CHAPTER II

FLASH DISTILLATION
 Concept of Equilibrium
 Most of the separation processes we will study are based on the equilibrium stage concept
 Streams leaving a stage are in equilibrium.
 What do we mean by equilibrium?

Rate of vaporization = Rate of condensation (at equilibrium)

FLASH DISTILLATION
FLASH DISTILLATION
• A single stage separation technique.
• A liquid mixture feed is pumped through a heater to raise the
temperature and enthalpy of the mixture.
• It then flows through a valve and the pressure is reduced, causing the
liquid to partially vaporize and a two-phase system is obtained.
• Once the mixture enters a big enough volume (the "flash drum"), the
liquid and vapor separate.
• Because the vapor and liquid are in such close contact up until the
"flash" occurs, the product liquid and vapor phases approach
equilibrium.
 Flash distillation (sometimes called "equilibrium distillation"): A single stage separation technique.
VAPOR AND LIQUID LEAVING FROM DRUM ARE IN EQUILIBRIUM
: Vapor flowrate

Mole fraction in vapor phase

Flash drum: Large volume ,

the liquid and vapor separate.

:Liquid flowrate
Heater: to raise the temperature
and enthalpy of the mixture Mole fraction in liquid phase

Valve: The pressure is reduced, causing the

liquid to partially vaporize.
Demister: Used to remove liquid droplets entrained in vapor stream
 REMARKS
• At feed pressure: Feed should be below its boiling point and remain liquid.

• At drum pressure: Feed should be above its boiling point and some of the
feed should vaporize.

• If feed is hot and and drum pressure is quite low, pump and heater may not
be needed.

• QUESTION: How should do we make sure that we have vapor-liquid

mixture in the flash drum ???
• This will depend on temperature and pressure in the drum.
VAPOR LIQUID EQULIBRIA
 WHY DO WE STUDY VAPOR LIQUID EQUILIBRIA

Many separation processes involve vapor liquid equilibria. Examples

• Distillation
• Drying
• Evaporation
 At equilibrium
 Rate of evaporation=Rate of condensation

VAPOR  Tliquid=Tvapor

 Pliquid=Pvapor

Volatile
component
LIQUID
 NOTATION
• Bubble Point Curve: First bubble of vapor formed is observed.

• Dew Point Curve: First droplet formed is observed

• 2 Phase Region: Liquid and vapor coexist simultaneously. They are in equilibrium.

• To do flash distillation calculations, we should have Txy diagram or Pxy diagram.

• Txy diagram : Gives composition in liquid (x) and vapor phases(y) at different temperatures
(P:Constant)

• Pxy diagram : Gives composition in liquid (x) and vapor phases(y) at different pressures
(T:Constant)
VLE DATA
• Binary VLE data can be represented graphically in several ways. The
most convenient forms are:
• Temperature-composition, y-x.
• Enthalpy-composition diagrams.
• y versus x diagram.
 Txy Diagram
Boiling
point of
less volatile
component
Tie line which connects two phases which are
in equilibrium

Boiling point of more volatile

component

Liquid composition Vapor composition

 At what temperature 12 % of liquid pentane would start to boil ?

 T=370 K

 What is the composition of pentane in vapor phase in equilibrium with the liquid ?

 y=0.4
Pxy Diagram

 At which pressure a vapor containing 90 % pentane would

start to condense?

 y=0.9 P=7.5 atm

 What is the composition in the liquid phase in

equilibrium with the vapor ?

 x=0.65
Vapor Liquid Equilibrium
• At equilibrium : Pi  Pi
L v

• Assume both vapor and liquid phases are ideal.

• We can use Rault’s law to find partial pressure of component i in liquid
phase .
• Raults law:
P  P x i  Vapor pressure of component i
o
L o P
i i i
xi : Mole fraction of component i in liquid phase

• Dalton’s law: Pi v  Pyi P  Total pressure

yi : Mole fraction of component i in vapor phase
 At equilibrium : Pi L  Pi v Pi o xi  Pyi For ideal solution

Bubble Point Temperature Calculation : P: Known xi: Known

 Pi o xi   Pyi  Pi o xi  P  yi  yi  1  Pi o xi  P

Procedure:
 Assume bubble point temperature
 Calculate vapor pressure of each component at the assume bubble point temperature

 Calculate  Pi o xi

 If  Pi o xi  P then go back to step 1 and assume a new bubble point temperature.

