Soran university

Faculty of engineering

Department of chemical engineering

Distillation column

Supervisor: Dr.Arkan jasim

Prepared by: Hemn Ibrahim salah qader faqe murad

Date: 29/1/2020
Contents
1.1 Introduction: ..................................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Overview of Distillation ................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Types of Distillation ......................................................................................................................... 2
1.3.1 Simple Distillation ..................................................................................................................... 3
1.3.2 Fractional Distillation ................................................................................................................ 3
1.3.3 Steam Distillation ...................................................................................................................... 4
1.3.4 Vacuum Distillation................................................................................................................... 5
1.3.5 Short Path Distillation ............................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Types of column ............................................................................................................................... 7
1.4.1 Batch column ............................................................................................................................. 8
1.4.1.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Batch Distillation ........................................................ 9
1.4.2 Continuous distillation ............................................................................................................. 10
1.4.2.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Continuous Distillation ............................................. 11
1.5 Application of Distillation .............................................................................................................. 12
1.5.1 Oil Refining ............................................................................................................................. 12
1.5.2 Desalinizing Water: ................................................................................................................. 12
1.5.3 Distilled Spirits ........................................................................................................................ 13
1.5.4 Scientific Uses ......................................................................................................................... 13
1.5.5 Alcoholic Beverages ................................................................................................................ 13
1.5.6 Perfume .................................................................................................................................... 13
1.5.7 Food Flavorings ....................................................................................................................... 14
1.6 Introduction to Fractional Distillation ............................................................................................ 15
1.6.2 Uses and Applications ............................................................................................................. 17
Reference .............................................................................................................................................. 21

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1.1 Introduction:

The most common purpose for simple distillation is to purify drinking water of unwanted
chemicals and minerals such as salt. There are a variety of machines that distill liquids for
the purpose of purification or alteration. Distillation is a necessary step in creating many
products and offers an additional method for water purification.

1.2 Overview of Distillation

Distillation is simply defined as a process in which a liquid or vapor mixture of two or more
substances is separated into its component fractions of desired purity, by the application and
removal of heat. The process is based on the fact that the vapor of a boiling mixture will be
richer in the components that have lower boiling points. Hence, when this vapor 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.
The primary equipment employed in the process of distillation are distillation columns, which
are designed to achieve this separation efficiently. Although the layman has a fair idea as to
what “distillation” means, the important aspects that seem to be missed from the
manufacturing point of view are:
(1) distillation is the most common separation technique;
(2) it consumes enormous amounts of energy, both in terms of cooling and heating
requirements;
(3) 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 optimization and control. To achieve this improvement, a thorough
understanding of distillation principles and how distillation systems are designed is essential.

1.3 Types of Distillation

There are several methods of distillation depending on the procedure and the instrument
setup. Each distillation type is used for purification of compounds having different
properties. Following are the common types

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1.3.1 Simple Distillation
Simple distillation is practiced for a mixture in which the boiling points of the
components differ by at least 70° C. It is also followed for the mixtures
contaminated with non-volatile particles (solid or oil) and those that are nearly
pure with less than 10 per cent contamination. Double distillation is the process of
repeating distillation on the collected liquid in order to enhance the purity of the
separated compounds.

Fig-1 simple distillation.

1.3.2 Fractional Distillation

Those mixtures, in which the volatility of the components is nearly similar or
differs by 25° C (at 1 atmosphere pressure), cannot be separated by simple
distillation. In such cases, fractional distillation is used whereby the constituents
are separated by a fractionating column. In the fractionating column, the plates are

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 arranged and the compound with the least boiling point are collected at the top
while those with higher boiling point are present at the bottom. A series of
compounds are separated simultaneously one after another. Fractional distillation
is used for the alcohol purification and gasoline purification in petroleum refining
industries.

Fig -1 Fractional distillation column.

