Feature

Cover Story
Report

Reboiler Circuits
For Trayed Columns
These vetted recommendations are key to efficient
and troublefree separations
Design Practices Committee ing vapor and liquid phases properly particular application. “Reboiler type”
Fractionation Research Inc. • Absorb fluid momentum and pre- refers to exchanger and circulation
vent mechanical damage to sur- mode, such as vertical thermosyphon,

T
he reboiler generally supplies rounding internals kettle, internal, horizontal forced cir-
most of the energy required to ef- • Prevent entrainment of bottom-tray culation, and so on. The designers pro-
fect component separation. If too overflow liquid or bottom-pool liquid ceed through the following steps:
much heat is supplied, the tower by reboiler return fluids 1. Run tower simulation(s)
may flood; conversely, if too little heat • Provide adequate liquid inventory 2. Determine reboiler type and method
is available, separation performance for startup and step changes in re- of process liquid circulation, using cri-
may decrease via poor reflux ratio boiler duty teria from the next section (Selection
(pinching), excessive weeping or poor • Provide sufficient liquid-residence of reboiler type) and Tables 1 and 2
tray action. Proper design of reboiling and degassing time for downstream 3. Select tower bottom configuration
systems involves coordinating aspects equipment (such as once-through, constant
both outside and inside the tower. • Provide adequate net-positive-suc- head recirculating, and so on) using
This article focuses on both of these tion head (NPSH) for any bottoms criteria from the Tower bottom ar-
aspects to ensure proper operation of pumps rangements section and Table 3
the overall reboiler system. Important • Maximize mass transfer capabilities 4. Choose limiting case(s) for duty and
literature discussing these topics is of the reboiler (nearly one theoreti- bottoms product rate to be used in
also cited. cal stage can be obtained via use of detailed design
a staging baffle) After this, the designer would be ready
The objectives of reboilers • Maximize available temperature to begin developing details of the tower
The design of tower reboiler circuits driving force in the reboiler bottom and reboiler circuit.
and bottom sections can be broken • Accommodate transients in the
into several parts: fluid flow systems, concentration of heavy components Selection of reboiler type
exchanger types, liquid sumps and as- in the feed As noted above, selecting a reboiler
sociated baffling, and drawoff and re- • Allow removal of fouling material type means determining the method
turn arrangements. from the tower bottom of fluid circulation (thermosyphon,
Although these are not generally • Allow safe column shutdown in the forced or none) and selecting an ex-
studied as much as the mass transfer event of a process upset changer type (vertical, horizontal, ket-
equipment above, tower bottom sec- • Minimize overall column height tle or internal). These decisions need
tions should be considered key tower Consequently, many factors come into to be made before any tower bottom
internals. A number of fractionator play in designing a successful reboiler internals can be designed, since inter-
problems can be attributed to either and tower bottom arrangement. The nals vary substantially for different
improper bottom-section design or available literature does not address reboiler types. To aid in the selection
poor reboiler-circuit layout; taken the subject in depth, and, especially process, considerations are discussed
together, they are thought to be the with regard to multipass trayed tow- below starting with general rules of
second-most common cause of tower ers. This paper is intended to clarify thumb and progressing to more spe-
problems [1]. To better illustrate this, the design process and extend cover- cific issues. Simple conceptual ex-
consider the objectives that a properly age to multipass tray towers. amples of common reboiler types are
designed tower bottom and reboiler shown in Figure 1, and a comparative
system must accomplish: Preliminary design work summary of reboiler types is given in
• Provide adequate hydraulics for the The design process begins by defini- Table 1.
reboiler circuit tion of the design basis and selection Thermosyphon reboilers are the
• Separate and distribute the incom- of the reboiler type that best suits the most widely used type in distillation
26 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011
 TABLE 1. Comparison of Reboiler Types (Adapted from Ref. 3)
Vertical Thermosyphon Horizontal Thermosy- Kettle (Figures 1E and Forced Circulation Internal
(Figure 1A) phon (Figure 1B) 1F) (Figure 1C) Reboiler
Boiling side Typically tube Typically shell Shell Typically tube Shell
Heat transfer rate High Moderately high Low to moderate High Low to moderate
Plot space requirement Small Large Large Vertical: small Minimal to small
Horizontal: large
Process piping Small quantity and Standard quantity, Standard quantity, Extra piping with two- None
simple to design two-phase return single phase only phase and controls
Pump required No No No Yes No
Extra column skirt Yes – to accommodate Yes – to drive thermos- Small Yes – to provide No
height requirement (if vertical exchanger yphon flow (but less reboiler circulation
bottoms product is not than vertical pump NPSH
pumped) thermosyphon)
∆T requirement High Moderate Low High Moderate to high
Residence time in Low Low High Low High
heated zone
Process side fouling Low Moderate High Very low Moderate
tendency
Performance with high Poor Poor (but better Poor Good Poor
viscosity liquids than vertical
thermosyphon)
Ability to handle large Modest: approximately Good, if multiple large Very good: large areas Good, if multiple large Poor, unless tower bot-
surface area four medium shells shells used handled in a single shells used tom swaged out for
maximum shell larger bundles
Maintenance and Can be difficult, Relatively easy Relatively easy If vertical, can be dif- Next to impossible
cleaning depending on ficult depending on while on-stream, but
congestion congestion (easy if easy during shutdowns
horizontal)
Susceptibility to High, but moderate for High, but moderate for Low Low Low
instability constant head constant head
Design data Readily available Some available Readily available Readily available Readily available
Capital cost Low Moderate High Moderate Very low, unless tower
swaged out for larger
bundles
Operating cost, exclud- None None None Pumping cost, and oc- None
ing heating medium casional pump main-
tenance cost
Safety issues Normal Normal Normal; kettle ex- Pump seal leakage Flange leakage is a
changer can hold liq- is important for flam- major concern espe-
uid inventory to help in mables or toxics cially for flammables
emergency shutdown or toxics

systems and are usually considered TABLE 2. Reboiler Exchanger Comparison:

first. A “thermosyphon” reboiler uti- Horizontal versus Vertical
lizes the density difference between Advantages Disadvantages
the liquid in the tower bottom and Vertical Minimal plot space requirement Exchanger area is limited
the mixed-phase fluid in the reboiler Return piping typically short to very Greater skirt height requirement
and return line to drive reboiler pro- short
cess flow. Thermosyphon reboilers are Relatively small capital cost Requires relatively high DT driving
force
gravity-flow systems. To summarize Fouling process side Fouling heating medium
their advantages, they are relatively High pressure process side High pressure heating medium
compact and economical, require no Horizontal Good for large heat-exchanger area Occupies moderate-to-large plot
pumps, and offer relatively high heat- requirement space
transfer rates (for small exchanger Requires moderate DT driving force Higher capital cost than vertical
size) with relatively low residence Better access for maintenance Return piping design must avoid slug
flow
times in the heated zone. Often requires less tower or skirt
Of course, thermosyphon systems height
are not applicable in all circumstances.
They are not recommended for the fol- tle or forced circulation systems are eling the hydraulics, thermosyphon
lowing conditions: preferred for this) reboilers can be successfully used in
• High liquid viscosity (viscous-liquids Sometimes thermosyphon reboilers vacuum service. Most existing vac-
friction loss dampens fluid circulation) can be troublesome with vacuum sys- uum thermosyphon systems tend to
• Fouling systems (pumped systems tems because even a small liquid head use vertical heat exchangers.
achieve higher velocities that help has a large impact on the boiling point, If one of the above thermosyphon
mitigate fouling) leading to large and head-dependent limitations applies, a kettle or forced
• Adequate driving head cannot be preheat zones in the exchanger [2]. circulation system is generally pre-
attained economically (instead, This is especially true for services ferred. For towers in clean services,
consider a kettle system) where the liquid boiling range or cir- an internal reboiler may sometimes
• Large operating load variations or culation driving-head varies routinely. be considered.
turndown ratios are required (in- However, if the driving head is kept If a thermosyphon system is se-
stead, consider a pumped system) steady, a reliable vaporization curve lected, the next decisions are to deter-
• High reliability is a key factor (ket- is available and care is taken in mod- mine the flow and exchanger type.
Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011 27
 Cover Story

1A. Vertical thermosyphon 1B. Horizontal thermosyphon 1C. Forced circulation 1D. Suppressed vaporization

Heating Heating Heating

fluid in fluid in fluid in

Heating Heating
fluid out fluid out

Bottoms Bottoms
Heating product product
Bottoms product Bottoms product fluid out

1E. Standard kettle 1F. Trapout kettle Figure 1. The common reboiler types
are shown here: A. Vertical thermosy-
phon; B. Horizontal thermosyphon; C.
Forced circulation; D. Suppressed vapor-
(Optional) ization; E. Standard kettle; and F. Trapout
kettle (see also Table 1)
Heating
fluid in
Heating
fluid in leading to large and head-dependent
preheat zones in the exchanger [2].
Thermosyphon reboilers can be suc-
Heating cessfully used in vacuum service, but
fluid out
Heating
the hydraulics must be carefully stud-
fluid out ied. Small errors in predicted friction
losses or hydrostatic head above the
Bottoms product Bottoms product
exchanger can lead to large errors
in the vaporization percentage and
return-line-fluid density, which can
The choices for flow type are once- changers are prevalent in petroleum- adversely affect their hydraulics and
through and recirculating; the choices refining applications. heat transfer.
for exchanger type are vertical and Forced circulation systems are easier
horizontal. Selection by process issues to design for vacuum services. One par-
Once-through flow is useful for Fouling service (process side). Foul- ticular forced circulation setup for vac-
strippers and other low-boilup services ing service, as used herein, refers to a uum service is the suppressed-vapor-
where the mass flowrate of vapor in fouling tendency of process fluid in the ization system (Figure 1D), where the
the reboiler return is less than about tower bottom rather than the heating flow control valve is placed downstream
40% of the bottoms-product mass medium. The preferred bottoms ar- from the reboiler [9]. No vaporization
flowrate [4]. Recirculating flow is re- rangement for fouling service is forced occurs in the exchanger itself (sensible
quired in services where reflux rates circulation. Forced circulation systems heat transfer only), so the heated liquid
are high compared to product rates, (using a pump) can achieve much flashes as it traverses the downstream
such as splitters. More information larger reboiler-circuit velocities than valve. Another way to suppress vapor-
about once-through versus recirculat- thermosyphon systems, which aids in ization in forced circulation systems is
ing reboilers is given in the Tower bot- keeping exchanger tubes clean. The to use an orifice at the column return
tom arrangements section below. forced circulation reboiler can be verti- nozzle. Note that these valves or ori-
Selection of a vertical or horizon- cal or horizontal, as long as the fouling fices can experience erosion as the liq-
tal exchanger can be made based on fluid is on the tube side (this is more uid flashes across them under vacuum
each option’s advantages and dis- typical of vertical exchangers). If a conditions, producing high exit veloci-
advantages as given in Table 2. The forced system is not suitable, the next ties. For this reason, some practitioners
published literature gives conflicting best alternative is generally a vertical recommend the use of control valves
accounts about vertical versus hori- thermosyphon system. Kettle and in- having contoured plugs, and some com-
zontal exchangers [5–7], leading to ternal reboilers should be avoided due pletely avoid suppressed vaporization
some confusion about selection prac- to long residence times in the heated systems. Also, the high fluid velocities
tices. Sloley [8] provides a detailed zone and high vaporization rates. produced by a valve or orifice at the
discussion of factors affecting this Vacuum systems. These can be a tower inlet can cause fluid distribution
decision, and explains that vertical problem for thermosyphon systems problems or mechanical damage inside
exchangers predominate in chemi- because even a small liquid head has the tower unless specific provisions are
cal applications, while horizontal ex- a large impact on the boiling point, made to handle these.
28 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011
 TABLE 3. Comparison of Tower Bottom Arrangements
Type Primary advantages Primary disadvantages
Once- Full theoretical stage. No bottoms recon- Boilup ratio limited to 40% of the bottoms rate. Gives highest reboiler outlet tempera-
through tact with hot reboiler tubes ture. Incompatible with forced circulation. Leakage from trapout or trapout tray can
trapout restrict heat transfer, even make system inoperable
Once- Full theoretical stage. No bottoms recon- Boilup ratio limited to 40% of the boilup rate (thermosyphon reboilers) Produces
through tact with hot reboiler tubes. Compatible high reboiler outlet temperature. Chimney tray: fewer active tray(s). Partition baffle:
collector with forced circulation reduction of bottoms product residence time
Constant Thermosyphon flow stability during up- Partial theoretical stage only. Constant head compartment(s) must be leak tight.
head sets. Does not limit boilup ratios Increased likelihood of reboiler fouling. Baffle unnecessary and can be trouble-
some at high boilup ratios [17]. Complicated baffles can breed hydraulic bottle-
necks [18]
Standard Simple bottom configuration with vapor High cost. Long residence time of bottoms material in heated zone. Precise
kettle only return. Full theoretical stage exchanger elevation required
Trapout More product residence time available Product spends more time at maximum temperature than standard kettle. May
kettle than standard kettle require more height than standard kettle
Unbaffled Simple, low cost. Good for high boilup For recirculating systems, gives lowest separation efficiency. For thermosyphon
ratios systems, operating perturbations can affect reboiler flow, prolonging upsets
Internal Low cost On-stream cleaning nearly impossible. Bottom liquid level difficult to assess. Long
pool residence time of bottoms material in heated zone
Internal Low cost. Nearly full theoretical stage On-stream cleaning nearly impossible. Boilup ratios limited, similar to once through.
bath Long residence time of bottoms material in heated zone