Dew Point Temperature Calculation : P: Known yi: Known Pi o xi  Pyi

1 yi
 o
PDew Pi

Procedure:
 Assume dew point temperature
 Calculate vapor pressure of each component at the assume dew point temperature
yi
 Calculate  Po
i

yi 1
 If  P o P then go back to step 1 and assume a new dew point temperature.

i
 Bubble Point Pressure Calculation : T: Known xi: Known

 Pi o xi   Pyi  Pi o xi  P

Procedure:
 Calculate vapor pressure of each component at the given temperature

 Calculate PBubble   Pi o xi

Dew Point Pressure Calculation : T: Known yi: Known

Procedure:
 Calculate vapor pressure of each component at the given temperature
1
 Calculate PDew 
yi
 Po
i
Example: Plot T versus xy diagram for methanol/water binary mixture at 1 atm.
Set xMethanol=0.1 xWater=0.9
105 We found TBubble =93.8 o C
Vapor Phase P =1 atm
100

95

90 At 93.8 oC
o
PMethanol  2.89 bar
Temperature (oC)

85

80
o
PWater  0.804 bar
75

70

65 Liquid Phase What is the mole fraction of methanol

60 in vapor phase at 93.8 oC which is in
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 equilibrium with methanol in liquid phase?
Mole fraction of methanol in both liquid and vapor phase (xmethanol, ymethanol)

o
PMethanol xMethanol (2.89)(0.1)
yMethanol    0.289
P 1

Plot T Bubble and xMethanol and yMethanol.

 Remarks
• To draw Txy diagram, either set x or y value between 0 and 1.
• Suppose , you set x=0.1
• At this x value, find Tbubble by iteration. o
PMethanol xMethanol
• y
Now, find the composition in vapor phase y at this temperature. Methanol 
P
• Plot T as a function of x and y.
• Note that you don’t need to calculate Tdew using another iteration. By drawing T as a
function of x and y, you have already plotted dew point curve.
• You can convince yourself that dew point curve is accurate. How?
• Select a y value, for example yMethanol=0.8 . Then calculate dew point temperature.
1 yi
 o
P Pi

• The dew point temperature calculated and read from the graph should be the same.
Plot P versus xy diagram for methanol/water binary mixture at 50 C.

0.6 0.6
T=50oC
Vapor Phase
0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4
Prresure (bar)

0.3 0.3
Vapor - Liquid Mixture

0.2 0.2

0.1 0.1
Liquid Phase

0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mole fraction of methanol in both liquid and vapor phase (xmethanol, ymethanol)
 Remarks
• To draw Pxy diagram, either set x or y value between 0 and 1.
• Suppose , you set x=0.1
• At this x value, find Pbubble. PBubble   Pi xi
o
o
PMethanol xMethanol
• y
Now, find the composition in vapor phase y at this temperature. Methanol 
PBubble
• Plot PBubble as a function of x and y.
• Note that you don’t need to calculate Pdew. By drawing PBubble as a function of x and
y, you have already plotted dew point curve.
• You can convince yourself that dew point curve is accurate. How?
• Select a y value, for example yMethanol=0.8 . Then calculate dew point pressure.
1 y
  io
PDew Pi

• The dew point pressure calculated and read from the graph should be the same.
 1
Mole fraction of methanol in vapor phase 0.9 P =1 atm
Larger the distance between y=x line and equilibrium curve
0.8
0.7
Better the separation is
0.6
(ymethanol)

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1 1
0 P =1 atm
0.9

Mole fraction of water in vapor phase (ywater)

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mole fraction of methanol in both liquid phase (xmethanol) 0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

yMethanol > x Methanol yWater < x Water 0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
We can separate methanol and water by distillation. Mole fraction of water in both liquid phase (xwater)
Methanol in vapor phase
Water in liquid phase.
Example: Plot T versus xy diagram for ethylene glycol /water binary mixture at 30.4 kPa total pressure.

