42

CHAPTER II

PROCESS MODELING AND FLOWSHEETING

2.1

INTRODUCTION
The objective of this design project is to produce 200,000 metric ton of vinyl

chloride monomer per annum. The plant is to be operated 330 days per annum with 24
hours operating per day. The product must be has minimum purity of 99.5 % to reach
the quality in the market for polymerisation process.
After weighing the economic, safety and environmental factors, the process
flowsheeting is synthesis started from the selection of reaction system and raw
materials. The next step is the selection of separation system and followed by the
consideration of recycle streams. In this project, we have chosen oxychlorination of
ethylene and cracking of EDC as the processes of vinyl chloride monomer production.
Basically, this plant consists of four main sections:
1. Ethylene oxychlorination
2. EDC purification
3. EDC cracking
4. VCM purification
Figure 2.1 shows the complete flowsheet of this VCM plant. The detail
explanations of each sections and equipments in this flowsheet include the material
and energy balances will be presented in the following section.

43

17

14

12

13

16

11
1
X-10

M-9
2

F-11

3
15

C-1
X-2
4

T-12

6
R-8
X-4

C-3
7

10
9

C-5
X-7

M-6
28

E-20

18
23

26
20

21

22
25

X-15

C-16

19

24

V-18

27

X-13
R-14

T-19
T-17

Figure 2.1: Process flowsheet of vinyl chloride monomer production

44
2.2

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

2.2.1

Ethylene Oxychlorination Section

11

1
2

C-1
4

X-2
5

6
R-8

X-4
C-3
7

8
9

10

C-5

X-7
M-6
23

28

E-20

Figure 2.2: The ethylene oxychlorination section

i.

Compressors (C-1, C-3, C-5), Heat Exchanger (X-2, X-4, X-7), Expander
(E-20) and Mixer (M-6)
Stream 1, 4 and 7 are the fresh feed of this process, which are ethylene, air and

hydrogen chloride, respectively. In this process, the purity of ethylene is assumed to

be 100% and is supplied through pipeline at 1 atm and 103C. Air is known as a free
raw material and enters the oxychlorination process at ambient conditions (1 atm and
30C). For HCl, the purity is also assumed to be 100% and is supplied through storage
tank at ambient conditions. The HCl fresh feed is mixed with the recycled HCl stream
(Stream 28) in mixer M-6 before it is introduced into the reactor. The HCl fed to the
reactor has the purity of 99.5%.
Before the feedstocks are fed into the reactor, they must reach the reaction
temperature and pressure. The reaction conditions of oxychlorination process are set

45
at around 250C and 5 atm. In this process, compressor C-1, C-3 and C-5 are used to
increase the pressure of the feed streams to 5 atm. In order to increase the feed
temperature to 250C, heat exchanger X-2, X-4 and X-7 are used for ethylene, air and
HCl streams, respectively.

ii.

Oxychlorination reactor (R-8)

Oxychlorination of ethylene is a highly exothermic process. Ethylene, oxygen

and hydrogen chloride are fed into the reactor in the gas phase to form 1,2dichloroethane and water. The operating temperature and pressure of this reaction is
maintained at around 250C and 5 atm. In this reaction system, an isothermal reactor
is used, as the outlet temperature is same as the inlet temperature.
This reaction process involves one main reaction and three side reactions. The
limited reactant is ethylene with the overall conversion of 97% and the selectivity of
ethylene to EDC is 96%. In this process, ethylene and air are fed slightly excess than
HCl by stoichiometry (excess 4%). This condition would lead HCl to achieve the
overall conversion of 98%. The reaction and the selectivity of each reaction is stated
as below:
Main reaction
C2H4+ 2HCl + O2

C2H4Cl2 + H2O

selectivity of EDC = 96%

Side reaction
1. C2H4 + HCl
2. C2H4 +3O2

3. C2H4 +5/2 O2

C2H5Cl

2CO2 + 2H2O

CO + CO2 + 2H2O

selectivity of C2H5Cl = 2%
selectivity of CO2 = 1%
selectivity of CO = 1%

In order to obtain the high selectivity and conversion, we have chosen

fluidised bed reactor for the oxychlorination process. There are several advantages of
fluidised bed system. Temperature in fluidised bed reactor can be easily control by the

46
excellent intermixing of the catalyst particles. Hot spot is eliminated and near
-isothermal operation can be achieved. Besides, good temperature control of reaction
system enables inexpensive construction materials to be used. Stainless steel or even
carbon steel is commonly used for the reactor shell and cooling coils. Only one fluid
bed reactor is needed to produce 200,000 MT/yr vinyl chloride monomer.
The fluidised bed reactors are vertical cylinders of high-alloy steel, equipped
with internal coils in the catalyst support, which is designed to remove the heat
generated by the reaction. The operating temperature is also controlled by adjusting
the rate of reactants in to the reactor Most of the heat extracted is then used to
generate steam for use elsewhere in the plant.
The reaction of ethylene with hydrogen chloride and oxygen is occurring at
the presence of catalyst. Copper chloride catalysts are used in this reaction process in
order to operate at lower temperature and to improve selectivity. The action
mechanism is started with the reduction of cupric chloride to cuprous chloride to form
a complex with ethylene, which is then capable of being converted to 1,2dichloroethane, The reaction is followed by oxidation of the cuprous salt to an
oxychloride and then converted back to copper chloride. The reaction scheme is as
follow (Mark et al, 1989):
2CuCl2 + CH2=CH2
Cu2Cl2 + O2

ClCH2CH2Cl + Cu2Cl2

CuO CuCl2

CuO CuCl2 + 2HCl

2CuCl2 + H2O

Copper chloride catalyst is a fine power containing rare earth chlorides

(normally KCl) and is deposited on an alumina support in the reactor. It behaves like
liquid as the gases bubble through it. For fluidised bed catalysts, high surface area
alumina (above 100 m2/g) is the preferred support material. It has a good resistance to
attrition and fluidises well. Successful catalyst manufacturing techniques ensure close
control of particle size distribution (20200 m spheres are preferred), pure volume
and uniform impregnate loading (Mark et al., 1989).

47

2.2.2

EDC Purification Section

17

14

11
12

13

16

27
M-9

X-10

F-11
15
1
T-12

Figure 2.3: The EDC purification section

i.

Heat Exchanger (X-10), and Mixer (M-9)

Both of the recycled stream and effluent from oxychlorination reactor (R-7) is

mixed with Mixer M-9 before enter the separation section. This effluent from Mixer
M-9 is cooled down to 20C with Heat exchanger X-10 to prevent any polymerization
of the effluent. Stream 27 contains unconverted EDC and some impurities are the
recycled stream from VCM purification section.

ii.

