Distillation Operation Difficulties

Vapour Flow Conditions

Adverse vapour flow conditions can cause
foaming
entrainment
weeping/dumping
flooding
Foaming
Foaming refers to the expansion of liquid due to passage of vapour or gas. Although it
provides high interfacial liquid-vapour contact, excessive foaming often leads to liquid
buildup on trays. In some cases, foaming may be so bad that the foam mixes with liquid
on the tray above. Whether foaming will occur depends primarily on physical properties
of the liquid mixtures, but is sometimes due to tray designs and condition. Whatever the
cause, separation efficiency is always reduced.
Entrainment
Entrainment refers to the liquid carried by vapour up to the tray above and is again
caused by high vapour flow rates. It is detrimental because tray efficiency is reduced:
lower volatile material is carried to a plate holding liquid of higher volatility. It could also
contaminate high purity distillate. Excessive entrainment can lead to flooding.
Weeping/Dumping
This phenomenon is caused by low vapour flow. The pressure exerted by the vapour is
insufficient to hold up the liquid on the tray. Therefore, liquid starts to leak through
perforations. Excessive weeping will lead to dumping. That is the liquid on all trays will
crash (dump) through to the base of the column (via a domino effect) and the column will
have to be re-started. Weeping is indicated by a sharp pressure drop in the column and
reduced separation efficiency.
Flooding
Flooding is brought about by excessive vapour flow, causing liquid to be entrained in the
vapour up the column. The increased pressure from excessive vapour also backs up the
liquid in the downcomer, causing an increase in liquid holdup on the plate above.
Depending on the degree of flooding, the maximum capacity of the column may be
severely reduced. Flooding is detected by sharp increases in column differential pressure
and significant decrease in separation efficiency.
Reboiler Temperature
As a reboiler slowly plugs on the tube side, the bottoms temperature goes down and this
leads to low vapor flow. Online monitoring of the heat transfer coefficient in control
system can identify this problem early on along with the monitoring of bottoms
temperature. A self cleaning heat exchanger when used in place of a reboiler can mitigate
this problem.
Reduction in Vacuum
A slight drop in vacuum causes the boiling point(s) to go up, leading to low vapour flow,
loss of production and and off spec products.
Wet Feed
If a column is typically fed a dry hydrocarbon feed but the feed becomes contaminated
with water then at some point, when the water/ hydrocarbon mixture enters the tower the
 water can vaporize so rapidly that it causes an over pressure event. This can and will
damage trays. This effects column efficiency and product quality.

Column Diameter
Most of the above factors that affect column operation is due to vapour flow conditions: either
excessive or too low. Vapour flow velocity is dependent on column diameter. Weeping
determines the minimum vapour flow required while flooding determines the maximum
vapour flow allowed, hence column capacity. Thus, if the column diameter is not sized
properly, the column will not perform well. Not only will operational problems occur, the
desired separation duties may not be achieved.
State of Trays and Packings
Remember that the actual number of trays required for a particular separation duty is
determined by the efficiency of the plate, and the packings if packings are used. Thus, any
factors that cause a decrease in tray efficiency will also change the performance of the column.
Tray efficiencies are affected by fouling, wear and tear and corrosion, and the rates at which
these occur depends on the properties of the liquids being processed. Thus appropriate
materials should be specified for tray construction.
Weather Conditions
Most distillation columns are open to the atmosphere. Although many of the columns are
insulated, changing weather conditions can still affect column operation. Thus the reboiler
must be appropriately sized to ensure that enough vapour can be generated during cold and
windy spells and that it can be turned down sufficiently during hot seasons. The same applies
to condensers.
These are some of the more important factors that can cause poor distillation column
performance. Other factors include changing operating conditions and throughputs, brought
about by changes in upstream conditions and changes in the demand for the products. All these
factors, including the associated control system, should be considered at the design stages
because once a column is built and installed, nothing much can be done to rectify the situation
without incurring significant costs. The control of distillation columns is a field in its own right,
but that's another story.

Tham, M.T. 2016. Factors Affecting Distillation Column Operation. [ONLINE]

http://www.rccostello.com/distil/distilop.htm [Accessed 26th July, 2017]
http://facstaff.cbu.edu/rprice/lectures/distill7.html
Distillation VII: Equipment and Column Sizing
In order to have stable operation in a distillation column, the vapor and liquid flows must be
managed. Requirements are:
vapor should flow only through the open regions of the tray between the downcomers
liquid should flow only through the downcomers
liquid should not weep through tray perforations
liquid should not be carried up the column entrained in the vapor
vapor should not be carried down the column in the liquid
vapor should not bubble up through the downcomers
These requirements can be met if the column is properly sized and the tray layouts correctly
determined.
Tray layout and column internal design is quite specialized, so final designs are usually done by
specialists; however, it is common for preliminary designs to be done by ordinarily superhuman
process engineers. These notes are intended to give you an overview of how this can be done, so
that it won't be a complete mystery when you have to do it for your design project.
Basically in order to get a preliminary sizing for you column, you need to obtain values for
the tray efficiency
the column diameter
the pressure drop
the column height
Primary References:
1. Douglas, James M., Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes, McGraw-Hill, 1988, pp. 453-457.
2. Kister, Henry Z., Distillation Design, McGraw-Hill, 1992, pp. 275-282.
3. Luyben, William L., "Introduction" in Practical Distillation Control (W.L. Luyben, ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992, pp.
10-11.
4. McCabe, W.L., J.C. Smith, P. Harriott, Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1993, pp. 560-
568.
5. Seader, J.D. and Ernest J. Henley, Separation Process Principles, John Wiley, 1998, pp. 305-312.