LEACHING - unit operation in which a soluble component is removed from an inert solid by a solvent which

preferentially dissolves the soluble matter; solid-liquid extraction

• e.g. extraction of sugar from sugar beet, extraction of tannic acid from bark, extraction of alginic acid
from seaweed

Overflow
solute [ L Solvent
solvent

Feed Underflow
solute 3 7 solute
inert inert
solvent (some solvent adheres to the underflow)

solution (L or V) = solute + solvent L’ or V’ = solvent • Leaching is a multi-stage process

• All separation processes (leaching, LLE, distillation,
underflow = solution + inert gas absorption) have equilibrium equations
x or y = solute concentration OR solute to solvent ratio

EQUILIBRIUM: the 2 streams leaving the same stage have the same composition since we assume that the
solution adhering to the inert are L and V (since magkakacontact sila) :x =
y,, x2 yz,
=
. . .
, XN YN
=

CONSTANT RETENTION IN THE UNDERFLOW - only applicable to the underflow

1. Constant Solution Retention - ratio of the soln to the inert in each stage is constant
- con’c is expressed in terms of sol’n
R Msol'n C Msolute
When solving leaching problems,
xor y
= =

always look for retention first

=

Minert Msol'n

2. Constant Solvent Retention - ratio of the solvent to the inert in each stage is constant
- con’c is expressed in terms of solute to solvent ratio
R Msolvent C xor
y Msolute
=
=
=

Minert Msolvent

IDEAL LEACHING ASSUMPTIONS

1. No inerts in the overflow
2. Stages are in equilibrium
 denominator
->numerator I
NUMBER OF STAGES

numerator 2
Tiller-Tour Equation: n 1
log(x=y1)
=
-

denominator 2

log
(y*-*i) ideal no. of stages must ALWAYS be rounded up

y₂ FORMULA

xn) yN+1
yz
?(X1
+
-
=
SOLVENT EXTRACTION (LIQUID-LIQUID EXTRACTION) - a process where two immiscible or
partly miscible liquids are brought in contact with each other so that soluble substance(s) in one liquid
passes into the other liquid by diffusion
- the feed is liquid, unlike leaching, where the feed is solid

Solvent

Feed > 7
Raffinate
solute solute
diluent diluent

Extract
solute
solvent

e.g. • using LLE is more economical when it comes to energy costs since there

is no heating medium compared to distillation

• MIBK is used bc acetic acid is more soluble in it compared to water

• since MIBK is in organic phase and water is in aqueous phase, it will

separate into two layers and are completely immiscible, therefore

there will be no water in the organic layer and vice versa

• but acetic acid is still soluble in water, so not all of the acetic acid

will be recovered

EQUILIBRIUM: the amt of solute in the extract and raffinate can be related using DISTRIBUTION COEFFICIENT
(or partition ratio/k value), which is the ratio of the con’c of the extract to the con’c of the raffinate or
vice versa
note that the point of extraction
if KD ≥ 1, extract over raffinate
KD
CE or
CRE is to recover the solute, so extract
=

con’c must be higher than raffinate

if KD ≤ 1, raffinate over extract
STAGEWISE CONTACT
1. Single Contact 2. Co-current Multistage Contact 3. Countercurrent Multistage Contact

feed and solvent enter in opposite

directions, solvent is introduced in
solvent is introduced by batch only 1 stage

Shortcut for Co-current Multistage - only limited to equal solvent amts

A, RN
A,F(k,; B)"
=

+
VAPOR-LIQUID EQUILIBRIUM
Consider a binary mixture containing components A & B (e.g. benzene-toluene, ethanol-water)
YA;
Y5=1-YA • vapor and liquid phases both have components A & B
Ideal solution - volumes of the components are additive
XA,XB 1 = -
XA

L
- no heat of mixing/enthalpy of solution
- chemical and physical properties of the components are almost the same
RAOULT’S LAW - used for ideal sol’ns (e.g. benzene-toluene)
Pi
=
Pixi

DALTON’S LAW OF PARTIAL PRESSURES EQUILIBRIUM CURVE / T-x-y DIAGRAM

pr EPi
= 2 Pixi
=
• the mole fraction in the T-x-
PT PaoxA
=
+ PB"(1 xA)
-
y graph is usually expressed
Pi PrYi> Pixi in terms of the more volatile
yi
1
=
=
=

Pr
component (MVC)
RELATIVE VOLATILITY - ratio of vapor pressures • x always has a corresponding
where A is the vapor pressure of the MVC y value and vice versa
CAB
Pr
=

DiO
PYi:
CAB=Yn=
SUB = yA
X
A YB

&AB YA(1 =
-
xA)
Eq. 13-20 • higher vapor pressure, lower BP
x A(1 -
YA)
• since P˚a is higher, the relative volatility is more than 1

DISTILLATION
BATCH DISTILLATION - residue is left in the distillation column; dependent on time

