Distillation Columns

Distillation columns are one of the most often used types of separation equipment in
industry.

About Distillation
Distillation is one of the most common liquid-liquid separation processes, and can be
carried out in a continuous or batch system.

Distillation works by the application and removal of heat to exploit differences in relative
volatility. The heat causes components with lower boiling points and higher volatility to
be vaporized, leaving less volatile components as liquids. Mixtures with high relative
volatilities are easier to separate. This makes separations of close-boiling and
azeotropic feeds difficult, so special distillation techniques have to be used to separate
these mixtures.

Distillation can be used to separate binary or multi-component mixtures. Many

variables, such as column pressure, temperature, size, and diameter are determined by
the properties of the feed and the desired products. Some specialized columns perform
other functions, such as reactive distillation columns, which combine reaction and
separation of products into a single unit.

(Copyright Scanning Technologies Inc.,

Baton Rouge, LA)

Column Types/Conventional Distillation
Packed Beds
Although packed bed columns are used most often for absorption, they are also used
for the distillation of vapor-liquid mixtures. The packing provides a large surface area for
vapor-liquid contact, which increases the column's effectiveness.

(Copyright Sulzer Chemtech Ltd., Switzerland)

General Information
The feed mixture contains components of different volatilities, and enters the column
approximately at the middle. The liquid flows downward through the packing, and the
vapor flows upward through the column.

Differences in concentration cause the less-volatile components to transfer from the

vapor phase to the liquid phase. The packing increases the time of contact, which
increases the separation efficiency. The exiting vapor contains the most volatile
components, while the liquid product stream contains the least volatile components.
 (Copyright Cannon Instrument Company,

State College, PA)

Equipment Design
After the feed mixture enters the column, as the green arrows in the animation below
demonstrate, liquid flows down the column through the packing countercurrently and
contacts the rising vapor stream. The liquid at the bottom, which is highlighted in yellow
in the animation, enters a reboiler. Two streams exit the reboiler; a vapor stream, which
returns to the column, and a liquid product stream. The vapor stream flows upward
through the packing, picks up the more volatile components, exits the column, and
enters a condenser. After the vapor condenses, the stream enters a reflux drum, where
it is split into an overhead product stream, known as the distillate, and a reflux stream
that is recycled back to the column.

The feed passes through packing to maximize vapor-liquid surface contact for an
efficient separation. Types of packing include dumped, or random, packing and stacked
packing. Dumped packings have either random or geometrically structured shapes and
are composed of bulk inert material, such as clay, porcelain, plastic, ceramic, metal, or
graphite. Individual packings are typically 3 to 75 mm in size, and have several void
spaces that provide a large surface area for liquid-vapor contact. The advantages of
dumped packing include high liquid flow rate capacity, high pressure capacity, and low
cost. Several examples of metal, plastic, and ceramic type packings are shown in the
picture below.

(Copyright Chemical Engineering, Access Intelligence, LLC)

Metal packings have a high strength and good wettability. Ceramic packings have a
higher wettability than metal packings, but they are not as strong. Plastic packings have
sufficient strength but experience poor wettability at low liquid flowrates. Because they
are corrosion resistant, ceramic packings are used only at elevated temperatures where
plastic packing would fail.

Stacked Packing is a structured meshwork of the same diameter as the column. It

provides long uninterrupted channels for liquid and vapor flow. Although they are more
expensive than dumped packings, stacked packings result in a lower pressure drop.
Stacked packing is preferred for low liquid flow rates and in low pressure situations.
They are typically made of wood, sheet metal, or woven gauze.

(Copyright University of Michigan Chemical Eng. Dept., Ann Arbor, MI)

(Copyright Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC, St. Louis, MO)

(Copyright Sulzer Chemtech Ltd., Switzerland)

Usage Examples
Packed bed columns are often used to recover solvents. The packed bed distillation
columns pictured below to the left are used the in petrochemical industry. The picture
below to the right shows a pilot plant packed bed column.
 (Copyright Sulzer Chemtech Ltd., Switzerland)

The packed columns shown below are used in an ethanolamine plant.