With clean process fluids, the de- ferred to allocate it to the tube side. changers require the greatest driving
signer of a vacuum system may wish to Typically, vertical exchangers have forces, while kettle types require the
consider a falling film reboiler (which the process fluid on the tubeside, and least. Forced circulation systems allow
is outside the scope of this paper). horizontal exchangers have the pro- for the greatest driving forces without
Safety. Forced circulation systems cess fluid on the shell side — although concern for process side fouling be-
require pumps and often pump seals. these are not absolute rules. For kettle cause they can be designed with high
The hazards of a seal leak should be and internal reboilers, however, pro- process-fluid velocities.
considered, especially for flammable cess fluid is always on the shell side. Required heat transfer area. Ver-
or toxic fluids. Thermosyphon sys- Reliability. From a process stand- tical reboilers are limited in tube
tems avoid the pump and the seal point, well-designed kettle reboilers length (see below) and are also limited
leakage problems. Internal reboilers are considered the most reliable, al- to about four shells per tower [11],
have large flange connections that though vertical thermosyphon sys- so the heat exchange areas they can
may have substantial moment arms tems are also considered to be quite provide are limited. Horizontal and
applied by the heavy tube bundles, if good. Forced circulation systems can kettle reboilers are greatly preferred
they are not supported properly. The be robust, but this depends on the when large area is required. Inter-
flanges are prone to leak and have reliability of the pump. Horizontal nal reboilers can also limit available
been known to cause fires. thermosyphon systems and internal heat-transfer area unless the tower is
Ease of maintenance. During shut- reboilers are considered average in increased in height or swaged out to
downs, access space (rather than re- terms of reliability. accommodate more or larger bundles.
boiler type) is generally the prime Stability when perturbed. When Capital cost. Internal reboilers are
factor for ease of maintenance, but the subjected to tower swings, the most typically the least expensive because
reboiler TEMA (Tubular Exchanger stable systems are forced circulation they eliminate external process pip-
Manufacturers Assn.) type is also im- systems with flow control upstream of ing and reboiler exchanger shell(s), al-
portant. The designer can specify ex- the exchanger, followed by kettle sys- though in some cases this advantage
changer inlet and outlet heads that tems. Vertical and horizontal thermos- is negated by bottom section height or
allow the tubes to be inspected and yphon systems are more sensitive to diameter increases to accommodate
cleaned without requiring removal operating perturbations; however, use larger heat-transfer bundles. Verti-
of external piping. The reboiler can of a constant head baffle in the tower cal thermosyphon systems generally
also be designed for easy tube bundle bottom design may greatly improve rank second lowest in cost because the
removal to facilitate inspection and their stability. return piping is usually very short.
mechanical cleaning or hydroblasting Approach temperature. For a given Horizontal thermosyphon and forced
[10]. Selection of the correct shell type heating medium, once-through sys- circulation systems are considered
is also very important to ensure proper tems give the largest cool-end “ap- moderately expensive. Kettle systems
fluid circulation, minimize fouling po- proach temperature,” or thermal driv- are typically the most capital inten-
tential and maximize on-stream time. ing force, in the reboiler exchanger. sive due to exchanger shell size and
In services where online cleaning is This is because the process side feed foundation requirements.
necessary, internal reboilers should to the reboiler is comprised solely of Operating cost. Other than the cost of
be avoided. In fouling services, a spare liquid from the bottom tray, which is the heating utility, thermosyphon sys-
exchanger is often provided, but this is the coolest possible reboiler feed. Con- tems have no operating costs due to the
not practical with internal reboilers. versely, recirculating systems with use of gravity acting on density differ-
If the process side is dirtier than high tower reflux ratios provide the ences to drive reboiler fluid flow. Forced
the heating medium, a design that al- smallest driving force because a large circulation systems are more expensive
locates process fluid to the tube side percentage of the reboiler feed is ma- to operate due to pumping and associ-
is often preferred. Conversely, if the terial from the reboiler effluent. ated pump-maintenance costs.
heating medium is dirtier, it is pre- As for exchanger types, vertical ex- Plot space requirement. Internal
Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011 29
 Cover Story