1.3.3 Steam Distillation

Steam distillation is used for the purification of mixtures, in which the components
are temperature or heat sensitive; for example, organic compounds. In the
instrument setup, steam is introduced by heating water, which allows the

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 compounds to boil at a lower temperature. This way, the temperature sensitive
compounds are separated before decomposition. The vapors are collected and
condensed in the same way as other distillation types. The resultant liquid consists
of two phases, water and compound, which is then purified by using simple
distillation. Steam distillation is practiced for the large-scale separation of
essential oils and perfumes.

Fig – 2 steam Distillation

1.3.4 Vacuum Distillation

Vacuum distillation is a special method of separating compounds at pressure lower than the
standard atmospheric pressure. Under this condition, the compounds boil below their normal
boiling temperature. Hence, vacuum distillation is best suited for separation of compounds with

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higher boiling points (more than 200°C), which tend to decompose at their boiling temperature.
Vacuum distillation can be conducted without heating the mixture, as usually followed in other
distillation types. For the separation of some aromatic compounds, vacuum distillation is used
along with steam distillation.

Fig -3 vacuum distillation

1.3.5 Short Path Distillation

Thermal sensitive compounds can also be separated by following short path distillation. In this
technique, the separated compounds are condensed immediately without traveling the condenser.
The condenser is configured in a vertical manner between the heating flask and the collecting

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flask. Similar to vacuum type, the pressure is maintained below the atmospheric pressure. Short
path distillation is used for the separation of organic compounds with high molecular weight,
especially in the pharmaceutical industries.

Another method of classifying distillation is based on the column type used in the process. There
are two types of distillation columns namely, batch and continuous. In the former case, the feed
is provided in the batch wise manner; whereas, in the latter type, the feed to the column is
introduced continuously. A continuous operation is used commonly in the industrial applications.

Fig -4 Short path

1.4 Types of column

Mainly the pharmaceutical industry has batch distillation and continuous distillation.

The distillation plant is installed on the basis of mixture of solvents and type of less
volatile solvents or high volatile solvents to be distilled.
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1.4.1 Batch column
In general, batch distillation is used for small volume processing of specialty
chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates and solvent recycling & recovery. Batch
distillation is ideal for situations where the feed composition changes on a routine
basis. For example, solvent recovery systems where the feed composition will
change with each batch.

Fig -5 batch distillation.

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1.4.1.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Batch Distillation

Batch distillation is often preferable to continuous distillation where relatively small quantities of
material are to be handled at regularly scheduled periods. It is often more economical for small
volumes productions.

Probably the most outstanding attribute if batch distillation is its flexibility. Little change is
required when switching from one mixture to another. It is flexible in accommodating changes in
product formulation, changes in production rate, changes in feed composition, etc. Batch
distillation allows the use of standardized multi-purpose equipment for the production of a variety
of products from the same plant. They are preferred when the equipment needs regular cleaning
because of fouling or regular sterilization.

Batch distillation may be preferable for processing temperature-sensitive materials, because

distillation pressure can be lowered as the MVC are removed, thus maintaining lower still pot
temperature within the constraint of the condenser temperature. The minimum pressure in
continuous distillation is constrained by the temperature required to condense the lowest-boiling
component, resulting in higher operating temperature.

Another important factor favoring the use of batch distillation is that it permits better product
integrity to be achieved: each batch of product can be clearly identified in terms of the feeds
involved and conditions of processing. This is particularly important in industries such as
pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs.

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A disadvantage of batch distillation is the long time the mixture is exposed to high temperatures.
This increases the risk of thermal degradation or decomposition of the substances. Furthermore,
energy requirement is generally higher in batch distillation than in continuous distillation.

1.4.2 Continuous distillation

Continuous distillation is more commonly used for fractional distillation of
petroleum, bulk petrochemicals, and chemicals where the composition to the
column does not change dramatically from day to day.

