Distillation column revamp eliminates jet flooding; increases efficiency

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States)

OSTI ID:7150248

Arneson, A D; Boike, J

UOP's McCook, IL, plant produces a great variety of chemicals, among them many antioxidants and antiozonants which are used by gasoline producers, rubber processors and other industrial customers. Low boiling oxygenated aliphatics are stripped from high boiling nitrogenous compounds in a distillation column. In order to achieve the necessary separation, very high column reflux rates were required. This sometimes caused jet flooding which led to entrainment and contamination of the overhead streams. When the overhead streams did not meet purity specs, they had to be inventoried and later recycled. The result was unacceptably high costs and low overall unit efficiency. To correct the problem, UOP decided to revamp the column in question. The 28 original sieve trays were removed from the 28' tall, 19 1/4'' ID column, and 27 SS304 cartridge-type fabricated screen trays were installed don 12'' spacing. The closely spaced wires from which the decks of the trays are fabricated form venturi-shaped slots that allow operation in the froth regime over a wide range of conditions. Reduced entrainment and low pressure drop combine to permit use of very high vapor and liquid rates without flooding. After the revamp, UOP found that flooding problems were eliminated in the column. Pressure drop was considerably reduced, too. An increase in separation efficiency was also noticed which permitted reboiler temperatures to be lowered by 20-50/sup 0/F, and lower reflux rates to be employed. Energy requirements of the reboiler were cut by 400,000 Btu/hr at 80% of maximum column feed rate. This represented a savings of more that $16,000/yr in fuel costs on an annualized basis, calculated on 80% efficiency in the natural gas-fired furnace.

• Research Organization: UOP, Inc.
• OSTI ID: 7150248
• Journal Information: Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States), Journal Name: Chem. Process. (Chicago); (United States) Vol. 49:12; ISSN CHPCA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320303 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Equipment & Processes
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105* -- Separation Procedures
ADDITIVES
CHEMICAL PLANTS
DISTILLATION
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
ENTRAINMENT
FLOW RATE
FUEL ADDITIVES
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
SEPARATION PROCESSES