Flash Drum (F-11)

In the flash drum, nitrogen as the most abundant component and most volatile

is chosen as the key component. The operating pressure of the flash drum is 5 atm at

48
20 C. The flash drum separates most of the light hydrocarbons and components,
which are ethylene, acetylene, vinyl chloride, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide and hydrogen chloride. These light components are separated as gas
phase at the top of the flash drum. In this case, we have chosen a three phase flash
drum, since there is two phase of liquid (water and heavy hydrocarbons), which is
immiscible. Water will be separated from the heavy hydrocarbons (EDC and ethyl
chloride) at the bottom of the flash drum. The stream, which consists of the EDC with
some impurities, is fed to the EDC purification column (T-12) to achieve higher
purity.

iii.

EDC Purification Column (T-12)

The main objective of this column is to recover excess 1,2-dichloroethane and

send it to the EDC cracking reactor for further processing. Some traces of ethyl
chloride, vinyl chloride, hydrogen chloride and other gases in EDC must be removed
in order to reach the purity of more than 99.5%. High purity of EDC is needed in the
EDC cracking reactor to minimize the formation of by-products.
The operating temperature of this column is 20C at 5 atm. The light key and
heavy key of this column are ethyl chloride and 1,2-dichloroethane, respectively. A
partial condenser and a total reboiler are used in this column. The pressure and
temperature of top product is maintained at 3.5 atm and 61.4 C, while the pressure
and temperature of bottom product is maintained at 4 atm and 136.1 C.
The top product of this column consists of ethyle chloride, vinyl chloride,
hydrogen chloride and some other gases is disposed at the gas incineration. On the
other hand, the recover EDC, with more than 99.9% purity is fed to EDC cracker.
2.2.3

EDC Cracking Section

49

18

20

19

X-13

21

X-15
R-14

Figure 2.4: The EDC cracking section

i.

Heat Exchanger (X-13 and X-15)

Effluent from EDC purification column need to be vaporised and heat up to

200C before enters the cracking reactor. The heating process is done by Heat
exchanger X-13. Heat exchanger X-15 is used to cool down the effluent from
cracking reactor to 100C immediately to minimize the formation of undesired byproducts, such as tars.

ii.

EDC Cracker (R-13)

The cracking of 1,2-dichloroethane is a highly endothermic and non-catalyst

process. This reaction is carried out at the vapor phase with high operating
temperature, which is 450C at 4 atm. External fuel need to be supplied in order to
maintain the temperature in the reactor to allow decompositions of EDC.
Purified 1,2-dichloroethane is used as the raw material in this cracking process
to obtain vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride. The overall conversion of 1,2chloroethane is 60% with the selectivity to vinyl chloride is 99.5%. Acetylene forms
as a by-product of this process by the decompositions of 1,2-dichloroethane. The
reaction scheme is stated as below:

50
Main reaction:
ClCH2CH2Cl

CH2=CHCl + HCl

selectivity = 99.5%

CH CH + 2HCl

selectivity = 0.5%

Side reaction:
ClCH2CH2Cl

The reaction sequence begins with the splitting of a C-Cl bond to form
chloroethyl and chlorine radicals, which react with EDC molecules forming the
intermediate dichloroethyl radicals, and then turn eliminate chlorine radicals and
propagate the chain. The reaction of free radical chain can be expressed as follows
(Mark et al., 1989):
a) Iniation

ClCH2=CH2Cl

b) Propagation

Cl + ClH2 CH2Cl
ClCH2 HCl

c) Termination

ClCH2 H2 + Cl

Cl + ClCH2 H2

ClCH2 HCl + HCl

CH2= HCl + Cl

CH2=CHCl + HCl

The EDC mixture is fed into a parallel tubular furnace. They comprise of a
convection zone in which the actual reaction takes place, and in which the horizontal
or vertical tubes are of high alloy steel, given the high temperature to which they are
raised by the radiation from the refractory walls, heated by means of burners normally
operating on natural gas. The furnaces use suitable fuel gas or light distillate oil, such
as kerosene.
Instead of vinyl chloride, the product of this process contains a lot of HCl and
unreacted EDC, though this effluent will then pass through a separation system. HCl
is separated by the HCl recovery column (T-17) and unreacted EDC is separated by
the VCM purification column (T-19).
2.2.4

VCM Purification Section

51

23

26
21

22
25
C-16
24

V-18
27
T-19

T-17

Figure 2.5: The VCM purification section

i. Compressor (C-16) and Valve (V-18)

After the effluent from the EDC cracking section is cooled, pressure of this
stream is increased to 30 atm before enters the HCl recovery column (T-17) by
Compressor C-16. On the other hand, Valve V-18 is used to decrease the pressure of
the bottom product of HCl recovery column to 6 atm.

ii. HCl Recovery Column (T-17)

The main objective of this column is to recover hydrogen chloride, which is
one of the EDC cracking product, to recycle back to the oxychlorination reactor. The
specification of the recover HCl is set to be more than 99.0 % purity.
The operating temperature of this column is around 277.8 C at 30 atm. HCl is
chose as the light key while vinyl chloride as the heavy key. A partial condenser and a
total reboiler are used in this column. The pressure and temperature of top product is
maintained at 29 atm and 5.9 C, while the pressure and temperature of bottom
product is maintained at 29.5 atm and 155.8C.

52

The top product consists of HCl with some traces of acetylene and vinyl
chloride. This stream is then recycled back to the oxychlorination column. The bottom
product consists of most the vinyl chloride and unreacted EDC, and a small amount of
water and ethyl chloride. This stream is fed into the VCM purification column to
obtain high purity VCM.

iii.

VCM Purification Column (T-19)

The objective of this column is to recover and purify the main product in this

plant, which is vinyl chloride monomer. This column is also used to recover the
unreacted EDC to recycle back to the EDC purification section. The specification of
recovered VCM is set at more than 99.95% purity.
The operating temperature is maintained around 83.1 C at 6 atm. The light
key and heavy key of this column are vinyl chloride monomer and 1,2-dichloroethane,
respectively. A total condenser and a total reboiler are used in this column. The
pressure and temperature of top product is maintained at 4.8 atm and 32.4C, while
the pressure and temperature of bottom product is maintained at 5.0 atm and 144.7 C.
The top product of this column is vinyl chloride monomer with more than
99.95% purity. This stream is withdrawn in liquid phase for the ease of storage. In the
bottom product stream, unreacted EDC is the most abundant components with some
traces of ethyl chloride and vinyl chloride. This stream is then recycled back to the
EDC purification system for further process.