reboilers occupy very little (if any) plot reboiler, but their boilup ratios are sponsive heating fluid controls. These
space, followed by vertical exchangers, limited by the maximum vaporization duty and control considerations apply
which generally require small plot rate in the reboiler. Conversely, recir- more to exchangers with bare or low-
spaces. Horizontal exchangers and culating systems provide only a partial fin tubes; exchangers with nucleate-
kettle systems require relatively large stage of mass transfer in the reboiler, boiling enhanced tubes provide much-
plot spaces, especially if removable but allow unlimited boilup ratios. more stable heat-transfer rates as
bundles are desired. Proper exchanger- Because liquid leaving the bottom circulation varies.
head selection can help minimize plot tray is the coolest stream possible for Once-through trapout arrange-
space requirements. reboiler feed, once-through arrange- ments involve a total draw via either a
It is beyond the scope of this article ments also give the greatest cold-end downcomer trapout or a collector tray,
to cover actual design of the reboiler approach temperature in the reboiler per Figures 2A and 2C, to capture all
circuit piping and exchanger(s). For exchanger. When their outlet tem- of the liquid leaving the bottom tray
thermosyphon and kettle systems, the peratures are not excessive, they are and feed it directly to the reboiler.
flow through the reboiler must be cal- also good for thermally degradable or The reboiler return is directed to an
culated from a pressure balance. It is fouling materials, where it is desirable unbaffled tower bottom, and its liquid
essential that accurate assessments to avoid repeated contact with hot re- drawn as bottoms product. None of the
be made of fluid densities, extent of boiler tubes. bottoms liquid is recycled back to the
vaporization and friction losses so that Unbaffled tower bottoms are the reboiler, hence the name once-through.
the correct flow driving force and re- most common type of tower bottom Trapout arrangements are generally
sistances are used in the pressure bal- arrangement. Note that there are sev- limited to simple, single-draw configu-
ance. An article by Kern [12] describes eral different reboiler types that lack rations; multi-draw configurations,
the pressure balance particularly well baffle(s) in the tower bottom: such as dual draws from two or four
and gives criteria for piping design. A 1. Once-through trapouts (sump liquid pass trays, are better handled with
comprehensive review of design cor- is reboiler return material, unmixed chimney trays (see below). Trapouts
relations for vertical, horizontal and with bottom tray liquid) are used mainly with thermosyphon
kettle exchangers is given by Fair [13]. 2. Kettle systems (sump may hold flow systems because they provide in-
A detailed description of kettle force liquid for residence time, but pre and sufficient residence time for a pump.
balances from field data is given by post reboiler liquids do not mix) Advantages: They can achieve one
Kister and Chaves [14]. Additional in- 3. Recirculating systems (bottom tray full theoretical stage of separation, if
formation about horizontal and verti- overflow mixes with reboiler return the trapout draw does not leak. The
cal reboiler systems is contained in ar- liquid) high elevation of the trapout draw
ticles by Collins [15] and Orrell [16]. Further descriptions of the first two generally provides good driving force
cases can be found in the respective for thermosyphon flow.
Tower bottom arrangements sections below. The third item, unbaf- Limitations: With a thermosyphon
This section discusses the relative mer- fled recirculating systems, is the pri- system, reboil vapor is limited to
its and weaknesses of various tower- mary subject of this subsection. about 40 wt.% of the bottoms product
bottom arrangements that feed the Unbaffled recirculating systems are rate, due to the normal limitation of
reboiler and provide residence time. simple and inexpensive, which are the 30 wt.% maximum vaporization in
The descriptions here pertain to inter- main reasons they are so widely em- thermosyphon exchangers [19]. This
nal features, such as baffles or drawoff ployed. They are compatible with both makes once-through thermosyphon
configurations, which comprise the thermosyphon and forced circulation systems appropriate only for low-
tower bottom design. A summary of reboilers. Figures 1A through 1D show boilup systems such as strippers.
this information is given in Table 3. simplified examples of unbaffled recir- Although use of forced flow could in-
Flow classifications. Bottom ar- culating systems. crease the boilup rate, trapout draw
rangements are classified into once- Advantages: Simple design requires systems suffer from a lack of liquid
through and circulating. In once- no baffle inspection or maintenance. inventory to prevent pump cavitation.
through systems, liquid from the Reboiler and product draws may be Thus a once-through collector system
bottom tray traverses the reboiler only combined in a single draw nozzle. Like (see below) would be preferred for
once. The liquid portion of the reboiler all recirculating systems, it allows un- forced flow. Finally, in cases where the
effluent is collected as net product and limited boilup ratios in the tower. desired vapor-boilup rate exceeds the
is kept separate from bottom tray liq- Weaknesses: It forfeits a fraction bottoms product rate, a recirculating
uid. Recirculating systems allow a of a mass transfer stage; the reboiler reboiler should be used instead.
portion of the reboiler effluent liquid to simply becomes an enthalpy addition Weaknesses: The trapout draw
remix into the reboiler feed, thus per- point. In thermosyphon applications, box and bottom tray must be care-
mitting some of the liquid to traverse swings in the tower bottom liquid fully designed and constructed to
the reboiler two or more times. There level can affect the reboiler circulation avoid leakage. Even then, leakage
are two main differences in these flow rate and duty, sometimes prolonging may occur during turndown and
modes: once-through systems achieve tower upsets. These swings can be at startup. A recent malfunction survey
a full stage of mass transfer in the least partially countered by more-re- [1] found that leakage issues render
30 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011
 2A. Once-through – single pass 2B. Once-through – collector tray 2C. Once-through – two pass 2D. Once-through – one pass
tray trapout tray trapout tray with baffle

N.C. N.C. N.C.