Data we need ??? Vapor pressure of ethylene glycol and water as a function of temperature

T=
temperature
Antoine Constants (K)
A B C
Ethylene Glycol 4.97012 1914.951 -84.996
Water 3.55959 643.748 -198.043

log10(P) = A − (B / (T + C)) Pay attention to the units

P = vapor pressure (bar)
T = temperature (K)
 P  P xEG  P
o
EG
o
x
Water Water xEG  xWater  1 xWater  1  xEG

P  PWater
o
P  PEG
o
xEG  PWater
o
1  xEG  xEG  o
PEG  PWater
o

Procedure
o o
Select a temperature and calculate PWater
and PEG
P  PWater
o
Calculate xEG : Composition of EG in liquid phase xEG  o
PEG  PWater
o
o
PEG xEG
Calculate yEG: Composition of EG in vapor phase which is in equilibrium with liquid.
y EG 
P

Repeat this procedure for different temperatures between xEG=0 and xEG=1

When xEG  0 P  PWater

o
When xEG  1 P  PEG
0

T=???? T=????
 When xEG  0 P  P o
Water When xEG  1 PP 0
EG

T=???? T=????

We can use Antoine equation to calculate these temperatures.

log10(P) = A − (B / (T + C)) Extract T from this equation

When xEG  0 T  355.9 K When xEG  1 T  433.9 K

Which component is more volatile ????

Water is more volatile since Tboiling of water < Tboiling of EG

 Bar Bar
T (K) Psat(EthyleneGlycol) Psat(Water) xEG yEG
355.95 0.01 0.30 0.00 0.00
360.95 0.01 0.41 0.26 0.01
365.95 0.01 0.53 0.44 0.02
370.95 0.02 0.69 0.57 0.04
375.95 0.02 0.87 0.67 0.05
380.95 0.03 1.10 0.74 0.08
385.95 0.04 1.36 0.80 0.11
390.95 0.05 1.67 0.84 0.14
395.95 0.06 2.03 0.88 0.19
400.95 0.08 2.44 0.91 0.24
405.95 0.10 2.91 0.93 0.31
410.95 0.12 3.44 0.95 0.39
415.95 0.15 4.03 0.96 0.48
420.95 0.19 4.70 0.97 0.60
425.95 0.23 5.43 0.98 0.73
430.95 0.27 6.25 0.99 0.89
433.98 0.30 6.78 1.00 1.00
 450
T versus x,y diagram

440

430

420
Temperature (K)

410

400
Bubble Point Temperature

390 Dew Point Temperature

380

370

360

350
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mole Fraction of Water
 At Pfeed : Tfeed< TBubble Point

At PDrum : T Bubble Point< TDrum< Tdew Point

 Figure 10- Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium diagram for ethanol-water at 101.3 kPa

1 Azeotrope
0.9

Mole fraction of ethanol in vapor, yE

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5 y vs x

0.4
0.3
0.2

0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mole fraction of ethanol in liquid, xE

What is the maximum purity of ethanol that can be achieved at 1 atm using fractional distillation?

Answer: 0.8943
• The liquid and vapor are of exactly the same composition at a mole fraction ethanol of 0.8943.
• The system is called a minimum-boiling azeotrope because the azeotrope boils at 78.15°C, which
is less than that of either pure ethanol or pure water.
• The azeotrope location is a function of pressure. Below 70 mm Hg no azeotrope exists for
ethanol/ water.
 Total mass balance
FLASH DISTILLATION UNIT
Component mass balance
V(kmole/h)
F(kmole/h)

Energy balance

hF  hF TF , z  hL  hL TDrum , x  hV  hv TDrum , y 

hF  z ACˆ pL, A TF  TRe f   z BCˆ pL, B TF  TRe f 

hL  x ACˆ pL, A TDrum  TRe f   xBCˆ pL, B TDrum  TRe f 

L(kmole/h)


hV  y A  A  Cˆ pV , A TDrum  TRe f   

y B B  Cˆ pV , B TDrum  TRe f  
 Degrees of Freedom Analysis (For a Binary Mixture)
F=C-P+2
• F, z, TF, PF Feed conditions:
F: Degrees of freedeom Generally known
C:# of components
P:# of phases
• V, y
P:2 (Vapor and liquid phases) • L, x Other Variables
C:2 Binary mixture:2 • TDrum, PDrum
F=2 . What does this mean ?