Table 2.1: Summary of equipments operating conditions

Equipment

Operating Conditions

53
10

5
R-7

Oxychlorination reactor
Model
: Fluidised-bed reactor
Type
: Isothermal reactor
Catalyst
: Copper chloride
Temperature
: 250 C
Pressure
: 5 atm
Overall conversion : 97 %

Flash Drum
14
13

16

Model
Temperature out
Pressure in and out

: 3 phase flash drum

: 20 C
: 5 atm

F-11
15

17

EDC purification column

Temperature
Pressure
Condenser type
Light key component
Heavy key component
Top Product
Phase
Pressure
Bubble Point Temperature

16

18
T-12

20

19

Bottom Product
Phase
Pressure
Dew Point Temperature
EDC cracking reactor
Model
Type
Catalyst
Outlet Temperature
Pressure
Overall conversion

R-14

HCl recovery column

: 20 C
: 5 atm
: Partial condenser
: Ethyl chloride
: 1,2-dichloroethane
Saturated vapor phase
: 3.5 atm
: 61.4 C
:

: Saturated liquid phase

: 4 atm
: 136.1 C
: Furnance
: Adiabatic reactor
: No catalyst
: 450 C
: 4 atm
: 60 %

54
Temperature
Pressure
Condenser type
Light key component
Heavy key component

23

Top Product
Phase
Pressure
Bubble Point Temperature

22

24
T-17

26

27
T-19

Saturated vapor phase

: 29 atm
: 5.9 C
:

Bottom Product
Phase
Pressure
Dew Point Temperature

: Saturated liquid phase

: 3 atm
: 155.8 C

VCM purification column

Temperature
Pressure
Condenser type
Light key component
Heavy key component

: 85.8C
: 6 atm
: Total condenser
: Vinyl chloride monomer
: 1,2-dichloroethane

Top Product
Phase
Pressure
Dew Point Temperature

25

: 277.8 C
: 30 atm
: Partial condenser
: Hydrogen chloride
: Vinyl chloride monomer

Bottom Product
Phase
Pressure
Bubble Point Temperature

Saturated liquid phase

: 4.8 atm
: 32.4 C
:

: Saturated liquid phase

: 5 atm
: 144.7 C

Compressor
C-1
C-3
C-5
C-16
Mixer
M-6

Inlet pressure
1 atm
1 atm
1 atm
4 atm
Inlet stream
Stream 8

Outlet pressure
5 atm
5 atm
5 atm
30 atm
Outlet Stream
Stream 9

M-9

Stream 28
Stream 11

Stream 12

Heat exchanger
X-2
X-4
X-7
X-10

Stream 27
Inlet temperature
16.64 C
228.44 C
105.26 C
250 C

Outlet temperature
250C
250C
250 C
20C

55

2.3

X-13
X-15
Expander
E-20

136.09 C
450 C
Inlet pressure
29 atm

200 C
100 C
Outlet pressure
5 atm

Valve
V-18

Inlet pressure
29.5 atm

Outlet pressure
6 atm

MASS AND ENERGY BALANCES CALCULATION

This plant is designed to produce 200,000 metric ton vinyl chloride per

annum. For the purpose of maintenance and cleaning, the plant is assumed to have an
annual shutdown period of 35 days. Due to this, the plant is operating 330 days per
annum with 24 hours operating per day.

2.3.1

Manual Mass Balances

As mentioned above, the main objective of this plant is to produce 200,000

metric ton vinyl chloride monomer per annum. Total production of VCM in hour basis
is calculated as below ( Molecular weigh of vinyl chloride is 62.494):
200,000 MT
yr

1000 kg
1 MT

kmol
62.494 kg

1 yr
330 days

1 day
24 hours

= 404.08 kmol vinyl chloride/hr

The total production of vinyl chloride per hour is 404.08 kmol/hr. The
following is the pre-calculation Recycled
of overall
mass balance in order to determine the feed
HCl
flowrate of raw materials. The following figure shows the overall block diagram of
our VCM plant:

Ethylene
Air
HCl

Oxychlorination
section

Water

Cracking
section

Unreacted EDC

Vinyl chloride

56

Figure 2.6 : Overall block diagram for VCM production plant

For the oxychlorination process, one mole of ethylene will react with 2 mole
of HCl and 0.5 mole of oxygen to produce one mole of 1,2-dichloroethane and water.
The overall conversion of this process 97%. For EDC cracking process, one mole of
EDC will decompose into one mole of HCl and vinyl chloride. The overall conversion
is 60%. The main reaction formula for both oxychlorination and cracking process are
as below:
Oxychlorination
C2H4+ 2HCl + O2

C2H4Cl2 + H2O

selectivity of EDC = 96%

Cracking
ClCH2CH2Cl

CH2=CHCl + HCl

selectivity = 99.5%

Several assumption are made in this pre-calculation:

1. 5 % of the product is lost during the separation process, so the total production
is approximately 424 kmol/hr.
2. Mole percent of oxygen and nitrogen in the air are 21% and 79%.
3. 20% excess oxygen is fed into the oxychlorination reactor.
4. Ethylene is fed 2.7% excess than HCl by stoichiometry.

Recycled HCl flowrate

= 424 kmol/hr

57

Unreacted EDC
Desired EDC for cracking
EDC produce from oxychlorination
Ethylene feed flowrate
Air feed flowrate (excess 20%)
HCl total flowrate
Fresh HCl flowrate

= 424 kmol / hr
424 kmol / hr

= (0.6)(0.995)

0.4
= 283 kmol/hr
0.6

= 710 kmol/hr

= 710 283 = 427 kmol/hr

427 kmol / hr

= (0.97)(0.96)

= 458 kmol/hr

0.5 1.2 458 kmol / hr

0.21

2 458 kmol / hr
= 892 kmol/hr
1.027

= 1308 kmol/hr

= 892 424 = 468 kmol/hr

The flowrate for raw materials have been obtain from the pre-calculation
above. Starting from this point, manual mass balance for each unit operation in this
plant is done base on the method suggested by Biegler at al. (1997) and Sinnott, R.K.
(1983). The method used for manual mass balance is base on the general conservation
equation, which is:
Output = Input + Generation Consumption Accumulation

The summary of manual mass balance calculation is given in Table 2.2 (All
flowrates are in kmol/hr). The individual mass balance for each type of units in the
reaction system is enclosed in Appendix B-1: Mass Balance Manual Calculation.