Types of Continuous Columns

Continuous columns can be further classified according to: the nature of the feed
that they are processing

*binary column- feed contains only two components

*multi-component column- feed contains more than two components the number
of product streams they have

*azeotropic distillation- where the extra feed appears at the top product stream
the type of column internals

*tray column- where trays of various designs are used to hold up the liquid to
provide better contact between vapor and liquid, hence better separation

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 *packed column- where instead of trays, 'packings' are used to enhance contact
between vapor and liquid

Fig -6 Continuous Distillation

1.4.2.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Continuous Distillation

The main two advantages of a continuous process are efficiency and quantity. With batch
distillation, the batch size is dictated by the size of the still pot. Continuous processes do not
have this limitation. The quantity that can be processed is limited only by the amount of
upstream feed storage. A higher level of efficiency is inherent in the lack of needing to
continually clean and adjust the system.

A continuous distillation process will typically be more expensive than a batch system. A rule
of thumb for continuous distillation is that the number of columns required is N-1 where N is

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the number of components to be separated. Therefore, a multicomponent feed will require
multiple columns, each with its own reboiler, condenser and reflux system.

1.5 Application of Distillation

1.5.1 Oil Refining

When crude oil is extracted, depending on where it’s from, it contains many
ingredients that require distillation in order for the refined oil to be used in your car.
Fortunately, the many types of hydrocarbons in crude oil boil at different
temperatures and can be separated from one another.

In other chemical processes, the various hydrocarbons can be taken apart or

combined to produce a variety of products, such as gasoline, plastics, jet fuel,
synthetic fibers, crayons, tires and kerosene.

1.5.2 Desalinizing Water:

Some geographic areas of the planet cannot provide sufficient water to support life.
Drinking water can be supplied by distillation plants that turn ocean water into
potable water. The distillation process is the same, although the method of heating
used to achieve boiling temperatures may vary. The two main sources for producing
heat are electricity and gas.

It is possible for you to distill your own drinking water to remove unwanted
chemicals, germs and other impurities. However, distilled water will ordinarily have
an unsatisfactory taste. It can probably be bought almost as cheaply as the cost to
make it yourself.

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1.5.3 Distilled Spirits

Liquor, beer and wine, at some stage of their manufacture, will undergo a distillation
process to separate the final liquid product from the grains or fruits they are derived
from.

1.5.4 Scientific Uses

One practical use of distillation is in the laboratory. While the results of this type of
distillation may not find their way directly into our homes, the process is used
regularly in chemical and pharmaceutical research, quality assurance testing for
many consumer products and law enforcement for.

1.5.5 Alcoholic Beverages

Distillation is used to produce a variety of alcoholic beverages, such as whiskey, rum

and brandy. When fruit and plant materials ferment, a dilute version of ethyl alcohol
is produced. Distilling the fermented material purifies and concentrates the ethanol.
A variety of other components, such as water, esters and other types of alcohol, are
also collected during the distillation process, which accounts for the unique flavor of
each alcoholic spirit.

1.5.6 Perfume

One of the earliest uses of distilling was to make perfume, which began around 3500
B.C. The aroma from various plants and herbs is contained in what are known as
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essential oils, which can be extracted through distillation. However, many aromatic
plants tend to decompose at high temperatures so separation by normal distillation
isn’t practical. In those instances, steam is passed through the plant material to draw
out the essential oils without burning the mixture. The steam is then captured and
condensed just as in normal distillation.

1.5.7 Food Flavorings

Steam distillation is also used to create natural food flavorings. The most common
are citrus oils and liquid extracts of various herbs and spices.

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1.6 Introduction to Fractional Distillation
Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts, or fractions,
separating chemical compounds by their boiling point by heating them to a temperature at
which one or more fractions of the compound will vaporize. Generally the component parts
have boiling points that differ by less than 25°C from each other under a pressure of one
atmosphere. If the difference in boiling points is greater than 25°C, a simple distillation is used.

1.6.1 Mechanism

The steps of fractional distillation are as follows:

1. You heat the mixture of two or more substances(liquids) with different boiling points to a
high temperature. Heating is usually done with high pressure steam to temperatures of about
1112 degrees Fahrenheit / 600 degrees Celsius.

