CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 3B

TUTORIAL 1: DISTILLATION

30 July 2018

1. A fractionating column is required to separate 100 kg/h a liquid containing 25% benzene and 75%
toluene by mass, to give a distillate product of 98 mass% benzene. 90% of the benzene by mass
should be recovered in the distillate. A reflux ratio of 3.5 is to be used and the feed will enter at its
bubble point.

If the plates used are 50% efficient, calculate by McCabe-Thiele method, the composition of the
liquid on the third plate from the bottom of the column.

3. 100 kmol/h of a feed mixture, which is 50 mol% benzene and the rest toluene, is fed to a
continuous still. A top product of 95 mol% benzene and a bottom product of 95 mol% toluene is
required.

(a) What is the distillate flow rate, D and bottoms flow rate, B?
(b) If Vn is 235 kmol/h, what is the slope of the top operating line?
(c) Construct the top operating line on the equilibrium curve you have constructed.
(d) If the liquid flow rate leaving the bottom of the column, is 160 kmol/h, how many
theoretical plates are required in a distillation column to effect the above duty?
(e) What are the compositions of the streams entering and leaving ideal plate 3? Label each
composition with the appropriate notation.
(f) If it is needed to withdraw a small liquid stream of mole fraction 0,3 from the column, from
which ideal plate should it be taken?

3. A saturated vapour feed, which is 35 mol% benzene and the rest toluene is fed to a continuous
fractionating column. A top product of 95 mol% benzene and a bottom product of 90 mol%
toluene is required. The reflux ratio used is twice the minimum reflux ratio. How many ideal
plates are required and what is the position of the feed tray? Redo this question algebraically.

4. Redo Q3 for a saturated liquid instead of a saturated vapour feed. Comment on the number of
ideal plates required.

5. A liquid feed mixture of benzene and toluene is separated in a continuous fractionating column
operating at atmospheric pressure. The feed is 45 mole% benzene and is at a temperature of
40oC. The distillate product is 95 mol% benzene while the bottoms product is 10 mol% benzene.
The relevant physical constants are supplied.
(a) What is the minimum number of ideal stages that will accomplish the required duty?
(b) What is the minimum reflux ratio, Rmin, and how many ideal stages are required for the above duty
if R = 1,5 Rmin?
(c) What is the optimum position of the feed tray?
(d) If two real plates do the duty one ideal plate, how many real plates would be in the column?

Given for the feed:

Bubble point: 108oC
Heat capacity: 162 J/gmol.K
Molar heat of vaporisation: 40 500 J/gmol

6. Reflecting upon your answers to the above questions, fully discuss the effect of reflux ratio, R, on
the number of ideal plates required in a distillation column. What effect would the reflux ratio have
on the diameter of the column required for the distillation?

7. Starting with the slope of the q-line, q/(q-1), and the definition of q fully discuss the effect of the
condition of the feed, on the number of ideal plates required in a distillation column.