CN3132

SEPARATION PROCESSES
CN3132 is a core chemical engineering module to introduce design concepts of
industrially relevant separation processes
Prerequisite: CN 1111, CN2125

S Farooq
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Office: E5-02-26
Phone: 6516 6545
Email: chesf@nus.edu.sg

Flippedclassroom
We will adopt flipped classroom approach. Detailed
lectureswillbeuploadedasonlinevideos.Youmustview
thevideosbeforecomingtotheclass.
In the class, the focus will be more on key concepts and
designissues.
More time will be spent on illustrations through solving
problems.
Youwillberequiredtoactivelyparticipate.

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-2

Topicscoveredhere
Compulsory reading: Chapter 1 from the text book
Why study separation?
About the module
Learning objectives
Expected outcomes
Course content and mode of delivery
Text book and supporting materials
Schedules
Mechanism of mass transfer
Equilibrium design method

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-3

Importanceofseparation
5090%ofthecapitalinvestedinachemicalplantgoestoseparationequipment
Atypicalchemicalplant

Undesirableimpuritiesremovedfromtherawmaterialbeforereaction
Separationofproductfromunreactedfeedforrecycling
Furtherpurificationofproduct(s)tomeetthecustomerspecification

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-4

Processflowdiagramofformaldehydemanufacturefrommethanol

DISTILLATION

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-5

Productionofpetroleum/petrochemicalproductsfromcrudeoilinarefinery

Watch the video at the following location to know more about various products from a refinery distillation column:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=c2XV0Qk7PEU

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-6

Penicillinproduction(Biotechnology)

Environmentalprotection(H2SRemoval)

Canyouidentifytheseparators?
Whatarethemostcommonseparators?

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-7

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-8

MaturitiesofSeparationProcesses:Technicalvs.Use

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-9

Learningobjectives
Pre-requisites: Equilibrium and mass balance concepts introduced in
CN 1111 and CN2125
Thestudentswilllearnthedesignandoperationofstandardequilibriumstage
separationprocessesusedinthechemicalindustries
ExpectedOutcomes
At the end of the course the students are expected to

Explain equilibrium concepts in separation.

Describe the effects of various operating variables on the separation
output.
Design, analyze, troubleshoot and improve standard separation processes
used in chemical industries.
Make informed choices among alternatives in the design and operation of
separation processes.

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-10

Coursecontent
Dr Dan Zhao will take over after October 1 and cover the following topics
Rate Based Design of Continuous Contact Processes; Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer; Adsorption Processes
Date

90minutelecture(Monday)

10August
13August
15August

Holiday

17August

MulticomponentFlash/
BinaryMultistage
distillation

BinaryMultistage
Distillation

Absorption

Extraction(immiscible
system)

Extraction(misciblesystem)

Multicomponentdistillation

20August
24August
27August
31August
3Sept
7Sept
10Sept
14Sept
17Sept
28Sept
1Oct

45minutelecture (Thursday)

BinaryFlashDistillation

Watchuploadedvideo
lecturebeforetheface
tofacelecture
Onlinelecture1

Comment

Makeupforthelecture
lostonAugust10
Venue:LT5
Time:11amto1pm
Topic:BinaryFlash
Distillation

Onlinelecture2

BinaryMultistageDistillation

Absorption

Onlinelecture3

Absorption
Onlinelecture4
Extraction

Extraction(misciblesystem)
Midtermtest

Stepbystepillustration

Watchafterattendinglecture

Time:8:45amto9:45am
Venuetobeannounced
later

NOTE:LecturetimehasnotbeenassignedforthetopicColumndesign.Recordedlecturewillbeuploadedtocoverthistopic.
Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-11

Coursematerials

Text book and supporting books (No. 1 is the prescribed text):

1. Wankat, P.C., Separation Process Engineering, Prentice Hall, 3nd Edition (2012)

2nd Edition

3rd Edition

2. Treybal, R.E., Mass-Transfer Operations, McGraw-Hill, International Edition (1980).

Course Notes
Every student must have a text book and read the relevant chapters. Course notes should only be used as
complimentary materials - not a substitute for the text book.

Online lecture / Video Clips

Uploaded and links provided in the lecture notes

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-12

Assessment
Home work every week

Home work problems will be discussed in the tutorials

Objective is to help develop skill for

solving design problems

Homework problems will not be graded

Continual assessment (CA)

(Open book: Text book and lecture notes)

Objective is to test the basic

concepts

Formative: Short questions on topics covered in previous lecture(s)

for self-assessment
Summative: 1 term test after the term break
(schedule on the next page) :20%

Final examination
(Open book: Text book and lecture notes)
2.5 hours
Compulsory questions

Test overall learning of the

expected outcomes

Final mark = 20% CA (S. Farooqs part) + 20% CA (Dr. Zhaos part)
+ 60% Final examination

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-13

Schedulesforlectures,tutorials,consultationandclasstests
Lectures
Venues: LT6:

Monday: 9 am 10:45 am
Thursday: 9 am 9:45 am
20 lectures over 7 weeks
3 lectures per week

