CHE 453A LAB REPORT I

by SHUBHAM JAIN, Roll No. 12695, Monday Batch

The requisite flow sheet (shown below), with the input conditions and other
data like pump power etc., was made.

The stream details, Condenser Pressure, Reboiler Pressure, etc. for both the
Distillation Columns in the flow sheet were entered into separate Short-Cut
Distillation Columns (shown below) in order to calculate the number of stages
and the optimum feed stage for these Distillation Columns.

Both the Distillation Columns in the flow sheet had 2 degrees of freedom.
For the right hand side Distillation Column in the flow sheet, the 2 degrees of
freedom were chosen as "mole fraction of Toluene in distillate" and "mole
fraction of Xylene in bottoms", and both were specified to be 0.999, as given
in the problem statement.
For the left hand side Distillation Column in the flow sheet, the 2 degrees of
freedom were chosen as "mole fraction of Benzene in distillate" and "mole
fraction of Benzene in bottoms".

 However, for the left hand side Distillation Column, only the "mole fraction of
Benzene in distillate" was specified to be 0.999 as per the problem statement,
whereas the other degree of freedom i.e. "mole fraction of Benzene in
bottoms", was manipulated in order to optimize the distillation train.
Optimization : The "total reboiler duty" for the 2 Distillation Columns in the
flow sheet was recorded as a function of the "mole fraction of Benzene in
bottoms" for the left hand side Distillation Column, which was manipulated in
order to minimize the "total reboiler duty".
Final Answer : The optimal "mole fraction of Benzene in bottoms" for the left
hand side Distillation Column was found to be 0.015% (shown below).