| Distillation Introduction |
Distillation is defined
as:
a process in which a liquid or vapour mixture of two or more
substances is separated into its component fractions of desired
purity, by the application and removal of heat.
 Distillation
is based on the fact that the vapour of a boiling mixture will be richer in the
components that have lower boiling points.
Therefore, when
this vapour is cooled and condensed, the condensate will contain more volatile
components. At the same time, the original mixture will contain more of the less
volatile material.
Distillation
columns are designed to achieve this separation efficiently.
Although many
people have a fair idea what �distillation� means, the important aspects that
seem to be missed from the manufacturing point of view are that:
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distillation is the most common separation technique |
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it
consumes enormous amounts of energy, both in terms of cooling and
heating requirements |
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it can
contribute to more than 50% of plant operating costs |
| The best
way to reduce operating costs of existing units, is to improve their
efficiency and operation via process optimisation and control. To
achieve this improvement, a thorough understanding of distillation
principles and how distillation systems are designed is essential.
The purpose of this set of notes is to expose you to the
terminology used in distillation practice and to give a very
basic introduction to: |
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