Bottoms Bottoms Bottoms Bottoms
product product product product

Figure 2. Once-through arrangements are shown here: A. Single pass tray trapout; B. Collector tray; C. Two pass tray trapout;
and D. One pass tray with baffle (N.C. = normally closed)

once-through trapout thermosyphons the product side of the baffle. But they tems do not develop a full equilibrium
one of the most troublesome reboiler provide less liquid-flow driving head stage for the reboiler. As the tower
types. As the trapout affords little than trapout or chimney tray arrange- reflux ratio increases, the ratio of re-
degassing time, rundown lines from ments, and care must be exercised to circulated material to bottom tray liq-
once-through thermosyphons must be ensure the baffle is leak tight and me- uid in the reboiler feed also increases,
sized for self-venting flow [20]. Ther- chanically strong. and the usefulness of the reboiler as a
mosyphon flow is not compatible with Preferential baffle arrangements separation stage steadily drops. When
high viscosity liquids. are recirculating systems that utilize the ratio of tower bottoms product to
Once-through collector systems a baffle in the tower bottom to segre- reboiler draw rate falls below 20% (for
remove the limitation of low liquid gate bottom-tray overflow liquid from example, splitting close-boiling com-
inventory inherent in once-through reboiler return liquid. An opening in ponents), a preferential baffle is con-
trapout systems (see above). Well- the baffle allows some reboiler return sidered no longer useful, and it should
designed collectors provide enough liquid to flow into and mix with bot- be omitted to provide an unbaffled
degassing time to overcome rundown tom tray liquid. Thus the reboiler draw bottom arrangement. An additional
line bottlenecks when the lines are preferentially contains bottom tray liq- limitation for thermosyphon driven
slightly under sized from the recom- uid, but also contains recirculated liq- systems is that they cannot handle
mended self-venting flow. The collec- uid to make up the additional reboiler high viscosity liquids.
tor smoothes out variations in flow to flow demand. The liquid level on each Weaknesses: The weaknesses of pref-
the reboiler caused by perturbations side of the baffle is equal, except for a erential baffle systems are similar to
in tower operation. Once-through col- small differential from liquid flowing those for unbaffled towers. For a ther-
lector arrangements are compatible through the hole. Preferential baffles mosyphon, a change in the bottoms
with both thermosyphon and forced are also known in the literature as liquid level will affect the reboiler
flow systems. In forced flow applica- baffles with a large hole or baffles circulation rate, and thus the reboiler
tions, additional residence time is with underflow. They may be used duty. Some preferential thermosy-
needed for liquid level control. As with with thermosyphon or forced circula- phon systems have been known to
once-through trapout systems, reboil tion systems. work well only at one particular liquid
vapor is limited to about 40% of the Figures 4A and 4B show two config- level. It can be seen that all of these
bottoms rate for thermosyphon driven urations for single pass and multipass issues are related to duty control, and
flow and equal to the bottoms rate for trayed towers. For multipass trays, preferential baffle arrangements may
pump driven flow. For vapor boilup ra- extra spacing should be provided be- therefore require responsive control
tios greater than these, a recirculating tween the bottom tray and seal pans schemes on the heating medium. As
reboiler should be used. to accommodate liquid backup caused mentioned previously for unbaffled
There are two variations of the once- by the short overflow notches on the tower arrangements, use of nucleate-
through collector system: seal pan weirs. Note that some compa- boiling enhanced reboiler tubes can
• Chimney tray collector (Figure 2B) nies do not believe the added complex- mitigate these control issues.
• Partitioned bottom (Figure 2D) ity and expense of preferential baffles Constant head arrangements are
Both of these options have advantages are justified by their performance ben- recirculating systems that maintain
and weaknesses. Chimney tray ar- efits, and omit these baffles entirely. a constant-depth liquid pool above the
rangements can provide plenty of resi- Advantages: The internal baffle does reboiler draw. The most common con-
dence time, but they take up height, not need to be liquid tight. It gives figuration has a partition baffle, which
so fewer active trays can be installed more separation than an unbaffled ar- separates the tower bottom into prod-
in a fixed tower height. Partitioned rangement, but less than a full mass uct- and reboiler-draw compartments
bottom arrangements can increase re- transfer stage. Like all recirculating (Figures 3A and 3B). Many other de-
boiler feed inventory without reducing systems, it allows unlimited reflux ra- sign arrangements are also available.
tray counts as long as sufficient bot- tios in the tower. Liquid from the bottom tray is directed
toms residence time is available on Limitations: Preferential baffle sys- into the reboiler draw side, as is liquid
Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011 31
 Cover Story

