Distillation

MTO-Lecture 4
CHE-331
Dr. M. Shahzad Khurram
 Distillation
• Distillation is the technique of preferential
separation of the more volatile
components(s) from the less volatile ones in a
feed solution by partial vaporization of the
feed followed by condensation.
• The vapor produced is richer in the more
volatile component(S)
• In engineering terms, distillation columns
have to be designed with a larger range in
capacity than any other types of processing
equipment, with single columns 0.3–10 m in
diameter and 3–75 m in height.
Designers are required to achieve the desired
product quality at minimum cost and also to
provideconstant purity of product even though
there may be variations in feed composition
 Volatility

• In chemistry and physics, volatility is

quantified by the tendency of a substance to
vaporize. Volatility is directly related to a
substance's vapor pressure. At a given
temperature, a substance with higher vapor
pressure vaporizes more readily than a
substance with a lower vapor pressure.
Distillation column
 Condenser

Overhead Vapor

Overhead Product
Reflux
Rectifying Section

Stripping Section Reboiler

Bottoms Product
• Height of weir
The height of weir is responsible for the pressure drop and the
separation efficiency of a tray.
• The height of weir depends on kind of tray.
• The weir height is determined by the requirement of the liquid
depth on the tray which is controlled by the depth of seal over
the vapor passage

• Downcomer
• The downcomer is a vertical channel that connects a tray with
the next tray below which carries froth and creates residence
time which helps the vapor disengage from the froth. The
amount of froth in the downcomer is measured as downcomer
froth backup which is a function of the pressure drop across the
tray deck the froth level on the tray itself and any frictional
losses in the downcomer and its clearance.
• Down comer assist the froth generation improve efficiency. If the
downcomer can not handle the liquid loading, downcomer
flooding can be achieved that can reduce efficiency
 Application of Distillation
• Distillation is the most common mass transfer
operation in the process industries.
• Petroleum refinery
• Petrochemical industry
 VAPOUR LIQUID Equilibrium (VLE)
• Under a given set of conditions, the
equilibrium vapor composition is related to
the liquid composition, this is called vapor-
liquid equilibrium.
 VAPOUR LIQUID EQUILIBRIUM

• Distillation columns are designed based on the

boiling point properties of the components in
the mixtures being separated.
• Thus the sizes, particularly the height, of
distillation columns are determined by the
vapor liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the
mixtures.
 Importance of VLE
• The distribution of the components in two phases
is governed by the vapor liquid equilibrium
relationship.

• Separation of a mixture by distillation is based on

equilibrium distribution of the components
between the liquid and the vapor phases.
• A knowledge of vapor liquid equilibrium is
therefore essential for understanding the
principle of distillation.
 Importance of VLE
The liquid mixture is heated to its boiling point,
the vapor produced will, in general, have a
different composition than the liquid; i.e., x
will not equal y. Thus, boiling the mixture
produces a partial separation of the
components. If the vapor is collected, it can be
condensed and boiled again to further change
the composition.
 VLE
• Distillation columns use this principle, effectively repeating the
separation process at individual trays within a column. Such
columns may have over a hundred trays on which VLE is
occurring.
• The vapor and liquid mix on the tray and the new mixture boils.
The composition of the liquid, x, leaving the will be enriched in
the less volatile component while the composition of the vapor,
y, will be enriched in the more volatile component.
• The vapor rises up to the next tray where it will contact a liquid
of larger x and mixing and re-equilibration will again occur. The
liquid leaving the tray will flow over the weir and down the
downcomer to the next tray where it will mix with the vapor on
that tray.
• In this way, x tends to become smaller at each lower tray, while y
tends to increase at each tray higher in the column. VLE refers to
the relationship between the x and y values on each tray.
• When we discussed the phase behavior of pure fluids,
we found that the temperature and pressure were
constant when the two phases were in equilibrium.
• Thus, the saturated liquid and vapor points were both
at the same temperature. When the liquid is heated it
will boil at the same temperature as that at which the
vapor will condense when it is cooled.
• Another way of saying the same thing is that the
bubble point (boiling point) and dew point are the
same for a pure fluid.
• Bubble Point
• The bubble point of a system is the
temperature at which a liquid mixture begins
to vaporize.
• Dew Point
• The dew point is the temperature at which
liquid begins to condense out of the vapor.
• When we have two components in both the vapor and
liquid phases, the bubble point and dew points no longer
coincide.
• There is a difference in composition between the liquid
and vapor phases that are in equilibrium at the same T and
P. This is extremely important! It means that when you
raise the temperature of a mixture until it boils, more of
the more-volatile component ends up in the vapor phase.
• The liquid phase is left enriched in the less-volatile
component. Thus, you can achieve a partial separation in
the mixture.
• This is the principle behind distillation that accounts for
most of the separation done in the chemical industry.
T-x-y diagram
 Raoult’s Law
It relates the vapor pressure of the substance to the
composition of the solution.
Raoult’s law state that the change in vapor pressure of
the ideal solution is depends completely on the mole
fraction of the solute present in the mixture and the
vapor pressure of the each chemical substance.
PA=PoA. xA = P.yA

• PA=Partial pressure of component A in liquid phase

• PoA = vapor pressure of pure liquid A
xA = Mole fraction of A in liquid phase
P = Total pressure of the system
yA = Mole fraction of A in the vapor phase
 Henry’s law
• It states that: At a constant temperature, the amount of a given gas
dissolved in a given type and volume of liquid is directly
proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in equilibrium with
that liquid.
PA= H . xA = P.yA
• PA=Partial pressure of component A
• H= Henry’s law constant
xA = Mole fraction of A in liquid phase
P = Total pressure of the system
yA = Mole fraction of A in the vapor phase

• The Antoine equation is a class of semi-empirical correlations

describing the relation between vapor pressure and temperature
for pure components
 Relative Volatility
• In order to separate a binary mixture using distillation process,
there must be a differences in volatilities of the components.
• The greater the difference, the easier it is to do so. A measure for
this is termed the relative volatility.
• We define volatility of component-i as:
• partial pressure of component-i divide by mole fraction
component-i in liquid
• For a binary mixture of A and B, therefore:
• Volatility of A = pA / xA
• Volatility of B = pB / xB
• where p is the partial pressure of the component and x is the liquid
mole fraction.
• Relative volatility is the ratio of volatility of A (MVC) over volatility
of B (LVC):
• Relative volatility is therefore a measure of separability of A and B.
When a = 1.0, no separation is possible: both component-A and component-B are
equally volatile. They will vapourise together when heated. Solving the above equation
for a = 1.0, we obtain: y = x.