Table 2.2 : Stream summary of manual mass balance calculation

Component Stream 1 Stream 2 Stream 3 Stream 4 Stream 5 Stream 6
Nitrogen
0
0
0
1033
1033
1033
C2H4
458
458
458
0
0
0
HCl
0
0
0
0
0
0

58
VCM
Water
C2H5Cl
CO2
CO
Oxygen
C2H2
EDC
Total

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
458

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
458

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
458

0
0
0
0
0
275
0
0
1308

Component Stream 7 Stream 8 Stream 9 Stream 10

Nitrogen
0
0
0
0
C2H4
0
0
0
0
HCl
467.9769 467.9769 879.0000 879.0000
VCM
0
0
2.0348
2.0348
Water
0
0
0
0
C2H5Cl
0
0
0
0
CO2
0
0
0
0
CO
0
0
0
0
Oxygen
0
0
0
0
C2H2
0
0
0
0
EDC
0
0
2.0449
2.0449
Total
467.9769 467.9769 883.0796 883.0796

Component Stream 13
Nitrogen 1033.0000
C2H4
13.7400
HCl
17.1356
VCM
2.4397
Water
444.2600
C2H5Cl
8.8872
CO2
13.3278
CO
4.4426
Oxygen
37.3209
C2H2
2.0449

0
0
0
0
0
275
0
0
1308

0
0
0
0
0
275
0
0
1308

Stream 11
1033.0000
13.7400
17.1356
2.0348
444.2600
8.8852
13.3278
4.4426
37.3209
2.0449
426.4896
2002.6813

Stream 12
1033.0000
13.7400
17.1356
2.4397
444.2600
8.8872
13.3278
4.4426
37.3209
2.0449
699.1281
2275.7268

Stream 14 Stream 15 Stream 16 Stream 17 Stream 18

1023.4763
0
9.5237
9.5237
0
12.6668
0
1.0732
1.0732
0
15.4321
0
1.7035
1.7035
0
0.9958
0
1.4439
0.0000
0
2.6987
441.561
6.8123
0.0000
0
2.0749
0
0.2599
6.7442
0.06812
13.0679
0
0.0625
0.2599
0
4.3801
0
0.3600
0.0625
0
36.9609
0
0.2023
0.3600
0
1.8426
0
0.0000
0.2023
0

59
EDC
Total

699.1281 14.0380
0
685.0900
2275.7268 1127.6343 441.5613 706.5311

Component Stream 19
Nitrogen
0
C2H4
0
HCl
0
VCM
0
Water
0
C2H5Cl
0.06812
CO2
0
CO
0
Oxygen
0
C2H2
0
EDC
681.6645
Total
681.7326

Stream 20
0
0
411.0437
406.9537
0
0.0681
0
0
0
2.0450
272.6658
1092.7763

Component
Stream 25
Nitrogen
0
C2H4
0
HCl
0.0206
VCM
404.9189
Water
0
C2H5Cl
0.06812
CO2
0
CO
0
Oxygen
0
C2H2
0.0001
EDC
272.6658
Total
677.6736
2.3.2 Manual Energy Balances

Stream 21
0
0
411.0437
406.9537
0
0.0681
0
0
0
2.0450
272.6658
1092.7763
Stream 26
0
0
0.0206
404.5140
0
0.0661
0
0
0
0.0001
0.0273
404.6281

3.4254
23.3546

Stream 22 Stream 23
0
0
0
0
411.0437 411.0231
406.9537 2.0348
0
0
0.0681
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2.0450
2.0449
272.6658
0
1092.7763 415.1028
Stream 27
0
0
0.0000
0.4049
0
0.0020
0
0
0
0.0000
272.6385
273.0455

681.6645
681.7326
Stream 24
0
0
0.0206
404.9189
0
0.06812
0
0
0
0.0001
272.6658
677.6736

Stream 28
0
0
411.0231
2.0348
0
0
0
0
0
2.0449
0
415.1028

Energy balances are important to determine the energy requirements of the

process: the heating, cooling and power required in the process design. The shortcut
methods suggestedc by Biegler and Grossmann (1997) have been used to calculate the
energy balances of the process. Energy of each streams as well as energy consumption
of every unit was also calculated. In this project some assumptions are made for the
energy balances calculation:

The processes follow the law of conservation of energy where:

60
Energy out = Energy in + Generation Consumption Accumulation

Steady- state condition in all equipment.

Kinetic energy, potential energy and shaft work change for these streams will
be neglected and only enthalpy changes take place. Hence the enrgy balance
equation equal to Q = H

Ideal properties for evaluating the energy balances of the process streams. This
means the pressure effect can be neglected.

No heat of mixing and pressure effect on H.

Reference temperature for all the calculation is 25C or 298.15K.

Calculation of vapor heat capacity is based on ideal gas heat capacity:

T2 0
C p,k (T )dT
T1

H v (T, y) H f H T k n k H f ,k (T1 ) n k
k

where nk = molar flow rate for component k, kmol/h

Hf,k = heat of formation for component k at standard reference state,
Cp,k (T) = temperature dependent heat capacities for component k

C pdT C p A(T Tref )

2
C p B(T 2 Tref
)

3
C p C(T 3 Tref
)

4
C p D(T 4 Tref
)

where CpA, CpB, CpC and CpD = heat capacities equation constants for component k.

Whereas, enthalphy for liquid mixtures of specific stream is estimated by:

T

H L (T) k n k H f ,k n k C 0p,k (T)dT k n k H k

To
vap
k

where Hkvap (T) is heat of vaporization at specific temperature.

The dependent of heat of vaporization on temperature can be found through
the Watson correlation:
Hvap (T) = Hkvap (Tbk) [ (Tc - T)/( Tc - Tb)]0.38
where Tck = critical temperature,

61
Tbk = the atmospheric boiling point for component k,
Hkvap (Tbk) = heat of vaporization at this temperature
We can estimate all of the enthalpy of the streams by using these equations.
Tables bellow shows the important data will be used in evaluating the energy
balances.

