Nieza Jane Patna ChE 4206a

BS ChE-5 September 20, 2019

THE MCCABE-THIELE METHOD

More than 80 years ago, McCabe and Thiele developed a creative graphical solution
technique based on Lewis’s assumption of constant molal overflow (CMO) for the rational
design of distillation columns. McCabe-Thiele is a simplified tool to assist in understanding
distillation plots It provides a simple, graphical tool for the analysis of binary distillations,
specifically the determination of the number of trays required. Many real-worl applications are
too complex for the McCabe-Thiele method however it provides a great tool for learning the
basic thermodynamics of tray distillation, as well as understanding the impact of reflux rate, feed
composition, product composition and vapor-liquid equilibrium on distillation column design. The
McCabe-Thiele method is based upon representation of the material balance equations as
operating lines on the y-x diagram. The lines are made straight by the assumption of constant
molar overflow, which eliminates the need for an energy balance. The liquid-phase flow rate is
assumed to be constant from tray to tray in each section of the column between addition (feed)
and withdrawal (product) points.
The McCabe-Thiele diagram enabled decades of effective design and operational
analysis of distillation columns, and has been used to teach several generations of chemical
engineers to design and trouble- shoot distillation and other cascaded processes. Textbooks on
staged separations stress the visual approach and present the McCabe-Thiele diagram as an
essential tool for under- standing and analyzing cascaded operations.
The McCabe-Thiele diagram has been extended to multicomponent systems by Hengstebeck.
When used in this manner, McCabe-Thiele/Hengstebeck diagrams are highly effective as design and
trouble- shooting tools for analyzing new energy-saving technologies, designing steam-stripping systems,
improving energy efficiency, evaluating revamp improvements and explaining counter-intuitive
observations in a multi-feed distillation tower.

The McCabe-Thiele method is a very simplistic model of distillation and subject to the following
assumptions:

 The mixture is binary i.e. there are only two components.

 The heat of vaporization of the two components are equal (When one mole of the
heavier component is vaporised, one mole of the lighter component is condensed).
 Other thermodynamics effects are negligible, e.g. heat of dissolution is negligible.

 100% tray efficiency. Trays calculated using the McCabe-Thiele method are called
"theoretical trays". In practice fluids do not reach equilibrium on each tray, and so the
"tray efficiency" is used to determine the number of actual trays required to make a given
separation.
REFERENCES:

https://neutrium.net/unit-operations/distillation/mccabe-thiele-plot/
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cd70/fc914e8f13ca3e2f7e6789b2b117ee3b9782.pdf
Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, Eighth Edition
Nieza Jane Patna ChE 4206a
BS ChE-5 September 20, 2019

THE PONCHON-SAVARIT METHOD

Ponchon Savarit method was first developed for the case of negligible heat
losses in multistage tray towers. For a non-ideal system, where the molar latent heat
is no longer constant and where there is a substantial heat of mixing, the
calculations become much more tedious. For binary mixtures of this kind a
graphical model has been developed by RUHEMANN, PONCHON, and SAVARIT,
based on the use of an enthalpy-composition chart. It is necessary to construct
an enthalpy-composition diagram for particular binary system over a temperature
range covering the two-phase vapor-liquid region at the pressure of the
distillation.

The Ponchon-Savarit method is rigorous and capable of handling all distillations,

but requires detailed enthalpy data for its application, has Simultaneous material and
energy balance calculations, Detailed calculations of equilibrium conditions, More
accurate, but difficult to use, Largely superseded by rigorous computer simulation
calculations

The Ponchon-Savarit method is a graphical approach that does not require an

assumption of equimolal overflow. It accounts for enthalpy effects that cause a varying molar
overflow when stepping off stages graphically. It is a diagram that plots vapour and liquid
entalphy versus composition. Through the use of tie-lines to express vapour/liquid equilibrium,
one can step off the stages required in a binary column as a function of product purities, feed
quality and condenser duty. It, like the McCabe-Thiele diagram, provides very powerful
visualization of the behavior of binary distillation columns,

The following data are needed

 Heat capacity as a function of temperature, composition and pressure.

 Heat of mixing and dilution as a function of temperature and composition.
 Latent heats of vaporization as a function of composition and pressure or
temperature.
 Bubble-point temperature as a function of composition and pressure.
REFERENCES:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2665547?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
http://www.separationprocesses.com/Distillation/DT_Chp04-2.htm
https://vdocuments.mx/4-ponchon-savarit-method.html