2. The mixture boils, forming vapour (gases); most substances go into the vapour phase.

3. The vapour enters the bottom of a long column (fractional distillation column) that is filled
with trays or plates. The trays have many holes or bubble caps(like a loosened cap on a soda
bottle) in them to allow the vapour to pass through. They increase the contact time between the
vapour and the liquids in the column and help to collect liquids that form at various heights in
the column. There is a temperature difference across the column (hot at the bottom, cool at the
top).

4. The vapour rises in the column.

5. As the vapour rises through the trays in the column, it cools.

6. When a substance in the vapour reaches a height where the temperature of the column is
equal to that substance's boiling point, it will condense to form a liquid.(The substance with the
lowest boiling point will condense at the highest point in the column; substances with higher
boiling points will condense lower in the column.)

7. The trays collect the various liquid fractions. 8. The collected liquid fractions may pass to
condensers, which cool them further, and then go to storage tanks, or they may go to other areas
for further chemical processing Fractional distillation is useful for separating a mixture of
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substances with narrow differences in boiling points, and is the most important step in the
refining process.

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1.6.2 Uses and Applications
Fractional distillation of Air

Air is filtered to remove dust, and then cooled in stages until it reaches 200oC. At this
temperature it is a liquid. We say that the air has been liquefied. Here's what happens as the air
liquefies (note that you do not need to recall the boiling points of the different gases):

 Water vapour condenses, and is removed using absorbent filters

 Carbon dioxide freezes at -79oC, and is removed

 Oxygen liquefies at -183oC

 Nitrogen at -196oC. The liquid nitrogen and oxygen are then separated by fractional
distillation. The liquefied air is passed into the bottom of a fractionating column. Just as in the
columns used to separate oil fractions, the column is warmer at the bottom than it is at the top.
The liquid nitrogen boils at the bottom of the column. Gaseous nitrogen rises to the top, where it
is piped off and stored. Liquid oxygen collects at the bottom of the column. The boiling point of
argon the noble gas that forms 0.9 percent of the air is close to the boiling point of oxygen, so a
second fractionating column is often used to separate the argon from the oxygen.

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 (Typical industrial fractional distillation columns.)

(Diagram of a typical, large-scale industrial distillation tower.)

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19
Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons. The crude oil is evaporated and its vapour condense at
different temperature in the fractionating column. Each fraction contains hydrocarbon molecules
with similar number of carbon atom and a similar range of boiling points. The diagram above
summarizes the main fractions from crude oil and their uses, and the trends in properties. Note
that the gases leave at the top of the column, the liquids condense in the middle and the solids
stay at the bottom. As you go up the fractionating column, the hydrocarbons have:
• Lower boiling points.
• Lower viscosity.
• Higher flammability. The oil refining process starts with a fractional distillation column. Very
few of the components come out of the fractional distillation column ready for market. Many of
them must be chemically processed to make other fractions. For example, only40% of distilled
crude oil is gasoline; however, gasoline is one of the major products made by oil companies.
Rather than continually distilling large quantities of crude oil, oil companies chemically process
some other fractions from the distillation column to make gasoline; this processing increases the
yield of gasoline from each barrel of crude oil.

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Reference
1. McCabe W. L., Smith J. C.: Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, Mc Graw
Hill.Companies Inc. 2005.
2. Swarbrick J.: Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, Informa Healtcare, 2007.
3. Aulton M.,E.: The Design and Manufacture of Medicines, Elsevier, New York, 2007
4. Priddy, Brenda. "What Is the Purpose of Simple Distillation?" Sciencing,
5. Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Analytical Chemistry,
Ingardena 3, 30-060 KrakUw, Poland
6. PlivaKrakUw S.A., Mogilska 80, 31-546 KrakUw, Poland
7. Maxfield, Mike. "Practical Uses of Distillation" last modified March 14, 2018. 8.
Sylvan, Roy. "What Are the Uses of Distillation in Industry?" Bizfluent,

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