Test
Test date

Tutorials
1 tutorial per group per week

Oct 1, 2015

Topics to be
covered
All the topics

Venue: TBA
Time: 8:45 am to 9:30 am

Consultation
Wednesdays from 5 pm 7 pm in my office (E5-02-26)
no appointment necessary
By email
By appointment on other days

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-14

Testyourpriorknowledge:Mechanismofdiffusionalmasstransfer
(Assumption: Solubility of air in water is negligible
compared to CO2)
Air + CO2

Water

Air + CO2
Air +
depleted
CO2

Water

Air +
depleted
CO2

Air + CO2

Air +
depleted
CO2

Glass
bead
Air
bubble

These are
Steady state processes
Unsteady state process
Which arrangement will give the
lowest CO2 fraction in exit air?
1 / 2/ 3
Compare plots of CO2 fraction at exit
versus time for the three options.
On the plots, show the effect of water
height increase.

What changes when water height is

increased?
Bubble size
Interfacial area
Contact time
How many phases?
1 / 2/ 3/ 4
Where does the separation take place?
In the bulk phases
At the interface
Can you see mass transfer taking place?
Yes (it involves bulk movement)
No, it is at the molecular scale
Inter-phase mass transfer affected by
concepts taught in various modules. Map
the concepts to the modules
Thermodynamics 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5 / 6
Heat and mass transfer
Fluid mechanics
1. Phase equilibrium
2. Rate of mass transfer
3. Driving Force
4. Interfacial area available for phase contact
5. Molecular diffusion
6. Mixing/ Convection
Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-15

Contactingofphases
Direct contact vs. Phases Separated by a Membrane
Direct contact is most common
Phase combination
Vapor-Liquid
Gas Liquid
Gas Solid
Liquid Liquid
Liquid Solid

Example
Distillation
Absorption
Adsorption
Extraction
Leaching,
Adsorption

Staged contact - example is tray tower

Continuous contact example is packed tower
See the videos to visualize mixing patterns
and different types of trays at the link below:
http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/chesf/cn2113/UO/UO_SeparationProcess/

Membrane separations are rapidly gaining importance.

Tray Tower

Packed Tower

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-16

 Tray Tower vs. Packed Tower

1. Gas-pressure drop. Pressure drop is less in packed towers. Low pressure drop is Important for vacuum distillation.
2. Liquid holdup. Packed towers haves substantially smaller liquid holdup. This is important where liquid deterioration occurs with
high temperatures and short holding times are essential. It is also important for sharp separations in batch distillation.
3. Liquid/gas ratio. Very low values of this ratio are best handled in tray towers. High values are best handled in packed towers.
4. Liquid cooling. Cooling coils are more readily built into tray towers; and liquid can more readily be removed from trays, to be
passed through coolers and returned, than from packed towers.
5. Side streams. These are more readily removed from tray towers.
6. Foaming systems. Packed towers have less bubbling of gas through the liquid and are more suitable for foaming liquid.
7. Corrosion. Packed towers for difficult corrosion problems are likely to be less costly.
8. Solids present. Neither type of tower is very satisfactory. Agitated vessels and venturi scrubbers are best but provide only a
single stage. If multistage countercurrent action is required, it is best to remove the solids first.
9. Cleaning. Frequent cleaning is easier with tray towers.
10. Large temperature fluctuations. Fragile packing (ceramic, graphite) tend to be crushed. Tray or metal packing is satisfactory.
11. Floor loading. Plastic packed towers are lighter in weight than tray towers which in turn are lighter than ceramic or metal packed
towers. In any event, floor loadings should be designed for accidental complete filling of the tower with liquid.
12. Cost. If there is no overriding consideration, cost is the major factor to be taken into account.
13. Minimum diameter. Tray tower has a minimum diameter limit of 0.6 m.

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-17

Equilibriumdesignmethod
There are two main design concepts for mass transfer processes:
Equilibrium stage
Rate based (To be covered by Dr. Dan Zhao)

Equilibrium stage concept applies to both tray and packed towers

We illustrate the concept with a tray tower for a clear physical understanding

Each tray is a stage IDEAL STAGE

Streams leaving from each ideal stage are in equilibrium

Liquid
flow

Lin

Vout

IDEAL STAGE
Perforated
tray

Rising
vapor/gas

Lout

Vin

The main feature of the equilibrium design concept is

Lout and Vout are in equilibrium

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-18

 Complete equilibrium is not achieved in a real operation

STAGE/TRAY EFFICIENCY used to account for not achieving complete equilibrium
Actual number of trays required =

No. of IDEAL STAGES

STAGE EFFICIENCY

Empirical plots are available for stage efficiency calculations. Design companies use in-house data
Column height is related to the actual number of trays
Column diameter depends on required processing rate and maximum allowable velocity
Material balances determine the quantity of the different streams required
There are maximum allowable velocity limits based on hydrodynamic considerations

Problem-solving methods: Usefulness of the discussion in section 1.4 goes beyond this module.

Farooq/CN3132/Introduction-19