from the reboiler return. Then, return high reflux ratio systems such as C3 a kettle exchanger with an internal
liquid in excess of the reboiler draw splitters. In these systems the baffle weir (Figure 1F). Product overflowing
requirement spills over a weir to the overflow becomes a tiny fraction of the kettle weir drains back to the tower
product side, where the level can be the total liquid rate, and the overflow bottom where it is collected for resi-
varied to provide rate control to down- baffle becomes unsuitable to provide a dence time purposes. In this case, level
stream equipment. Constant head par- steady flow. One troublesome case was control is placed on the tower bottom
tition baffles are also referred to in the reported [17]. rather than the kettle product com-
literature as baffles with overflow. Sometimes the baffle arrangement partment. The trapout type typically
Other constant-head configurations gets complicated, especially with requires more tower height in the bot-
include chimney tray and collector box multipass trays. Complicated baffle tom section because liquid must flow
configurations, where an inventory of designs breed hydraulic bottlenecks. back from the exchanger to the tower
liquid is kept inside the tower above The simpler the baffle geometry, the sump. The kettle reboiler elevation also
the bottom liquid pool, using a tray less likely it is to generate such bottle- tends to be higher for these systems.
or box with an overspill weir. These neck. One case study of a baffle design This trapout kettle arrangement can
alternative arrangements generally causing a hydraulic bottleneck was be very troublesome unless using a
provide less liquid holdup than the described [18]. chimney tray with adequate degassing
partition baffle, although they may be Kettle arrangements appear decep- time as the trapout. Leakage or weep
less expensive to build. tively simple from a process stand- from a trapout tray, especially at startup
The tower bottom should be de- point. Liquid from the bottom tray of or low rates, can prevent liquid from
signed to make the bottom tray liq- the tower is drawn and directed to reaching the kettle reboiler, stopping
uid pass through the reboiler at least a kettle reboiler. The kettle is an ex- its action altogether. This leakage can
once before proceeding to the product changer that has a tube bundle im- be avoided with a well-designed chim-
compartment. Constant head arrange- mersed in a liquid bath, with substan- ney tray trapout. Unless the trapout
ments are used only with thermosy- tial vapor disengaging space above the chimney tray provides adequate degas-
phon circulating systems. Extra height bundle. Vapor and liquid are separated sing time, the lines from the trapout to
should be provided between the bot- in the reboiler’s disengaging space, the kettle reboiler need to be designed
tom tray and the seal pans in certain so the return line carries essentially for self-venting flow [20].
multipass versions to accommodate vapor. Kettle arrangements are once- Figure 1F also shows two options
liquid backup caused by short over- through systems; reboiler effluent liq- for returning vapor from the kettle
flow notches on the seal pan weirs. uid does neither recirculate nor back- exchanger: above or below the collec-
Advantages: Changes in product mix with bottom tray liquid. tor tray. Note that the chimney riser
rate or level do not affect the reboiler Kettle reboilers are typically de- area and riser vapor velocity are very
circulation rate and duty, thus un- signed with an overflow weir, which different for these two options. In the
coupling the tower from minor down- creates a separate product compart- case where the return vapor is intro-
stream events. Like all recirculating ment within the exchanger shell. Ket- duced above the chimney tray, the
systems, unlimited reflux ratios are tle designs with overflow weirs must risers act basically as vents, and very
allowed in the tower. have removable tube bundles (U-tube little riser area is required. When the
Limitations: Baffle, tray or box leak- bundles or TEMA “S” or “T” type re- return vapor is introduced below the
age must be less than bottoms product turn heads). Some alternative kettle chimney tray, the riser area must be
rate, becoming more important as the designs do not have overflow weirs; in substantially greater to handle the
tower reflux ratio increases. Thermos- this case the liquid bath is maintained full process vapor rate.
yphon circulation is not compatible via level control. Fixed tubesheets The third type of kettle arrangement
with high viscosity liquids. (non-removable tube bundles) may be is basically a variation of the first ar-
Weaknesses: Constant head sys- used in this type of exchanger. rangement. The overspill weir inside
tems generally require more internal There are three types of kettle ar- the kettle exchanger is eliminated,
pieces and increase complexity than rangements. The standard arrange- and the entire liquid inventory of the
other bottom arrangements. They ment is most prevalent (Figure 1E). It exchanger is placed on level control.
also often require more tower height collects bottom tray liquid in the tower Not only does this reduce the buildup
than other options. Because the bot- bottom and feeds a kettle exchanger of fouling material in the exchanger, it
tom tray and reboiler return liquids having an internal weir. No level con- also permits manipulation of the fluid
are both directed to the reboiler feed trol is needed on the tower bottom level to affect liquid entrainment into
compartment(s), constant head sys- because the liquid level in the tower the return line. However, sensing the
tems can collect fouling products or is governed by the weir elevation in liquid level in a boiling liquid pool can
nonvolatile components in the reboiler the kettle exchanger. Level control is be difficult, as mentioned below for in-
loop. The reboiler feed piping should required on the bottoms product com- ternal reboilers.
have means to drain these materials partment of the exchanger. Advantages: A kettle achieves a full
at low points. The trapout kettle arrangement uti- theoretical stage of separation. The
Constant head systems are trou- lizes a trapout draw from the bottom tower bottom configuration requires no
blesome and should be avoided in tray, or a chimney collector tray, to feed baffles. The tower internals do not need
32 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011
 3A. Constant head 3B. Constant head with reboiler 4A. Preferential baffle – single 4B. Preferential baffle – two
with reboiler baffle distributor and baffle pass tray pass tray

Reboiler From
Flush return
reboiler reboiler
distributor
return pipe From
nozzle reboiler

Bottoms To Bottoms To To Bottoms To Bottoms

product reboiler product reboiler reboiler product reboiler product

Figure 3. Constant head baffle arrangements are recirculat- Figure 4. Preferential baffle configurations for single and mul-
ing systems that maintain a constant depth liquid pool above tipass trayed towers: A. Preferential baffle, single pass tray; and
the reboiler draw: A. Constant head with reboiler baffle and B. B. Preferential baffle, two pass tray
Constant head with reboiler distributor and baffle

to separate mixed phase fluids nor ab- tle entrainment may become more height, offsetting any cost advantage.
sorb large fluid forces. Kettle reboilers important due to the decreasing rate The bath type arrangement is similar
with removable tube bundles are rela- of vapor/liquid phase separation at to a once-through reboiler and may
tively easy to inspect and clean. higher operating pressures, which is limit the boilup ratio.
Weaknesses: Kettle reboilers are ex- caused by lower surface tension and Weaknesses: On-stream cleaning is
pensive. They have a long residence smaller phase density differences. nearly impossible; the tower must be
time at maximum temperature in the Internal reboilers, also known as shut down for exchanger maintenance.
exchanger, and perform poorly with stab-in reboilers or stab-in bundles, are Similar to kettle reboilers, perfor-
thermally degradable or chemically reboiler exchanger bundles, which are mance is poor with fouling materials.
fouling materials. In addition, they inserted directly into the tower shell Internal reboilers require extra tower
are improperly designed more often below the bottom tray. The bundle is shell height and incorporate large
than other types of reboilers because submerged either in the tower bottom flange connections, which can leak, es-
they appear so simple. A recent tower liquid pool or in a bath of liquid formed pecially if the bundle is not supported
malfunction survey [1] found kettle re- by damming the bottom tray overflow properly inside the vessel. For the
boilers to be the most troublesome re- liquid per Figure 5A. With a bath ar- bottom pool arrangement, the tower
boiler type. Almost all kettle-reboiler rangement, lighter materials boil off bottom liquid level can be difficult to
failures have been due to an improper from the bath and the remaining liq- assess because of froth generated by
force balance. Therefore it is impera- uid overflows to the sump as bottoms the internal exchanger [22]. The lower
tive to focus the utmost attention to product, where it is collected for resi- liquid level tap must also be located
the kettle pressure balance (described dence time purposes. In some cases, well below the tube bundle to ensure
in detail elsewhere [14]). The survey the bathtub arrangement is used fur- that two-phase material cannot reach
found that kettles whose force balance ther up in the tower as a side reboiler. it and cause a false low-level read-
is adequate are usually not trouble- Note that the Design Practice Com- ing. False level readings can mislead
some. The kettle force balance gives mittee generally recommends against operators about the true froth height
the liquid head required to drive flow using internal reboilers because they in the tower, and result in flooding by
from the tower to the exchanger and are known to have caused numerous entrainment of froth to the tray above
back through the vapor return piping. operating and capacity problems in the reboiler bundle. For the bath ar-
Sufficient disengaging space must be previous applications. rangement, excessive frothing and
allotted in the kettle exchanger. Any Advantages: A properly designed in- hydraulic restrictions, caused by im-
entrainment increases the static head ternal reboiler can achieve nearly a full proper design of the bath basin, often
in the reboiler vapor return lines. theoretical stage of separation (similar bottleneck towers.
Also, the entrainment is knocked out to kettle types). Internal reboilers can
in the tower bottom, and from there be inexpensive in cases where they Reboilers and tower elevation
it is returned to the reboiler, increas- eliminate exchanger shells and associ- To minimize tower and foundation
ing the friction pressure drop at the ated process piping without substan- capital costs, it is generally desired
tower inlet and outlet lines. In the tially increasing the tower shell cost. to minimize the overall tower height.
extreme case, the entrainment can Limitations: Internal reboilers are Typically this means designing the
become so high that the kettle begins limited to small diameter towers or tower (including the reboiler type
to thermosyphon, as demonstrated by special applications because tube- and bottom section) first, based on
field measurements [14]. Practices for bundle heat-transfer area cannot process requirements, then selecting
minimizing entrainment from kettles grow as fast as tower cross-sectional the minimum tower skirt height that
were described elsewhere [14]. area with increasing tower diameter. provides adequate head for all of the
As system pressure increases, ket- Multiple bundles may increase tower following purposes:
Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011 33
 Cover Story

