Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name: Perera A. T. K.
Index Number: 100375D
Date of Submission: 05/01/2015
INTRODUCTION
Ethylene is a widely using industrial chemical as a raw material in producing various
products like polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride and etc. Ethylene is
mostly produced by steam or catalytic cracking of Naphtha or Natural Gas. As per the
economists views the global demand for ethylene may increase at a compounding rate of 10
million tons per year. In Sri Lankan scenario, amount of ethylene based products imported in
year 2011 was 52,000 MT. This figure can be expected to be grown by now with the
increasing global demand. So to match this increasing demand in house ethylene production
in the country can be considered.
As the comprehensive design project of our group, it was decided to address this matter and
develop an ethylene production facility with steam cracking of Natural Gas as theres a huge
potential of having Natural Gas in Mannar basin oil exploration sites. However to begin the
process imported LNG is used. The process flow for the production follows several
separation columns before and after the steam cracker along with other common equipments
like heat exchangers and compressors. For separation of the key components along the
process, distillation can be used in most of the steps.
The mixture of hydrocarbons obtained after the cracking should be separated at several stages
and separation of C2 components from C3 and other heavier hydrocarbon components is
crucial prior to the final fractionation of ethylene from C2 components. This separation is
done using the de-ethanizer, a distillation column designed to match the separation
requirements.
Based on the boiling points at standard temperature and pressure C2 components can be
separated from C3 and other heavier components using distillation.
Table 1.1 : Boiling points of Feed components at 1 atm
Component
Ethylene
-104
Ethane
-88
Ethyne
-84
Propylene
-48
Propane
-42
Propyne
-23.2
Butene
-6
Butane
Butyne
8.1
Pyrolysis gasoline
32 - 204
Cyclobutadiene
41.2
Benzene
80.1
Toluene
110.6
Styrene
145
169 579.4
Maximum recovery of C2 components at the top product is required as the final product
outcome is ethylene and ethyne (Acetylene) can be converted into ethylene by catalytic
hydrogenation which is financially beneficial. At the final fractionators ethylene is separated
from ethane and ethane is sent back to steam cracker for production of ethylene.
Commercially the separation of C2 components is done almost completely from C3
components. Because of these reasons maximum recovery of 99.99% of ethyne at the
distillate and 0.01% recovery of propene at the top product are taken as design considerations
while designing the tower secondary de-ethanizer.
Further for the conversion purpose of ethyne, the top product is collected and transferred to
the next unit in gaseous phase. Therefore a partial condenser is used at the top of the
distillation tower.
DISTILLATION COLUMN
Distillation columns can be designed with different column internals. According to the
column internal the column may be a packed column or a tray column. In both columns there
are few advantages and disadvantages. Therefore the selection of the tower type should be
done carefully.
Packed bed columns
These are columns in which the internal is packed with random or structured shape packing
material and provides a larger surface area for vapor liquid mixing. These are most often used
for absorption but can be used in distillation too. The associated advantages and
disadvantages of packed bed columns can be listed as follows.
Advantages:
For columns less than 0.6 m in diameter, most efficient tower type.
Lower pressure drop compared to tray columns.
Can be used to handle corrosive liquid mixtures as packing material can be made by inert
material.
Suitable for thermally sensitive liquid separations.
Disadvantages:
Packing material may get damaged during installation or under extreme temperatures due to
thermal expansion or contraction.
Contact efficiency is low when liquid flow rates are smaller.
Higher cost at high liquid flow rates.
Tray distillation columns
These are columns in which the internal upward and downward flow of liquid and vapor is
disturbed by placing trays with a definite gap in between them in order to obtain a good
liquid vapor mixing. These are widely used in distillation applications. The number of trays
varies according to the application. This type also has some pros and cons.
Advantages:
Most efficient type of distillation column when column diameter exceeds 0.6 m.
Suitable for cryogenic distillation applications as it is easy to equip with cooling coils.
Liquid vapor contact in cross flow tray column is more effective than countercurrent flow in
packed columns.
Can use for high liquid flow rates cost effectively.
Can handle cryogenic conditions of distillation.
Disadvantages
Higher pressure drop compared to packed beds.
Possibility of foaming as a result of agitation of liquid through vapor.
Considering all the above factors, it is clear that packed bed columns are not suitable for
operation at cryogenic conditions and hence can be eliminated from selection. Then the
viable option becomes using tray type column for the separation of desired components. This
is because the separation should be done under cryogenic conditions.
