9/1/2017

CHEN 303: Unit Operations

(Undergraduate course)

University of Balamand
Chemical Engineering Department

Dr. Makram EL BACHAWATI

1

University of Balamand
Chemical Engineering Department

Dr. Makram EL BACHAWATI

2

1
 9/1/2017

Distillation is the production of a vapor by boiling the liquid mixture in order to

separate them by condensing the vapors.

Distillation may be carried out by two principal methods:

1- Based on allowing a part of the condensate to return to the still: this process
will be called Distillation with reflux,

2- Without allowing any part of the condensate to return to the still: this process
will be called Distillation without reflux.

Both distillation methods could be conducted as a continuous process or as a batch

process.
Dr. Makram El Bachawati 3

Differential Distillation

1. Batch and a single stage distillation

2. Requires a still pot initially full
3. The still pot is heated at a constant rate
4. The vapor is formed on boiling
5. The liquid is removed at once from the system
6. Vapor becomes richer in the more volatile component
7. Liquid becomes progressively weaker in that more volatile component
8. Vapor formed over short period is in equilibrium with the liquid
9. However the total vapor formed is not in equilibrium with the residual liquid

Dr. Makram El Bachawati 4

2
 9/1/2017

Flash/Equilibrium Distillation

1. The feed is pumped through a fired heater (the liquid is still a liquid and not a vapour)
2. The feed then enters the still through a nozzle or valve where the pressure is reduced
3. The sudden reduction in pressure reduces the boiling point of the feed
4. The hot feed becomes vaporized at once as it passes through the valve (flash
distillation) and enters the still/drum
5. The still is essentially a separator in which the partly liquid and vapour produced by
the reduction in the pressure have sufficient time to reach equilibrium
6. The vapour is removed from the top of separator and then it is usually condensed
while liquid leaves from the bottom

Dr. Makram El Bachawati 5

Flash/Equilibrium Distillation
A) Adiabatic Flash:

A liquid feed is heated under pressure and

flashed adiabatically across a valve to
lower pressure resulting the creation of a
vapour phase that is separated from he
remaining liquid in a flash drum.

Dr. Makram El Bachawati 6

3
 9/1/2017

Flash/Equilibrium Distillation
B) Isothermal flash separation:

If the valve is omitted, a low pressure liquid can be partially vaporized in the heater and
then separated into two phases in the flash drum.
Dr. Makram El Bachawati 7

Fraction Distillation/rectification/distillation with reflux:

1. The two previous process achieve a limited increase the concentration of the more
volatile component
2. It can be considered as multiple stage distillation
3. It requires a column

Dr. Makram El Bachawati 8

4
 9/1/2017

Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE): One component

If water is in a piston (one component; no air) at 1 atm & 70oF (room temperature) =>
water
waterisisliquid
liquid=>
=>one
onephase
phaseatatequilibrium.
equilibrium.

If water is in a piston at 1 atm & 212oF (boiling point) => water is

is liquid
liquid and
and vapor
vapor=>
=>
two phases at equilibrium.

If water is in a piston at 1 atm & 250oF => Vapor pressure

water is vapor => one phase at equilibrium. curve

Vapor pressure curve = relationship between

temperature and pressure for which two phases
co-exist at equilibrium.

Dr. Makram El Bachawati 9

Vapor-Liquid phase behavior for one component system

Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE): Binary mixture

Lets consider a binary mixture AB: B = heavy component => highest boiling point
A = light component => lowest boiling point

T-x phase diagram at constant pressure could be also transformed to x-y diagram where
composition of vapor phase in terms of mole fraction of component A (xA) is plotted as
function of the liquid phase composition (yA).
TB yA
TA T4
Tb.p(B)
T1 V T3
T2
T3 T2
T4 Tb.p(A)

L T1

x1 x2 x3 y1 x4 y2 y3 y4
Dr. Makram El Bachawati
xA xA 10

5
 9/1/2017

Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE): Binary mixture

If a mixture of n-heptane (C7) and n-octane (C8) were in a piston => two components.

If T < Tbub : water is liquid => one phase at equilibrium,

bub water is liquid => one phase at equilibrium,

If Tbub < T < Tdew : water is liquid & vapor => two phases
at equilibrium,
If T > Tdew : water is vapor => one phase at equilibrium.

Bubble temperature (Tbub) = temperature at which the

first bubble of vapor forms.

Dew temperature (Tdew) = temperature at which the

Vapor-Liquid phase behavior for two
first drop of dew forms components system
Dr. Makram El Bachawati 11

Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE): Binary mixture

The first bubble will be richer than the liquid in one component and leaner in the other.
This difference in composition between the vapor and liquid phases serve to separate
two components of a mixture.

tie line = line connecting the

two points representing vapor
and liquid phases that exist at
equilibrium

Keep in mind that liquid and vapor

must have the same temperature at
equilibrium.

x = mole fraction of more volatile component in liquid phase

Dr. Makram El Bachawati
y = mole fraction of more volatile component in vapor phase 12