A = MVC • distillate purity

Distillate
V

B = LVC i qYw DA decreases over time

DB
u nee

F 7 7 F 7 since some of the LVC

! XF after some time XW
vaporizes

m m
> Residue, W • a lot of energy is
B
supplied
Rayleigh Equation: • if problem mentions “residual/remaining liquid,” it is batch
=CAB
in
e
In

FLASH DISTILLATION (Equilibrium Distillation) - feed is continuously heated; used for WIDE RANGE OF BP

• since feed is partially vaporized already, the amount of energy

supplied to the column is smaller compared to batch
pressure
relief • relative volatility is high since difference in BP is high
valve
• problem will explicitly state if it is flash distillation
• x is in equilibrium with y, related using relative volatility
• when pressure relief valve is opened, vapor and liquid phases
OMB:F L +V
= > 1F
=
-
V
will separate in the separator
fraction of feed vaporized: f E
=

MVCB:FxF Lx + =
Vy <
/Ex==(F-V) x +
vy)? xr (1 f)x
= -
+
fy,
(fy x+
= -
x -

fx)! y
y=
=

-
x
f)x
-

relative volatility: CAB y(1 x)

=
-

x(1 y)
-

• for problems that are missing x and y but given f, graphical solution must be used (refer #66)

STEAM DISTILLATION - steam is in vacuum cond’ns so that low temp is needed to keep the steam from
condensing and the desired component from thermal decomposition

• volatile component is usually immiscible in water

• steam is used to heat the distillation column (closed steam) and it
is also directly added into the mixture (open steam)
• the steam will vaporize and carry the volatile component, which will
be condensed and will separate into 2 liquid phases
B = volatile component
O = non-volatile inert
S = open/carrier steam and closed steam, usually superheated

• used when inert has a negligible amount (which is always)

B PTP
=

Pr Pabs
= Patm -Prac
=
SIMPLE CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION - both distillate and residue/bottoms are withdrawn continuously
• since continuous, process is steady state
• the distillate and bottoms are assumed to be at equilibrium
• equilibrium is related using relative volatility
DA

A.
·

&AB YAXB = CAB

DA. BE
= =

xA
YB

CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION W/ REFLUX (Rectification/Fractional Distillation) - involves sequence of stages

where there is intimate contact btwn liquid @ lower temp and vapor @ higher temp
• over time, the LVC starts to vaporize and decreases the purity of the
distillate
• to increase the distillate’s purity, rectification/fractional distillation is
introduced
• feed is introduced in the middle of the column
• liquid flows downwards into the reboiler, where heat is supplied (like
steam) to vaporize some of the liquid, which will go back into the
column
• the vapor will flow to the top of the column into a condenser,
condensing all the vapor into liquid; some of the liquid will go back into
the column as reflux and the rest will be the distillate

• at each plate, the poor vapor from the bottoms will increase in con’c as it
comes into contact with the rich liquid from the distillate, resulting in mass
transfer of the MVC
McCabe-Thiele Method - used with the assumption of constant molal latent heat of vaporization or
constant molal overflow/ideal solution
• if the components have a latent heat difference of < 10%, this method
can be used (e.g. ethanol-water, benzene-toluene)

Rectifying/Enriching Line:

Eq. 13-21 y-int,b Dx Y Ye XD

I
DXD
(i)xn cy-int=
+
yn 1
+ = =
=
=

V R 1
+

D
y m
= x I b

Reflux Ratio: R = I
V1 D= +

Feed Line:
1. subcooled liquid q>1 slope of the feed line:
2. sat’d liquid q=1 m -
= (1 f) -
f = fraction of vapor in the feed = 1 - q
I
3. mixture 0<q<1 q = fraction of liquid in the feed = 1 - f
4. sat’d vapor g
q=0 m =

g
-
1
5. superheated vapor q<0

q in terms of latent heat:

f)
(p(b
(HSv -Hs) +(Hs
HSV-HE
-HF),g 1
= +
-

I
=

g
=

Asv-Asa Asv-AsL

since feed must go through sat’d liq first to get to sat’d vapor

stage - vapor and liquid leave, which is why the reboiler is counted as a stage
plate - the trays inside the column
feed location - where feed line, stripping and rectifying lines coincide
Minimum Reflux Ratio - calculated to avoid it
• halos wala nang bumabalik na reflux
R Rmin,
=
D>> L • if less reflux is used, edi onti lang yung makukuha na MVC nung reboil; so kung gusto
N 0
=
natin maachieve yung desired distillate con’c, kelangan taasan yung no. of plates such
that it approaches infinity

Rmindy-int4Rmin xD-y'
y-int=
Y, Rmin+1
=

XD - x

• the pinch point is where ymax/y’ is achieved, by plotting the intersection

of the FL and EC then extending the rectifying line to the y-axis
• since the pinch point has such a small area, the no. of triangles drawn will
be infinite

Total Reflux Ratio - almost no distillate is collected, most of the vapor is recycled back into the column
R 2
= 2) D • no RL or SL
N Nmin
=

Fenske Equation - used for constant relative volatility:

xD(1 xB3)
-

Nmin
109 xB (1 xD)
=
-

109 & AB

Overall Efficiency of the Column

7 NEnee
=