Table 2.3: Heat capacity constants for each component

Component
N2
C2H4
HCl
C2H3Cl
H2O
C2H5Cl
CO2
CO
O2
C2H2
C2H4Cl2

CpA
31.150
3.806
30.291
5.949
32.243
-0.553
19.795
30.869
28.106
26.821
20.486

CpB
-1.356E-02
1.565E-01
-7.201E-01
2.019E-01
1.923E-03
2.606E-01
7.343E-02
-1.285E-02
-3.680E-06
7.578E-02
2.310E-01

CpC
2.679E-05
-8.348E-05
1.246E-05
-1.536E-04
1.055E-05
-1.839E-04
-5.601E-05
2.789E-05
1.745E-05
-5.000E-05
-1.438E-04

CpD
-1.168E-08
1.755E-08
-3.897E-09
4.773E-08
-3.596E-09
5.547E-08
1.715E-08
-1.271E-08
-1.065E-08
1.412E-08
3.388E-08

Table 2.4: Boiling point temperature (TBP), critical temperature (Tc), heat of formation
(Hf) and heat of vaporization (Hvap)
Component
N2
C2H4
HCl
C2H3Cl
H2O
C2H5Cl
CO2
CO
O2
C2H2
C2H4Cl2

TBP (C)
-195.8
-103.8
-85.1
-13.4
100.0
12.2
-78.5
-191.5
-183.0
-84.0
83.4

Tc (K)
126.2
282.4
324.6
429.7
647.3
460.4
304.2
132.9
154.6
308.3
561.0

Hf (J/mole)
0.0000E+00
5.2510E+04
-9.2312E+04
2.8450E+04
-2.8584E+05
-1.1226E+05
-3.9351E+05
-1.0216E+05
0.0000E+00
2.2820E+05
-1.2979E+05

Hvap at TBP (J/mole)

5581
13553
16161
20641
40683
24702
17166
6046
6824
16957
32029

62
The individual energy balance for each type of units in reaction system is
enclosed in Appendix B-2: Energy Balance Manual Calculation. Following are some
examples how to calculate the stream enthalpy in vapor, liquid and mixture phases.
1. Stream 6 enthalpy (vapor phase)
Temperature stream = 250C = 523.15K
nkHf,k = 1033 0 + 275 0
= 0 J/mol.
CpN2 (523.15K)dT = 31.15 (523.15 298.15) + -1.356E-02 (523.152298.152) / 2 + 2.679E-05 (523.152 298.152) / 3 +
-1.168E-08 (523.152 298.152) / 4
= 6602.12 J/mol

CpO2 (523.15K)dT = 28.106 (523.15 298.15) + -3.680E-06 (523.152

298.152) / 2 + 1.745E-05 (523.153 298.153) / 3 +
-1.065E-08 (523.154 298.154) / 4
= 6823.78 J/mol
nk Cp,k (523.15K) dT = 6602.12 1033 + 6823.78 275
= 8.6965E+09 J/hr
Hs-6 = Hv = nk,Hf,k + nN2 Cpk(T)dT
= 0 + 8.6965E+09 = 8.6965E+09 J/hr
2. Stream 27 enthalpy (liquid phase)
Temperature stream = 144.86C = 418.01K
nkHf,k = 2.8450E+04 0.40492 + -1.1226E+05 0.00203 + -1.2979

63
E+05 272.639
= -3.5374E+10 J/mol
CpVCM (418.01K)dT = 5.949 ( 418.01 298.15) + 2.019E-01 ( 418.012
- 298.152 ) / 2 + -1.536E-04 ( 418.013 298.153) /3
+ 4.773E-08 (418.014 298.154) / 4
= 7266.13 J/mol
nVCM CpVCM (418.01K)dT = 7266.13 0.40492
= 2.942E+06 J/hr.
HvapVCM (418.01K) = 20641 [(429.7-418.01)/(429.7-259.75)]0.38
= 7464.1 kJ/mol
nVCMHvapVCM (418.01K) = 7.4641E+03 0.40492
= 3.0220E+06 J/hr
From the above calculations, the same calculation is repeated for each
component in the stream 27 and the result is tabulated in the following table.
Table 2.5: Heat capacities and heat of vaporization for each component in stream 27.
Component
C2H3Cl
C2H5Cl
C2H4Cl2

Cpk (J/mol)
7266.13
8580.00
10331.26

Hvapk (J/mol)
7463.12
14410.35
27959.65

HS-27 = HL = nk,Hf,k + nN2 Cpk(T)dT - nkHvapk (T)

= -4.0181E+10 J/hr
3. Stream 28 (mixture of vapor and liquid phase)
Temperature stream = -115.84C = 157.31K
nk,Hf,k = 411.02 (-92.31E+04) + 2.03 2.845E+04 + 2.04 2.282E+05

64
= -3.7896E+10 J/hr
CpHCL (157.31K)dT = 30.291 (157.31 298.15) + -7.201E-03 (157.312298.152) / 2 + 1.246E-05 (157.313 298.153) / 3 +
-3.897E-08 (157.314 298.154) / 4
= -4121.91 J/mol
nHCl CpHCl (157.31K)dT =-4121.91 411.02 = -1.6942E+09 J/ hr.
HvapHCl (157.31K) = 16161 [(324.6-157.31)/ (126.2-188.05)}0.38
= 17457.09343 J/mol
nHClHvapHCl (157.31K) = 411.02 17457.09343 = 7.1752E+09 J/hr.
From the calculations above, the same calculation method is repeated for other
components in the stream 28 and the result of the calculations are tabulated in the
following table.
Table 2.6: Heat capacities and heat of vaporization for each component in stream 28
Component
N2
C2H4
HCl
C2H3Cl
H2O
C2H5Cl
CO2
CO
O2
C2H2
C2H4Cl2

Cpk dT (J/mol)
-4132.755964
-4958.233131
-4121.910507
-6242.671183
-4675.608119
-6995.372603
-4752.073862
-4122.366211
-4070.324606
-5856.204873
-9271.94311

Hvapk (T)(J/mol)
0
14084.18776
17457.09343
24693.28391
50727.93678
30431.64963
19189.7294
0
0
18553.63965
41477.9075

Hv = nk,Hf,k + nN2 Cpk(T)dT

= -3.9137E+10 J/h
HL = nk,Hf,k + nN2 Cpk(T)dT - nkHvapk (T)

65
= -4.4600E+10 J/h
From the simulation results, vapor fraction, = 0.88919
So, HS-28 = HV + (1-) HL
= 0.88919 (-3.9137E+10) + (1-0.88919) (-4.4600E+10)
= -3.9941E+10 J/hr
The same calculation methods as show above are repeated for every
component in each stream to find the individual stream enthalpy.
Heat duty of each equipment is being calculated after we have got the enthalpy
for each stream. The detail calculation is also enclosed in Appendix B-2. The heat
duty summary of each equipment is listed as below:
Table 2.7: Summary of the equipment duty
Equipment
Compressor C-1
Compressor C-3
Compressor C-5
Compressor C-16
Heat Exchanger X-2
Heat Exchanger X-4
Heat Exchanger X-7
Heat Exchanger X-10
Heat Exchanger X-13
Heat Exchanger X-15
Mixer M-6
Mixer M-9
Oxychlorination Reactor R-8
EDC Cracker R-14
Flash Column F-11
EDC Purification Column T-12
- Condenser
- Reboiler
HCl Recovery Column T-17
- Condenser
- Reboiler
VCM Purification Column T-19
- Condenser
- Reboiler
Valve V-18

Duty of the Equipment (kcal/hr)

4.2940E+05
1.6330E+06
5.8528E+05
2.3215E+06
1.4284E+06
3.9988E+05
1.1984E+06
-2.3497E+07
5.6788E+07
-6.1417E+06
1.9609E+05
9.3136E+06
-3.1544E+07
1.1123E+07
0
-1.9002E+05
2.9109E+06
-1.2084E+07
8.5143E+06
-9.9814E+06
8.8241E+06
-1.5293E+06

66
Expander E-20

2.3.3

-5.4807E+05

Process Simulation
Process simulation has been done on this VCM plant base on steady state

conditions. Simulation is carried out by using DESIGN II simulator version 8.35. The
summary of the simulation results is shown in Appendix B-3.