5A. Internal reboiler 5B. 2-pass preferential baffle 5C. Poor vapor return orientation 5C. Vapor return through
NOT RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED NOT RECOMMENDED downcommer
NOT RECOMMENDED

Heating
fluid in
From
Heating reboiler
fluid out

Bottoms To Bottoms
product reboiler product

Figure 5. These four configurations are NOT RECOMMENDED: A. Insert reboiler; B. Two-pass preferential baffle; C. Poor vapor
return orientation; and D. Vapor return through downcomer

• Reboiler circulation (thermosyphon should be sized to handle circulation example, near atmospheric pressure)
driving force or pump NPSH) rates at HLL operating conditions. If to minimize liquid hydrostatic head,
• Bottoms product pump NPSH a constant-head baffle arrangement which maximizes LMTD (log mean
• Tower or reboiler drainage to down- is used for a thermosyphon system, temperature difference) because va-
stream equipment, if required there will be different liquid levels to porization can start at a lower tem-
The sections below discuss head con- consider on the reboiler and product perature. If the reboiler feed piping
siderations for various reboiler types sides of the baffle, and the designer enters the exchanger channel from
in more detail to allow an assessment should use LLL on the product side for below, additional skirt height may be
of their contribution to required tower all product hydraulic calculations. required for this as well.
skirt height. Note that when an unbaf- Vertical thermosyphon systems. Horizontal thermosyphon systems.
fled bottoms arrangement is specified, Generally this type of exchanger is In this case, the reboiler exchanger is
the liquid head used in the reboiler hung off the tower itself, and the typically located at a minimum prac-
flow calculations should be based on height of the system is determined by tical distance above grade to allow
the lowest operating liquid level al- the selected length of the exchanger for piping clearances, ease of mainte-
lowed (typically designated LLL). But tubes. Common tube lengths are from nance, or condensate drainage if nec-
the thermal and hydraulic design of 6 to 20 ft (2 to 6 m), with the longer essary (the reboiler tubeside outlet
the reboiler circuit should comprehend lengths applicable to designs that re- nozzle is usually located above the top
both HLL (highest operating liquid quire large heat transfer areas [11]. of the condensate drum for this pur-
level allowed) and LLL process limits, Reboiler tube length is often shorter pose). Then a pressure balance calcu-
and the reboiler inlet and outlet lines at lower column process pressure (for lation is performed for the reboiler cir-

References
1. Kister, H. Z., What Caused Tower Malfunc- 8. Sloley, A. W., Properly Design Thermosyphon 16. Orrell, W. H., Physical Considerations in De-
tions in the Last 50 Years, Trans. IChemE, Reboilers, Chem. Eng. Prog., March 1997, pp. signing Vertical Thermosyphon Reboilers,
Vol. 81, Part A, January 2003. 54–55. Chem. Eng., September 17, 1973, entire ar-
2. Kister, op. cit., p. 442. 9. Shah, G. C., Troubleshooting reboiler sys- ticle (pp. 120-122).
3. Kister, H. Z., “Distillation Operation”, tems, Chem. Eng. Prog., July 1979, p. 53. 17. Kister, H. Z., “Distillation Troubleshooting”,
McGraw Hill, Inc., New York, 1990, p. 436 10. Mukherjee, R., Effectively Design Shell-and- p. 155, Wiley, 2006.
(adapted from Table 15.1). Tube Heat Exchangers, Chem. Eng. Prog., 18. Bu-Naiyan, A., and K. Kamali, Troubleshoot-
4. Jacobs, J. K., Reboiler Selection Simplified, February 1998. ing Debutanizer at Ras Tanura Refinery’s Hy-
Hydrocarbon Processing and Petroleum Re- 11. Design guideline reported by one or more drocracker Unit, PETEM, October 4, 2004.
finer 40:70 (1961), p. 190. FRI Design Practices Committee members. 19. Jacobs, op. cit., p. 190.
5. Kister, op. cit., p. 434. 12. Kern, R., How to design piping for reboiler 20. Kister, op. cit., p. 94
6. Collins, G. K., Horizontal-thermosiphon-reboiler systems, Chem. Eng., August 4, 1975, pp. 21. Jacobs, op. cit., p. 194.
design, Chem. Eng., July 19, 1976, p. 149. 107–113. 22. Hepp, P. S., Internal column reboilers — liq-
7. Fair, J. R., “Reboilers / A General Review of 13. Fair, op. cit., entire document (pp. 1–34). uid level measurement, Chem. Eng. Prog.
Predictive Models and Design Practices,” De- 14. Kister, H. Z., and M. Chaves, Kettle Trouble- 59:2, February 1963, pp. 66–69.
cember 7, 1992, p. 1 (prepared for “The Ency- shooting, Chem. Eng., p. 26, February, 2010. 23. Rubbers, E., others, Distillation Reboiler
clopedia of Chemical Processing and Design,” 15. Collins, op. cit., entire article (pp. 149–152). Startup Can Pose Challenges, Chem. Eng., p.
J. J. McKetta, Editor). 55, February 2004.