You are free to select 2 variables for the flash distillation of a binary mixture Set any of 2 variables, e.g. TDrum, PDrum
Calculate other unkowns: V, y, L and x

For designing a process, degrees of freedom >0 . Flexibility for the designer
Phase change (from liquid to vapor) + sensible heat change in vapor phase


hV  y A  A  Cˆ pV , A TDrum  TRe f   

y B B  Cˆ pV , B TDrum  TRe f  
Sensible heat change in liquid phase
hL  x ACˆ pL, A TDrum  TRe f   xBCˆ pL, B TDrum  TRe f 
Total mass balance Component mass balance

Energy balance

hF  hF TF , z  hL  hL TDrum , x  hV  hv TDrum , y 

hF  z ACˆ pL , A TF  TRe f   z B Cˆ pL , B TF  TRe f 

hL  x ACˆ pL , A TDrum  TRe f   xB Cˆ pL , B TDrum  TRe f 

  
hV  y A  A  Cˆ pV , A TDrum  TRe f   y B B  Cˆ pV , B TDrum  TRe f  
An energy balance around the heater (to calculate the size of the heater)
L L L/F q
  
V F  L 1 L / F 1 q

q  1 
yi   xi    zi
1 q 1 q 
  Plot VLE data as y versus x

 Plot operating line in the same graph.

q  1 
yi   xi    zi
1 q 1 q 

Slope: q/1-q
Intercept: zi/1-q

 Find the intersection point between operating

line and equilibrium curve.

 Read y and x values at the intersection point

 They will correspond to composition of vapor (y) and liquid (x) leaving from flash drum
Example 2-1. Philip Wankat

Operating Line We also need equilibrium curve

V/F=2/3 F/V=V/V + L/V F/V-1=L/V F/V=3/2 L/V=3/2-1 =1/2:Slope

Intercept: F z/V Intercept: (3/2) *0.4 =0.6 Intercept:0.6
 Figure 10- Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium diagram for ethanol-water at 101.3
kPa
1
Azeotrope
0.9

Mole fraction of ethanol in vapor, yE

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5 y…

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Mole fraction of ethanol in liquid, xE
To draw operating line, we need two points:

Point 1 : Intercept x=0 y=Intercept:0.6

Point 2: y=x line Fz  Lx  Vy When y  x Fz  y ( L  V ) Fz  Fy x  y  z  0.4

Point 1 (0, 0.6) Point 2 ( 0.4, 0.4) or Operating Line: y= -0.5x +0.6 Plot this equation on y versus x diagram.

Solution: Intersection of operating line and equilibrium curve:

When V/F=2/3 then x= 0.17 y= 0.52

Maximum vapor composition : When Slope=L/V = 

x=0.4 y=0.61
Minimum liquid composition: When Slope=L/V=0

x=0.075 y=0.4
Example
• A liquid that is 60 % component 1 and 40 % component 2 is [Link]
is suggested to run the flash drum at 1210 kPa. The temperature of
the drum is 150 oC. Is the drum pressure suitable ??? If your answer
is yes, calculate the fraction of effluent that is liquid and compositions
of the liquid and vapor phases.
• Vapor pressure of component A at 150 C : 1763 kPa
• Vapor pressure of component B at 150 C : 598 kPa
PBubble   Pi o xi  (0.6) *1763  0.4 * 595  1297kPa PDew  PDrum  PBubble
1 1
PDew    991kPa
yi 0.6 0.4
 Po 
1763 598
SUITABLE
i
 PBubble
PDew

Composition given in the problem : Feed composition (60 % of A).