Comparison between Manual Calculation and Simulation Results

The comparisons of simulation mass flow rate to manual calculation mass
flow rate should be done in order to verify the reliable of simulation results. Table 2.8
shows the summary of comparison results. The difference between the manual
calculation and simulation results is calculated by the following equation:

Error

( Manual Simulation results )

100%
Manual

Table 2.8 : Comparison between manual calculation and simulation results

Stream
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Total molar flowrate (kmol/hr)

Manual Calculation
Simulation
458
458
458
458
458
458
1308
1308
1308
1308
1308
1308
467.9769
467.56
467.9769
467.56
883.0796
883.53
883.0796
883.53

Error (%)
0
0
0
0
0
0.0000
0.0891
0.0891
0.0510
0.0510

67
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

2002.6813
2275.7268
2275.7268
1127.6343
441.5613
706.5311
24.7985
681.7326
681.7326
1092.7763
1092.7763
1092.7763
415.1028
677.6736
677.6736
404.6281
273.0455
415.1028

2003.1
2277.6
2277.6
1144.2
438.03
695.37
11.771
683.6
683.6
1095.5
1095.5
1095.5
415.97
679.55
679.55
405.12
274.43
415.96

0.0209
0.0823
0.0823
1.4691
0.7997
1.5797
52.5333
0.2739
0.2739
0.2492
0.2492
0.2492
0.2089
0.2769
0.2769
0.1216
0.5071
0.2065

As conclusion, the simulation results are quite similar with manual calculation.
The difference of all streams is less than 1.6 % except for stream 17, which shows the
difference of 52.53 %. This stream is the top product of EDC purification column,
which we want to remove some traces of light component.
Besides, the stream enthalpy calculated by manual energy balances is also
compared with the simulation results. Some streams show significant differences, and
some are quite similar to the simulation results. This is because we have eliminated
the kinetic energy, potential energy and shift work changes during calculation of
energy balances. Following is the table summarized the enthalpy of each stream from
the manual energy calculation result and simulation result.

Table 2.9: Summary of stream enthalpy

Stream

Enthalpy of the stream (kcal/hr)

Manual calculation
Simulation result

68
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

-5.0410E+05
-7.4991E+04
1.3525E+06
4.5647E+04
1.6775E+06
2.0771E+06
1.6289E+04
6.0117E+05
1.9435E+05
1.3920E+06
4.8020E+06
4.5124E+06
-2.6788E+11
0.0000E+00
-4.7036E+06
-5.8157E+06
1.7727E+04
-3.1143E+06
2.5605E+06
7.1836E+06
1.0460E+06
3.3660E+06
-5.5081E+04
-1.4613E+05
-1.6744E+06
-1.6830E+06
-1.1480E+06
-6.0279E+05

-4.0165E+05
4.9840E+04
1.4619E+06
2.7072E+05
2.1042E+06
2.3076E+06
9.3301E+04
9.6933E+05
6.2065E+05
1.5308E+06
5.2276E+06
4.0232E+06
-1.0263E+06
1.5198E+05
-4.5379E+06
-5.8774E+06
8.4766E+03
-3.2134E+06
2.7997E+06
7.4751E+06
1.2918E+06
3.9251E+06
-1.4494E+05
-1.4776E+06
-1.6419E+06
-1.7047E+06
-1.2056E+06
-3.4869E+05

2.4 PROCESS OPTIMISATION

In designing a plant, the best or optimum set of design variables should be
obtained within constraints, so that the best process can be designed. Constraints in
designing a plant including product purities, operations limits such as temperature and
pressure, design specifications such as materials of construction and catalysts; and so
on. A process should be optimised for two main reasons:

If a plant was built without being optimised, there exists the possibility that a
competitor will build an optimised plant which has an economic advantage

69

Selection between alternatives processes is necessary: the available design

variables should be manipulated until it is clear that the difference between the
process economics can not be reversed
Optimization is the procedure of improving the design variables settings.

Design variables can represent equipment size and operating conditions such as
pressure, temperature and flow rate. The changes of the design variables are made
until a further significant improvement in the objective function, which is usually
based on the process economics, is considered to be unlikely. The objective function
will serve as a quantitative indicator of how good a particular solution is. The main
objective of optimizing a plant is usually to maximize profits. Other sub-objectives
may include minimization of operating cost, reduction of raw material consumption,
reduction of investment, maximization of product yield, reduction of labor
requirements, reduction of maintenance, reduction of waste yield and safe operation
of the plant.
When setting out to optimising any system, there are steps and procedures,
which needs to be followed. The first step is to identify the objective, which will
judge the system performance. For a chemical process, the overall objective will be to
maximize profit, along with other sub-objectives, mainly minimizing operating cost
and so on. The second step of optimisation is to determine the objective function: the
system of equations and other relationships. For example, if the objective is
economic, it will be necessary to express objective function in economic terms such
as cost. The third and final step is to find the values of the variables that give optimum
value of the objective function.
In this design project, we will only consider the three distillation columns, the
EDC purification column, HCl recovery column and VCM purification column. The
reactors in this project could not be optimised since the lack of information on the
reaction kinetic that relates conversion or selectivity to the reaction temperature. As
for flash unit, the heat duty is zero, so optimisation will not be considered. Besides,
we are quite satisfied with the design of our flash drum.

70
The optimisation of distillation column will reduce not only capital cost, but
also the operating cost of the unit. Optimisation of distillation columns includes
design variables such as reflux ratio, number of trays, feed location, column diameter,
fractional recovery and reboiler and condenser duty. But in this design project, we
will consider the reflux ratio, number of trays and feed location only. If the reflux
ratio is too high, the reboiler and condenser duty will increase and this will increase
the operation cost. When the reflux ratio is too low, number of trays will increase and
this increases capital cost. There will be a minimum point where the reflux ratio and
number of trays is optimum with the best plant performance. In order to obtain this
optimum condition with the best performance, the best set of variables should be
obtained. In this project, the optimisation of unit operations will be done using
Design-II simulator.