Selection of tray type for the column
The trays that are used as column internals can be designed in several ways. The types
include sieve trays, valve trays and bubble cap trays. Each of these types brings its own
advantages and disadvantages to the distillation column. Those advantages and disadvantages
can be considered as follows.
Sieve tray
Cost Ratio (Compared 1
Valve tray
1.5
to Sieve tray)
Efficiency
Capacity
Pressure drop
Lowest value
Application
Moderate
a
flexibility
Highest value
greater Suitable
vapor
for
low
flow
rate
applications
as
design provides a
liquid seal.
Considering all the factors above discussed it is decided to select valve type trays to complete
the column internal as it has a greater flexibility and the capital cost for the construction also
is reasonable when compared to bubble cap trays. Further the capacities and efficiencies
being nearly similar for all three types it would be better to select a cost effective and flexible
design for the column.
Flow arrangement
The arrangement of flow on the trays can be decided
MATERIAL BALANCE
Since the feed consists of number of components, multicomponent distillation should be
considered in order to separate the components as desired. Therefore determination of key
components for the material balance becomes a crucial step of calculation. As the major
requirement of de-ethanizer is to separate C2 components from C3 and other heavier
components, ethyne was selected to be the light key with a recovery of 99.99 mol% at the
distillate and propene was selected to be the heavy key with a recovery of 0.01 mol% at the
distillate.
Light key: The most volatile component in the bottoms, but in a significant
concentration is known as the light key. Therefore more volatile components than
light key does not go to the bottoms
Heavy key: The least volatile component in the distillate, but in a significant
concentration is known as the heavy key. Therefore less volatile components than the
heavy key does not go the distillate
Only ethyne (Light key) and propene (heavy key) is distributed between top and bottom
products as there are no other components in between the light and heavy key according to
boiling points.
The following formulae were used in calculation of mass fractions, mole fractions and molar
or mass flow rates during material balance.
During calculations a constant molar overflow of components through the column was
assumed.
Based on the above formulae the calculated feed composition for the secondary de-ethanizer
is as follows.
Table 2.1: Feed composition for the secondary de-ethanizer
Component
MT/day
W/W %
Ethylene
294.3411
57.3304
10512.1821
59.9835
28
Ethane
193.4509
37.6795
6448.3633
36.7950
30
Ethyne
4.1544
0.8092
159.7846
0.9117
26
Propylene
5.5164
1.0745
131.3429
0.7495
42
Propane
0.8196
0.1596
18.6273
0.1063
44
Propyne
0.1195
0.0233
2.9875
0.0170
40
Butene
0.8955
0.1744
15.9911
0.0912
56
Butane
1.2167
0.2370
20.9776
0.1197
58
Butyne
9.1517
1.7825
169.4759
0.9670
54
Pyrolysis gasoline
1.3393
0.2609
13.3930
0.0764
100
Cyclobutadiene
0.3328
0.0648
6.4000
0.0365
52
Benzene
1.4555
0.2835
18.6603
0.1065
78
Toluene
0.224
0.0436
2.4348
0.0139
92
Styrene
0.0568
0.0111
1.1360
0.0065
50
0.3375
0.0657
3.3750
0.0193
100
513.4117
100
17525.1313
100
Total
For a multicomponent distillation column, the material balance equations can be expressed in
the following form.
Overall material balance for the tower;
Where;
D kmol/day
F kmol/day
W kmol/day
Being heavy key and light key only ethyne and propene are distributed between top and
bottom products according to the specified recovery molar fractions. The components lighter
than light key are only found in tracer amounts in the bottoms and components heavier than
heavy key are only found in tracer amounts in the top product. Therefore the material balance
for the distillation tower will be as follows.