 For a given feed composition, we calculate PDew and Pbubble

 For both calculations we set yA=0.6 or xA=0.6 since we want to calculate limits for the drum
pressure.
 PDrum   Pi o xi  1210kPa  PAo x A  PBo (1  x A )
x A  0.525

PAo x A
Py A  PAo x A yA  y A  0.765
P
Vapor : V(kmole/h)
yA=0.765 Total mole balance around column:
F= V + L L=F-V
F(kmole/h)
Divide both sides by F
zA=0.6
(F  V ) V
Liquid : L(kmole/h) zi  xi  yi
xA=0.525 F F

0.6(1)  0.525(1  V / F )  0.765 * (V / F )

V / F *100  31% Vapor 69% Liquid
Wankat -Problem 2D9. We wish to flash distill an ethanol – water mixture that is 30 wt % ethanol
and has a feed flow of 1000 kg/h. Feed is at 200oC. The flash drum operates at a pressure of 1 kg/cm2.
a) Evaluate if the drum is perfectly insulated or not.
b) Find: Tdrum, wt frac of liquid and vapor products, and liquid and vapor flow rates if 20924.7 kcal/h
of heat is added to the column.

Data : CpL,EtOH = 37.96 @100oC, kcal/(kmoloC)CpL,W = 18.0, kcal/(kmoloC)

CpV,EtOH = 14.66 + (3.758 * 10-2)T – (2.091 * 10-5)T2 + (4.74 * 10-9)T3
CpV,W = 7.88 + (0.32* 10-2)T - (0.04833 * 10-5)T2
Both CpV values are in kcal/(kmoloC), with T in oC.
ρEtOH = 0.789 g/mL, ρW = 1.0 g/mL, MWEtOH = 46.07, MWW = 18.016,
λEtOH = 9.22 kcal/mol @ 351.7 K, λW = 9.7171 kcal/mol @373.16 K.
Be careful with units!
Solution: V, y
a) where xEtOH and xw are mole fractions. Convert weight to mole fractions;

F=1000 kg/hr
F=1000 kg/hr, MWEtOH= 46.07 kg/kmol, MWwater=18.016 kg/kmol

zEtOH: 0.3
ZW: 0.7

L, x
MULTICOMPONENT FLASH DISTILLATION
Total mass balan
V(kmole/h) ce
F(kmole/h)

Component mass balance

Equilibrium relationship

In general
L(kmole/h)

Fortunately, for many systems the K values are approximately

independent of composition. Thus
 V
  L  F V
F
Component mass balance

 F V  V 
zi  1   xi  K i xi
Rearrange zi
zi    xi    K i xi xi 
 F  F 1     K i 
zi
If we write this equation for all components: Then  xi  1  
1     K i 
Here is the solution procedure:

 Assume α=V/F value.

 Find Ki value for each component.
 Calculate the xi value for each component
 Check if  xi  1
 If the summation is NOT equal to 1 , then we should change V/F value until the sum becomes 1.
Wankat- Problem 2-D16

A feed that is 50 mol% methane, 10 mol% n-butane, 15 mol% n-pentane, and 25 mol% n-hexane is flash
distilled. F=150 kmol/h. Drum pressure=250 kPa, drum temperature=10oC. Use the DePriester charts. Find
V/F, xi, yi, V, L.

Table 2-3. Constants for fit to K values using Eq. (2-30)

Mean
Compound 𝒂𝑻𝟏 𝒂𝑻𝟐 𝒂𝑻𝟔 𝒂𝒑𝟏 𝒂𝒑𝟐 𝒂𝒑𝟑
Error
Methane -292,860 0 8.2445 -0.8951 59.8465 0 1.66
n-butane -1,280,557 0 7.94986 -0.96455 0 0 3.61
n-pentane -1,524,891 0 7.33129 -0.89143 0 0 4.30
n-hexane -1,778,901 0 6.96783 -0.84634 0 0 4.90

Note: T in oR, and p is psia

DePriester charts have been fit to the following equation (McWilliams, 1973):

𝑎 𝑇1 𝑎 𝑇2 𝑎𝑝2 𝑎𝑝3
𝑙𝑛𝐾 = + + 𝑎 𝑇6 + 𝑎 𝑝1 𝑙𝑛𝑝 + + (2 − 30)
𝑇2 𝑇 𝑝2 𝑝
CALCULATING THE SIZE OF A FLASH DRUM
• Calculate theDetermine vapor and liquid compositions and flowrates
• permissible vapor velocity, uperm