2.4.1

EDC Purification Column, T-12

The main objective of EDC purification column is to recover EDC for EDC

cracking process. The product specification is more than 99.5%. There are several
variables that would affect the purity of product and the duty of condenser and
reboiler. Normally, reflux ratio, location of feed, operating pressure, and number of
trays are the control variables that used to optimise the column. However, in this case,
we have specified the operating pressure based on the operating conditions, thus this
variable will not consider in this section.
1. Reflux ratio If the reflux ratio is decreased, reboiler and condenser duty will
minimise, thus reduce the operating cost. Reflux ratio will also affected the purity
of product. Larger reflux ratio will increase the product purity.
2. Location of feed Related to the purity of the product.
3. Number of trays Related to the purity of the product, operating cost and capital
cost. Minimum number of tray will reduce the column height and though reduce
the capital cost. However, will increase the operating cost and unable to achieve
product specification.

71
Methodology
a)

Reflux ratio

Objective

: Minimise reboiler and condenser duty for column

Control variable

: Location of feed, number of tray, pressure and temperature

b)

Product purity

Objective

: Increase the purity by changing the location of feed

Control variable

: Number of trays, reflux ratio at 2, pressure and temperature

Variable

: Feed location

c)

Number of tray

Objective

: Optimise reboiler and condenser duty and product purity.

Control variable

: Feed at Tray 3, reflux ratio at 2, pressure and temperature.

Results
Optimisation results of EDC purification column are tabulated in Table 2.10,
Table 2.11 and Table 2.12. These results are also presented by Figure 2.7, Figure 2.8
and Figure 2.9 in graph form.

Table 2.10: Effects of reflux ratio on reboiler and condenser duty for T-12.
Refulx ratio
0.5
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0

Condenser duty (kcal/hr)

49,603
96,472
185,800
273,900
361,700
449,600

Reboiler duty (kcal/hr)

2,722,000
2,769,000
2,859,000
2,947,000
3,035,000
3,123,000

5.00E+05

3.20E+06

4.00E+05

3.10E+06

3.00E+05

3.00E+06

2.00E+05

2.90E+06

1.00E+05

2.80E+06

0.00E+00

2.70E+06
0.5

1.0

2.0
3.0
Reflux ratio

Condenser duty

4.0

Condenser duty (kcal/hr)

Reboiler duty(kcal/hr)

72

5.0

Reboiler duty

Figure 2.7: Effects of reflux ratio on reboiler and condenser duty for T-12.
As shown above, when the reflux ratio is increased, the reboiler and condenser
duty are increased simultaneously. The minimum reflux ratio is around 0.5 to 1. At
this value, the heat duty is minimum and thus minimise the utility cost. In order to
optimum the energy consumption, other parameters such as number of trays and the
location of feed should be considered.

Table 2.11: Effects of feed location on EDC purity, heat duty (T-12).
Feed location
1
2
3
4
6
8
10

Condenser duty
(kcal/hr)
189,500
184,900
185,800
188,700
195,100
196,700
192,200

Reboiler duty (kcal/hr) EDC purity (%)

2,863,000
2,858,000
2,859,000
2,862,000
2,868,000
2,866,000
2,847,000

99.945
99.974
99.970
99.951
99.863
99.657
99.284
99.8
99.6
99.4
99.2

Purity (% )

Duty (kcal/hr)

100.0
2.51E+06
2.01E+06
1.51E+06
1.01E+06
5.10E+05
1.00E+04

99.0
1

Condenser duty

4
6
Feed location
Reboiler duty

10
EDC purity

Figure 2.8: Effects of feed location on EDC purity and heat duty (T-12).

73

As shown above, the reboiler and condenser duty did not show significant
changes due to the different feed location. However, the purity of EDC will reach
99.9% at the feed location below the 4th tray. The highest purity of EDC achieve when
the feed is fed at tray 2 or tray 3. Besides, at tray 2 and 3, the energy consumption is
minimum.
Table 2.12: Effects of number of trays on EDC purity and heat duty (T-12).
No. of tray Condenser duty (kcal/hr) Reboiler duty (kcal/hr) EDC purity (%)
6
196,800
2,868,000
99.774
8
192,500
2,866,000
99.913
10
185,700
2,859,000
99.970
12
181,200
2,855,000
99.990
14
179,500
2,853,000
99.997

2.51E+06

99.95

2.01E+06

99.90

1.51E+06

99.85

1.01E+06

99.80

5.10E+05

99.75

Purity (% )

Duty (kcal/hr)

100.00

1.00E+04

99.70
6

Condenser duty

10
12
Number of tray
Reboiler duty

14
EDC purity

Figure 2.9: Effects of number of trays on EDC purity and heat duty (T-12).
The results shows that the EDC with more than 99.9% purity will achieve
when the column with more than 8 trays. However, increase the number of trays will
increase the capital cost. For the heat duty, both of the reboiler and condenser duty
decreased as the number of trays increase, and thus reduce the operating cost. So, the
optimum number of trays is around 10 to 12 trays.

2.4.2

HCl Recovery Column, T-17

74

The objective of this column is to recover HCl, which is one of the products
from cracking process. The product specification is set at more than 99.0%.

Methodology
a)

Reflux ratio

Objective

: Minimise reboiler and condenser duty for column

Control variable

: Location of feed, number of tray, pressure and temperature

b)

Product purity

Objective

: Increase the purity by changing the location of feed

Control variable

: Number of tray, reflux ratio at 7, pressure and temperature

Variable

: Feed location

c)

Number of tray

Objective

: Optimise reboiler and condenser duty and product purity.

Control variable

: Feed at Tray 7, reflux ratio at 7, pressure and temperature.

Results
Optimisation results of HCl recovery column are tabulated in Table 2.13,
Table 2.14 and Table 2.15. These results are also presented by Figure 2.10, Figure
2.11 and Figure 2.12 in graph form.

Table 2.13: Effects of reflux ratio on reboiler and condenser duty for T-17.

75
Condenser duty (kcal/hr)
6,506,000
7,077,000
7,928,000
8,996,000
10,109,000
11,223,000

Reboiler duty (kcal/hr)

1,129,000
1,773,000
2,636,000
3,705,000
4,820,000
5,933,000

1.20E+07

6.00E+06

1.10E+07

5.00E+06

1.00E+07

4.00E+06

9.00E+06
3.00E+06

8.00E+06

2.00E+06

7.00E+06
6.00E+06

Condenser duty (kcal/hr)

Reboiler duty(kcal/hr)

Refulx ratio
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0

1.00E+06
5.0

6.0

7.0
8.0
Reflux ratio
Condenser duty

9.0

10.0

Reboiler duty

Figure 2.10: Effects of reflux ratio on reboiler and condenser duty (T-17).
As shown above, the heat duty for reboiler and condenser increase when
reflux ratio is increased. The minimum reflux ratio is 5. However, lower reflux ratio
will affect the product purity.