DISCLAIMER – Fractionation Research Inc. (FRI) and its Design Prac- tors to this paper each expressly disclaims liability for any loss, damage
tices Committee (DPC) do not represent, warrant, or otherwise guarantee, or injury suffered or incurred as a result of or related to anyone using or
expressly or implicitly, that following the procedures and recommendations relying on any of the procedures and recommendations in this document.
outlined in this document will satisfy any specific need the reader has or The information and recommended practices included in this document
the suitability, accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information or are not intended to replace individual company standards or sound judg-
procedures contained herein. ment in any circumstances. The information and recommendations in this
The users of the procedures and recommendations apply them at their document are offered as guidelines only for the development of individual
own election and at their own risk. FRI and its DPC and the contribu- company standards and procedures.

34 Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011

 Shaft
Alignment
cuit (including return piping), which m) [11] to provide sufficient NPSH. If & Geometric
gives the required liquid height above
the exchanger necessary to drive the
a separate product pump is used, its
NPSH requirement may govern.
Measurement
desired reboiler flow.
Kettle systems. Properly designed Things to avoid
kettle systems do not usually require In Figure 5A, we have an internal re-
significant liquid head for reboiler boiler. Note that the Design Practice
flow, so the skirt height is typically Committee generally recommends
governed by another factor such as against using internal reboilers be-
bottoms-pump NPSH requirement. cause they are known to have caused
The elevation, however, must be high numerous operating and capacity
enough to satisfy the force balance problems in previous applications.
without having the liquid level in the In Figure 5B, this two pass arrange-
sump approach the reboiler return ment is not recommended because the
inlet. In the case of a trapout, the reboiler vapor must pass through the
trapout must be at an elevation high downcomer’s liquid curtain in an at-
enough so that the force balance does tempt to distribute itself evenly to both
not lead to liquid overflow into the passes. The bottom tray should have
chimneys [23]. In the case of a tower two side downcomers in this case.
whose pressure is sufficiently above In Figure 5C, the reboiler return Rotalign® ULTRA

Vibration
downstream equipment to drive bot- fluid is directed toward the bottom
toms product onward without a pump, tray downcomer and/or seal pan. This
the skirt height may be quite low. design can fail in a number of ways,
Conversely, if bottoms evacuation or
drainage requirements dictate a sig-
including: (1) backup of the bottom
tray downcomer; (2) entrainment of Analysis
nificant skirt height, and it is not de-
sirable to have the liquid level in the
seal pan overflow liquid by the return-
ing vapor; (3) mechanical failure of the & Balancing
kettle inlet pipe, the kettle exchanger bottom tray downcomer from fluid im-
itself may need to be situated on a pingement; or (4) heat transfer from
high foundation because of the eleva- reboiler return fluid to the liquid in
tion relationship between kettle over- the downcomer, causing vaporization
spill weir elevation and tower bottom and choking inside the downcomer.
liquid level. This elevation difference In Figure 5D, the reboiler return
is given by the kettle pressure balance pipe has been routed through the
as described previously. downcomer. Again, this can fail by va-
Forced circulation systems. The liq- porizing liquid in the downcomer and
uid head necessary for a forced circu- choking it. Also, if the bottom section
lation system is based on the NPSH trays are heavily liquid loaded, this
requirement of the reboiler circulation design might block enough downcomer
pump. Typically, the tower bottom tan- area to cause backup flooding. ■
gent line is elevated about 15 ft (4.5 Edited by Gerald Ondrey VIBXPERT® II
h
WatcOS
Authors Daniel R. Summers, Chair, Sulzer Chemtech VIDEine
USA, Inc., Tulsa, Okla. Onl
Current members of Fractionation Research Inc.
Design Practices Committee Waldo E. de Villiers, Shell Global Solutions
Jeffery A. Bell, UOP LLC, Des Plains, Ill.
(US) Inc., Houston
Larry Wilder, Dow Chemical Company, South Easy-to-use
Doug Bouck, Separations Solutions, Ltd., Au-
rora, Ohio
Charleston, W.V.
Simon Xu, Process Technology, The Shaw Group,
solutions for your
John P. Farone, Dow Chemical (retired), Cedar
Park, Tex.
Houston
Neil Yeoman, LNCK Associates, Merrick, N.Y.
maintenance needs!
Joseph Flowers, E.I. DuPont de Nemours &
Any correspondence regarding this paper should
Company, Wilmington, Del.
be directed to one of the following members: Sales • Rentals • Services
Ed Grave, ExxonMobil Upstream Research
Company, Houston Daniel R. Summers Sulzer Chemtech USA, Inc.
(P.O. Box 700480 Tulsa, OK 74170-0480
Henry Z. Kister, Fluor Corporation, Aliso Viejo,
Calif. Phone: 918-447-7654; Email: dan.summers@
sulzer.com)
Todd Marut, ExxonMobil Research and Engi-
neering Company, Fairfax, Va. Ed Grave, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co.
(3120 Buffalo Speedway
Paul Morehead, Koch-Glitsch, LP, Dallas, Tex.
Houston, TX 77098; Phone: 713-431-7262; Email: 305-591-8935 • www.ludeca.com
Ron Olsson, Celanese Ltd., Bishop, Tex. [email protected])
Joseph Parker, Eastman Chemical Company, Henry Kister, Fluor Corp. (3 Polaris Way, Aliso
Kingsport, Tenn. Circle 15 on p. 58 or go to adlinks.che.com/35061-15
Viejo, CA 92698. Phone: 949-349-4679; Email:
[email protected])

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2011 35