Component
Ethylene
Ethane
Ethyne
Propylene
Propane
Propyne
Butene
Butane
Butyne
Pyrolysis gasoline
Cyclobutadiene
Benzene
Toluene
Styrene
Pyrolysis fuel oil
Total
Therefore;
W. XiW
(kmol/day)
XiD
XiW
F. XiF
kmol/day
D. XiD
(kmol/day)
0.5998
10512.1821
10512.1821
0.6140
0.0000
0.3679
6448.3633
6448.3633
0.3766
0.0000
0.0091
159.7846
159.7686
0.0160
0.0093
0.0000
0.0075
131.3429
0.0131
131.3297
0.0000
0.3244
0.0011
18.6273
18.6273
0.0000
0.0460
0.0002
2.9875
2.9875
0.0000
0.0074
0.0009
15.9911
15.9911
0.0000
0.0395
0.0012
20.9776
20.9776
0.0000
0.0518
0.0097
169.4759
169.4759
0.0000
0.4187
0.0008
13.3930
13.3930
0.0000
0.0331
0.0004
6.4000
6.4000
0.0000
0.0158
0.0011
18.6603
18.6603
0.0000
0.0461
0.0001
2.4348
2.4348
0.0000
0.0060
0.0001
1.1360
1.1360
0.0000
0.0028
0.0002
3.3750
3.3750
0.0000
0.0083
17525.1313
17120.3272
404.8041
XiF
Further for flow rate calculations inside the tower material balances for rectifying and
stripping section are required.
Rectification Section
Stripping Section
V
L
V
L
W
V V = L L F - - - (eqn 2.11)
V
ENERGY BALANCE
Energy balance for a distillation column simply implies the condensing and heating energy
requirements in condenser and reboiler. In order to find these it is essential to know distillate
and bottom products temperatures. This is because the energy required for condensation of
distillate or vaporization of bottoms is a function of its enthalpy at that temperature.
Temperature Calculations for Towers
Bubble point calculation
A temperature is assumed for the bubble point of tower
Feed or liquid phase composition and operating pressure are known
K values are obtained from the literature for the corresponding temperature and
pressure for each component.
Vapor phase mole fractions were calculated for all the components using,
Where;
Yi = mole fraction of ith component in vapor phase
Ki = K value of ith component where,
Here,
A temperature is assumed for the dew point and K values for all the components
were found at corresponding temperature.
Liquid phase composition (Xi) was calculated for all the composition using the
following equation.
If Xi = 1 the assumed temperature is correct and if not a new K value for one
component is calculated.
New temperature (Tnew) to match the new K value is chosen and K values for all
the components at new temperature are found.
Calculation was repeated until X i =1.
The calculated liquid and vapor phase compositions and temperatures of distillate and bottom
can be tabulated as below.
Table 2.3: Distillate and Bottom temperatures with compositions
Component
Ethylene
Ethane
Ethyne
Propylene
Propane
Propyne
Butene
Butane
Butyne
Pyrolysis gasoline
Cyclobutadiene
Benzene
Toluene
Styrene
Pyrolysis fuel oil
Total
0.6140
0.3766
0.0093
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
1.0000
Therefore;
1.3117
0.725
0.75
0.468101
0.519517
0.012443
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.00006
2.431493
2.2
0.6285
0.148
0.835
0.1342
0.0283
0.2034
0.0639
0.0127
0.00637
0.0283
0
0
0
0.788844
0.101234
0.004638
0.005846
0.043271
0.056184
0.000936
0.003216
0.002946
7.64E-05
1.79E-05
0.000236
1.007447
Where, L = Latent heat of liquid mixture which is at equilibrium with distillate vapor
L = Liquid flow rate of rectifying section (only this part is condensed while product is taken
as vapor)
Latent heat of a mixture can be calculated as,
COLUMN DESIGN
Minimum Reflux Ratio (Rm)
Minimum reflux ratio for the column can be found using Underwood equations for multi
component systems.
First Underwood equation;
Where;
i = Relative volatility of ith component at average column temperature
= A factor defined for the calculation
q = L/F where, L- Liquid fraction of feed and F- Feed flow rate
q = q factor of the feed
Table 2.4: values of feed components at column average temperature
Component
Ethylene
Ethane
Ethyne
Propylene
Propane
Propyne
Butene
Butane
Butyne
Pyrolysis gasoline
Cyclobutadiene
Benzene
Toluene
Styrene
Pyrolysis fuel oil
value at 36.35 C
5.2941
3.4118
4.0588
1
0.8235
0.3981
0.1071
0.2368
0.0908
0.0164
0.1255
0.0198
0.0074
0.0017
0.0164
values are defined with respect to heavy key of the system which in this case is propylene.