Table 2.14: Effects of feed location on HCl purity, heat duty (T-17).
Feed location
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Condenser duty
(kcal/hr)
8,431,000
8,667,000
7,928,000
7,882,000
7,871,000
7,914,000
8,145,000
8,529,000

Reboiler duty
(kcal/hr)
3,120,000
2,769,000
2,636,000
2,591,000
2,580,000
2,622,000
2,843,000
3,207,000

HCl purity (%)

98.614
99.161
99.353
99.418
99.43
99.377
99.042
98.345

76

99.5

7.50E+06
99.0

6.50E+06
5.50E+06

98.5

4.50E+06

Purity (% )

Duty (kcal/hr)

8.50E+06

3.50E+06
2.50E+06

98.0
3

Condenser duty

6
7
Feed location
Reboiler duty

10
HCl purity

Figure 2.11: Effects of feed location on HCl purity and heat duty (T-17).
As shown above, HCl with purity more than 99% will be obtained when the
feed enter the column at tray between 4 and 9. The graph also shows that the reboiler
and condenser is minimum at the middle of the column, which is tray 7. Besides, at
tray 7, the HCl purity achieve 99.43%. The optimum location of feed is at tray 7.

Table 2.15: Effects of number of trays on HCl purity and heat duty (T-17).
No. of trays Condenser duty (kcal/hr) Reboiler duty (kcal/hr) HCl purity (%)
6
8,436,000
3,120,000
98.535
8
8,193,000
2,890,000
98.971
10
7,871,000
2,581,000
99.430
12
7,854,000
2,564,000
99.443
14
7,852,000
2,562,000
99.441

77

9.00E+06

99.5

7.00E+06

Purity (% )

Duty (kcal/hr)

8.00E+06

6.00E+06

99.0

5.00E+06
4.00E+06
3.00E+06
2.00E+06

98.5
6

Condenser duty

10
Number of trays
Reboiler duty

12

14
HCl purity

Figure 2.12: Effects of number of trays on HCl purity and heat duty (T-17).
The results shows that HCl with purity more than 99% will obtain when the
column is more than 10 trays. In order to optimise the operating and capital cost, the
optimum solution is to use a column with 10 trays.

2.4.3

VCM Purification Column, T-19

The objective of this column is to recover VCM. The product purity is set at

more than 99.95% in order to reach the market specification.

Methodology
a)

Reflux ratio

Objective

: Minimise reboiler and condenser duty for column

Control variable

: Location of feed, number of tray, pressure and temperature

b)

Product purity

Objective

: Increase the purity by changing the location of feed

Control variable

: Number of tray, reflux ratio at 4, pressure and temperature

Variable

: Feed location

78
c)

Number of tray

Objective

: Optimise reboiler and condenser duty and product purity.

Control variable

: Middle of the column, reflux ratio at 4, pressure and

temperature.

Results
Optimisation results of VCM purification column are tabulated in Table 2.16,
Table 2.17 and Table 2.18. These results are also presented by Figure 2.13, Figure
2.14 and Figure 2.15 in graph form.

Table 2.16: Effects of reflux ratio on VCM purity, heat duty for T-19.

Duty(kcal/hr)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Condenser duty
(kcal/hr)
3,626,000
5,439,000
7,252,000
9,064,000
10,810,000
12,688,000
14,500,000

Reboiler duty
(kcal/hr)
2,365,000
4,178,000
5,991,000
7,804,000
9,615,000
11,428,000
13,240,000

VCM purity (%)

99.479
99.478
99.960
99.963
99.965
99.966
99.967

100.0

1.40E+07

99.9

1.20E+07

99.8

1.00E+07
8.00E+06

99.7

6.00E+06

99.6

4.00E+06

99.5

2.00E+06

Purity (%)

Reflux ratio

99.4
1

Condenser duty

4
5
Reflux ratio
Reboiler duty

7
VCM purity

Figure 2.13: Effects of reflux ratio on VCM purity and heat duty for T-19.

79
As shown above, the larger the reflux ratio, the higher the reboiler and
condenser duty. However, VCM with purity more than 99.95 only achieve when the
reflux ratio is larger than 3 (99.960%). In order to meet the product specification and
minimise the energy consumption, the optimum reflux ratio is 3.

Table 2.17: Effects of feed location on VCM purity, heat duty (T-19).
Condenser duty
(kcal/hr)
9,568,000
9,065,000
9,063,000
9,063,000
9,063,000
9,063,000
9,063,000

Feed location
1
3
5
7
9
11
13

Reboiler duty
(kcal/hr)
8,205,000
7,805,000
7,803,000
7,803,000
7,803,000
7,803,000
7,803,000

VCM purity (%)

97.485
99.950
99.967
99.971
99.972
99.972
99.972

9.70E+06

100.0

99.0

Purity (% )

Duty (kcal/hr)

99.5
9.20E+06
8.70E+06

98.5
98.0

8.20E+06

97.5

7.70E+06

97.0
1

3
Condenser duty

7
9
Feed location
Reboiler duty

11

13
VCM purity

Figure 2.14: Effects of feed location on VCM purity, heat duty (T-19).

The results shows that the product with more than 99.95% will achieve when
the feed enter at the tray 3 and above. At tray 3 and above, the energy consumption
and product purity did not shows significant changes.

80
Table 2.18: Effects of number of trays on VCM purity and heat duty (T-19).
No. of trays Condenser duty (kcal/hr) Reboiler duty (kcal/hr) VCM purity (%)
8
9,066,000
7,804,000
99.852
10
9,064,000
7,803,000
99.906
12
9,063,000
7,803,000
99.946
14
9,063,000
7,803,000
99.964
16
9,063,000
7,803,000
99.969
18
9,063,000
7,803,000
99.970

100.00
99.95

8.70E+06

Purity (% )

Duty (kcal/hr)

9.20E+06

99.90
8.20E+06

99.85

7.70E+06

99.80
8

10

Condenser duty

12
14
Feed location
Reboiler duty

16

18
VCM purity

Figure 2.15: Effects of number of trays on VCM purity and heat duty (T-19).

As shown above, both of the reboiler and condenser duty are constant and did
not affected by the number of stages. However, in order to obtain VCM with more
than 99.95% pure, at least 14 trays is required.