 (Copyright Sulzer Chemtech Ltd., Switzerland)

Advantages
Disadvantages

 Most cost-efficient distillation column when the diameter of the column is less than 0.6
m.
 Because packing can be made from inert materials, packed beds are able to handle
corrosive materials.
 Lower pressure drop than in plate columns preventing column flooding.
 Good for thermally sensitive liquids.
 Suitable for low pressure operations.

 Packing can break during installation, or due to thermal expansion.

 Not cost efficient for high liquid flow rates.
 Contact efficiencies are decreased when the liquid flow rate is too low.
Plate
The plate, or tray column is the most widely used type of distillation column. The
number of trays, or stages in the column is dependent on the desired purity and
difficulty of separation. The number of stages also determines the height of the column.

(Copyright Vendome Copper & Brass

Works, Inc., Louisville, KY)

General Information
The feed enters a plate column towards the middle of the column. Concentration
differences cause the less volatile components to transfer from the vapor stream to the
liquid stream. The vapor exiting the condenser contains the most volatile components,
while the least volatile components exit through the reboiler in the liquid stream.
Equipment Design
After the feed mixture enters the column, which is demonstrated by the green arrows in
the animation below, liquid flows down the column and across the trays in either
crossflow or countercurrent flow. A reboiler at the bottom separates the stream into a
vapor stream that returns to the column and a liquid product stream; both streams are
exemplified by the yellow arrows. The vapor stream flows upward through the trays, and
contacts the down-flowing liquid stream, allowing the separation to take place. At the
top of the column, the vapor is condensed in a condenser. The condensed stream
which is shown in blue, is split into an overhead product stream, known as the distillate,
and a reflux stream that returns to the top of the column.

The geometry of the trays within the column affects the extent and type of contact
between the vapor and liquid streams. Tray types include sieve, valve, and bubble cap.
Sieve trays, which contain holes for vapor to flow through, are used for high capacity
situations providing high efficiency at a low cost. Although less expensive, valve trays,
containing holes with opening and closing valves, have the tendency to experience
fouling due to accumulation of material. Bubble cap trays contain caps which allow
vapor to flow into and out through tiny openings through the liquid. Bubble cap trays are
the most advanced and expensive of the three trays, and are highly effective in some
low liquid flow rate situations. Bubble cap trays use the “tea cup” style in industry today.
Turndown, a term for the decrease of efficiency due to low tray vapor velocity, is
important to consider when using heat integrated distillation columns The images below
show a sieve tray (left), a valve tray (center), and a bubble cap tray (right).

(Copyright Vendome Copper & Brass Works Louisville, KY)

Downcomers channel the liquid flowing from one tray down to the tray below. They are
shown on the edges of the trays on the picture below to the left, and their effect is
demonstrated in the picture below to the right.
 (Copyright Sulzer Chemtech Ltd., Switzerland)

Usage Examples
Plate columns are often used to recover solvents from process wastes. In the system to
the left, water is used to recover methanol from a drying operation. Water comes out as
the liquid product and the volatile organic waste goes into the vapor phase. Shown on
the right is a 40 tray column used for mineral oils. Plate columns can also be used to
purify solvents of hazardous material, such as the stripping of hydrogen sulfide from
"sour water." Many different inlet temperatures and feed moisture contents can be used.
 (Copyright Odfjell, Norway)

Advantages
Disadvantages

 Most cost efficient distillation column for diameters greater than 0.6 m.
  The liquid/vapor contact in the cross-flow of plate columns is more effective than the
countercurrent-flow in packed columns.
 Cooling coils can easily be added to the plate column (cryogenic applications).
 Can handle high liquid flow rates cost-effectively.

 Higher pressure drops than packed columns which could cause column flooding.
 Foaming can occur due to agitation of the liquid by the vapor flowing up through it.

Advanced Distillation Techniques