Component
XiF
F. XiF kmol/day
Ethylene
0.5998
10512.1821
Ethane
0.3679
6448.3633
Ethyne
0.0091
159.7846
Propylene
0.0075
131.3429
Propane
0.0011
18.6273
Propyne
0.0002
2.9875
Butene
0.0009
15.9911
Butane
0.0012
20.9776
Butyne
0.0097
169.4759
Pyrolysis gasoline
0.0008
13.3930
Cyclobutadiene
0.0004
6.4000
Benzene
0.0011
18.6603
Toluene
0.0001
2.4348
Styrene
0.0001
1.1360
0.0002
3.3750
17525.1313
Total
Table 2.6: Categorized feed composition and their relative volatility at average temperature
Component
XiF
Ethylene
F. XiF kmol/day
Values
Ethyne
0.0091
10512.1821 5.2941
3.4118
6448.3633
159.7846 4.0588
Propylene
Propane
0.0075
0.0013
131.3429 1
21.6148 0.8235
Butyne
0.0118
206.4446 0.0908
Heptene
0.0027
42.0241 0.0164
Ethane
0.5998
0.3679
Using MATLAB software, the roots of the above polynomial are founded to be,
4.0096 + 0.0446i, 4.0096 - 0.0446i, 1.001, 0.8467, 0.1007 and 0.0202
Choose = 1.001 [In between heavy key and light key]
Then, applying = 1.001 in first Underwood equation,
Rm = 0.3007
Optimum Reflux ratio (R)
The optimum reflux ratio of distillation lies between 1.2 -1.5 times Rm at many instances.
Therefore, choose
Where;
lk ,ave = relative volatility of light key ( the geometric average)
Feed tray location at minimum number of theoretical plates (NF, min) is given by;
values are given at column average temperature, and molar fractions at total reflux are similar to
calculated values as there are no distributed components in between the heavy key and light key.
Therefore; from calculation;
NF, min = 6.3846
For molar fractions of components in liquid mixture, molar fractions of feed components are used.
Viscosity of liquid mixture =
Where;
Lw, Vw = liquid or vapor mass flow rate through rectifying section
L, V = Molar flow rates of liquid and vapor
ML,V,avg = Average molar mass of liquid or vapor
ML,avg = 29.156 kg/kmol, MV,avg = 29.734 kg/kmol
Mi = Molar mass of ith component
Xi = Molar fraction of ith component in liquid or vapor respectively
Therefore;
LW = 224622.116 kg/day = 2.5998 kg/s
VW = 738125.5727 kg/day = 8.5431 kg/s
Stripping section
Therefore;
LW = 1038459.809 kg/day = 12.0192 kg/s
VW = 929639.3296 kg/day = 10.7597 kg/s
Average densities
Rectifying section
V,avg
Flow parameters
Flow parameters for rectifying and stripping section can be found using following equation.
When calculations for stripping section are done ( ) is used as notification.
Rectifying section
Ua =0.3052 m/s
The volumetric flow rate of vapor can be given as,
Vg = 0.3017 m3/s
The net area of the column cross section can be then found using,
Therefore;
Where;
An = Net area of column cross section
AC = Column cross sectional area
Ad = Down comer area
Aa = Active area
Also the hole area of plate (Ah) can be found as.
AC = 1.1233 m2
Ad = 0.1348 m2
Aa = 0.8537 m2
Ah = 0.08537 m2
Stripping section
Same procedure of calculation for rectifying section was used. But the notification is used as
( ) for the convenience of identification.
Therefore the calculated parameter values are as follows,
From the graph for the relationship of Flow parameter vs. Flooding vapor velocity, (Vol 6,
p567)
K1 factor = 0.076, for a tray spacing of 0.6 m.
Uf = 0.3396 m/s
Assume 70% of flooding is maintained in the tower
Then, Ua = 0.2377 m/s
Vg = 0.3727 m3/s
An = 1.568 m2
AC = 1.7818 m2
Ad = 0.2138 m2
Aa = 1.3542 m2
Ah = 0.1354 m2
Column diameters
Rectifying section
Once the column cross sectional area is known, the diameter of the column can be calculated
as follows.
Where,
DC = Column diameter
The column diameter for the rectifying section,
DC = 1.1959 m
Diameter of the column is greater than 1 m. Therefore the tray spacing of 0.6 m is acceptable.
Stripping section
Using the same equation, the diameter of the stripping section (DC) is found to be,
DC = 1.5062 m
The diameter of the stripping section is greater than 1 m. Therefore the tray spacing of 0.6 m
is acceptable.
Column Height
Column height can be obtained by,
H = Column height
Na = Number of actual trays = 42
Tray spacing = 0.6 m
Therefore, H = 25.2 m