McCabe Thiele
McCabe Thiele
McCabe Thiele
1.0
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Graphical Design
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Method
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Xa
Gavin Duffy
School of Electrical Engineering Systems
DIT Kevin St
Learning Outcomes
After this lecture you should be able to…..
•Explain the importance of Reflux
•Apply the McCabe Thiele graphical design method to
determine the number of equilibrium stages in a column
•Describe column internals (trays and packing)
•Define tray efficiency
•Explain the height of packing equivalent to a theoretical
plate
Thanks to Ming Tham’s website for pictures and
information. An excellent presentation on distillation:
http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/distil/copydist.htm
Design Illustrated
slope=R/(R+1) 1. Obtain VLE curve
1.0
slope= (VB +1) /VB
2. Pick distillate composition,
0.9 XD, and Reflux ratio, R, and draw
0.8
operating line for rectification
6
5 3. Pick bottoms composition, XB,
0.7
4 and Boilup ratio, VB, and draw
0.6
operating line for stripping
3
Ya
0.5
4. Start stepping off from the
0.4 distillate end until the
XD/(R+1) 2
0.3
intersection of the two operating
lines is passed.
0.2
5. Continue stepping but use the
0.1 1 stripping operating line
0.0
6. Count the number of stages
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
xD (1 − xB )
ln
xB (1 − xD )
N min = −1
ln α
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Ya
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0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
XB Xa
XD
Minimum Reflux
Don’t forget the q line. Min reflux occurs at intersection with
equilibrium curve because all three lines should intersect
1.0
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Ya
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XB Xa
XD
Minimum Reflux
Can also be calculated (if feed is liquid at b.p.)
1 xD α (1 − xD )
Rmin = −
(α − 1) xF (1 − xF )
xD − y '
Rmin =
xD − x '
Where x’, y’ is the intersection of line with curve
Optimum Reflux Ratio (From McCabe Smith Ch21)
Increase R
Diameter gets bigger
– Since D = fn(V, L)
– R ↑ ⇒ V & L ↑ ⇒ D ↑ ∴ Capital Cost ↑
No. of Plates gets smaller
– Height ↓ ∴Capital Cost ↓
Heat exchangers get bigger
– Boiling/Condensing ↑∴ Capital & Running Cost ↑
Optimum Reflux Ratio
Total Cost
Annual Cost
Captial/Fixed
Cost
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
Reflux Ratio
Reflux and Cost
A trade off between operating cost and capital cost is
needed.
Increase R ⇒ Less stages, less capital cost BUT also ⇒
More boiling and condensing
Decrease R ⇒ More stages, More capital cost BUT also ⇒
Less boiling and condensing
Capital and operating costs combine to give a total cost.
This is minimised with the following
Rule of thumb - R = 1.1 to 1.5 times Rmin
R determines the slope
Change in slope means less or more stages. As R increases
the slope approaches 1. More MVC returned to the column.
Less material is removed
as distillate. Separation
improves, fewer trays
needed
As R is decreased, the
slope decreases towards
the equilibrium line.
A ‘pinch’ between
operating and equilibrium
lines becomes more
pronounced and more and
more trays are required
Activity – Reflux Ratio
Source: http://www.controlguru.com/wp/p68.html
McCabe Thiele Method
Developed in 1925
Suitable for binary mixtures in continuous columns
Can be used as a preliminary study for multi component
Combination of VLE data and operating lines
Assumes:
Constant molal overflow
No heat loss from column
Not suitable if:
Relative volatility is < 1.3 or > 5
Reflux ratio < 1.1 Rmin
More than 25 theoretical stages needed
Specifications required
The following information is needed
F Total feed rate
zF Mol fraction of MVC in the feed
P Column operating pressure
xD Mol fraction of MVC in the distillate
xB Mol fraction of MVC in the bottoms
R/Rmin Ratio of reflux to minimum reflux
Results provided
McCabe Thiele provides the following results
D Overall distillate flowrate
B Overall bottoms flowrate
Nmin Minimum number of equilibrium stages
Rmin Minimum reflux ratio (Lmin/D)
R Reflux ratio (L/D)
VB Boilup ratio (V/B)
N Number of equilibrium stages
xn, yn Vapour and liquid compositions at each of the stages
Design Procedure
Start with VLE data and draw an x-y diagram
Determine the three operating lines and draw them on the x-y
diagram
Using the rectifying operating line and the equilibrium curve
draw steps from the distillate composition to the feed point
Count the number of steps. Each one equals an equilbrium
or theoretical stage
Using the stripping operating line and the equilibrium curve
draw steps from the bottoms composition to the feed point
Add the number of steps to the previous to give the total
number of equilibrium stages
Convert this to a number of plates by dividing by the plate
efficiency.
Design Illustrated
slope=R/(R+1) 1. Obtain VLE curve
1.0
slope= (VB +1) /VB
2. Pick distillate composition,
0.9 XD, and Reflux ratio, R, and draw
0.8
operating line for rectification
6
5 3. Pick bottoms composition, XB,
0.7
4 and Boilup ratio, VB, and draw
0.6
operating line for stripping
3
Ya
0.5
4. Start stepping off from the
0.4 distillate end until the
XD/(R+1) 2
0.3
intersection of the two operating
lines is passed.
0.2
5. Continue stepping but use the
0.1 1 stripping operating line
0.0
6. Count the number of stages
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
yn − yn −1
EMv =
ye − yn −1
Where Emv = Murphree efficiency for vapour
yn = actual vapour composition of tray n
yn-1 = actual vapour composition of tray n-1
ye = vapour composition in equilibrium with liquid
on tray n
Packing
Can be used instead of trays
Very useful for small columns where installation of trays is
difficult
Packing typically has a lower pressure drop than trays which
makes it favourable for vacuum columns
Vapour liquid contact may not be as good. The liquid moves
towards the walls and vapour flows more readily in the areas
free of liquid.
Redistributors may be necessary
Quantity of height of packing = no. of stages x HETP
HETP = height equivalent to a theoretical plate
Types of Packing
Pall rings, raschig rings and saddles are easily available