1 y n1  Ln xn
 DxD overflow
Ln D R 1
yn1  xn xD L D D y x xD
Vn1 Vn1 y x x R  1 R
 V V 1
 Stripping Section

>
Boilu 1
p

Assuming VB  V / B
constant L /V  (VB  1) /VB VB: boilup ratio
molar B /V  1 /VB
Lm xm  m1 y m1  B overflow
V L Bx B V 1 1
m  xB L B B y  BV x V xB
ym1  xm y x x B B
Vm1 Vm1 V V
 F e e d - S t a g e Considerations
• xD and xB can be selected independently
• R and VBare related by the feed phase
condition
Subcooled-liquid feed Bubble-point liquid Partially vaporized feed
L VV  V
feed L VV  V L VV V  VF

F F F VF

LF

L LL  F V L  LL  F V L  LL  LF V

Dew-point vapor Superheated-vapor

feed L V V V  F feed L V VV  F
Possible feed
F F
conditions

LL  L V LL V
 Relations for Reflux Ratio an d
Boilup Ratio
• Relations covering feed conditions from a saturated liquid to
a
saturated vapor
L V Boilup ratio Reflux
V V V  VF ratio
F F

V  V V F  L  D V F L  L  LF  V  B 
LF L
VB  V  L  D V F
F

L  LL  LF L V  B  LF
R  
V B B D traditionally
For the specification of distillation operation, R or R/Rmin is used
D more important product
because the distillate product is often the

• q: ratio of the increase in Feed condition Value of q

molar reflux rate across the Subcooled liquid > 1
feed stage to the molar feed Bubble-point liquid 1
rate Partially vaporized LF/F
L L V V
q q Dew-point vapor 0
F 1 F Superheated vapor < 0
 q - Line
• q-line: one point of which is the intersection of
the rectifying and stripping operating lines
Rectifying operating line Stripping operating line

L D D L B B
y x x y x x
V V V V
y(V  V )  (L  L) x  DxD 
BxB

 F  BxLB  V
DxD V FzF
L LL
q F

q zF
y x
q  1 q 
1
Optimal a n d Nonoptimal Locations
of Feed Stage
5 stages, The smallest number of
optimal feed total stages occurs
location when the transfer is
made at the first
opportunity after a
horizontal line of the
staircase passes over
point P

6.4 stages, 5.9 stages,

feed- feed-
stage stage
locatio locatio
n n
below above
optimal optimal
stage stage
 Minimum Number of Equilibrium
Stages
• Increasing reflux  L /V increases to limitingvalue 1
• Increasing boilup ratio  L /V decreases to limiting
value 1 Rectifying operating line

L D D
y x x
V V
Stripping operating line

L B B
y x x
V V
V
Minimum number of
L stages L= V : total
reflux
B=D=0 : no product
 Minimum Reflux Ratio
• The number of equilibrium stages increases
when operating line moves closer to
equilibrium curve
Typical ideal or near-ideal system Typical nonideal system
Pinch point
above the feed
Pinch point stage
at the feed
stage

Rmin  (L /V )min /[1 (L /V )

(L /V )min  Rmin /(Rmin 1)
] (VB )min  1/[(L /V )max 1]
Minimum boilup ratio min
Perfect Separation

• Perfect separation
xD = 1, xB = 0
• Number of stages
: infinite
• Reflux ratio :
finite value
• Slope of
operating line :
finite value

xB zF xD
 [Example] Distillation of a Binary
Mixture of Benzene a n d Toluene
A trayed tower is to be designed to continuously distill 450
lbmol/hr of a binary mixture of 60 mol% benzene and 40 mol%
toluene. A liquid distillate and bottom product of 95 mol% and
5 mol% benzene are to be produced. The feed is preheated so
that it enters the column with a molar percent vaporization equal
to the distillate-to-feed ratio.
Use the McCabe-Thiele method to
compute following, assuming a uniform pressure of 1 atm
throughout the column.
(a) Nmin, (b) Rmin, and (c) N for R/Rmin=1.3 and the optimal
location of feed stage

• Overall material balance on benzene & total balance

D  275
z F F  xD D  xB B 0.60(450)  0.95(D)  lbmol/h
0.05(B)
D / F175
B 
FBD 450  B  D lbmol/h
0.611
[Example] (a) Minimum Number of
Theoretical Stages, Nmin

L L
1 and 1
V V

x and y :
benzene, more-
volatile
component
xD = 0.95
xB = 0.05

* Nmin = 6.7
 [Example] (b) Minimum Reflux
Ratio, Rmin
VF / F  D / F  0.611

L (F V )
q F  F

0.389 y=
0.684
F F x =
q 0.389 0.465
 q-line 
Slope of
q 1 0.637
0.389
1
Slope of operating line

0.95  0.684
 0.55 
R
0.95  0.465 R
1
 [Example] (c) Number of
Equilibrium Stages, N

R  1.3Rmin
 1.3(1.22)  1.59

Slope of operating
line for rectifying
section
R 1.59
 
R 1 0.614
1.59
1
 N  13.2
Optimal location of
feed stage: 7