Prepared by-Ankush JindalSummer TraineeB.Tech (3rd year )

Chemical Engg.Dept.National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur

Guided by Mr. Manoj Mishra, VP (production)Mr. S.C. Joshi, DGM (CMS plant)

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT ON

CHLORO-METHANE SUPERIOR PLANT SRF – CHEMICAL BUSINESS Pvt.Ltd.

Acknowledgement

I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude towards the SRF Ltd, Bhiwadi, Alwar for giving an opportunity to get the knowledge of process control of CMS plant and Industrial, safety knowledge. The experimental works and technical operations carried out in the program will be useful in future as an engineer.I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Manoj Mishra, vice president (FCB) and Mr. S.C. Joshi, DGM (CMS plant) without their valuable support and guidance throughout, it was not possible to complete my training successfully.Throughout this training period I have been supported by esteemed employees and I was made to feel like a member of SRF family.

Introduction

SRF Limited was established in 1970 with the manufacturing facility at the Chennai for nylon tyre cord. Its roots go back to the parent company DCM, founded in 1889 by late Lala Shri Ram. SRF has different manufacturing units spread across the country and Abroad.

 

All division of SRF are ISO 9001 or ISO 9002 or ISO 1400 certified. Fluoro specialist Division came into being in 1989 with the production of refrigerant gases. Halon Plant was commissioned in 1994. Chloromethane plant was setup and commissioned in 1995 as a backward integration for refrigerant gases plant. HFC-134a plant was setup in 2006 with the production of the refrigerant gases.

The various plants in SRF, Bhiwadi are by sophisticated automatic control system including computerized control system. The all Plant is fully automated and is controlled by “ABB” Distributed Control System (DCS),like Chloromethane, ,p6,p10,p8,p9,p2 and the HFC-134a plant is fully automated and is controlled by “Delta-V” type Distributive control system (DCS). A well-equipped laboratory and extensive quality control provides essential backup. SRF exports its products to over forty five countries across the world. SRF has received a number of export performance awards from Rajasthan government.

The list of various plants in SRF, Bhiwadi are below:1) Fluoro specialist plant (FSP)2) Refrigerant gases/Hydrogen fluoride (RG/HF) plant3) Thermal oxidation (TO) Plant4) Hydro fluorocarbon plant (HFC-134a)5) Captive power plant (CPP)6) Chloromethane plant (CMS)

INTRODUCTION OF PLANT

Chloromethane(CMS) plant in SRF limited was installed in year 1995 with the capacity of 15000 TPD which was later modified to 40000 TPD. It has a technical collaboration with Elf-Auto chem of France. It produces methylene chloride, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride.

Plant had the flexibility to vary the composition of product according to market requirement.

Main raw materials required for CMS are Methanol and Chlorine. Methanol is first reacted with HCl to produce Methyl chloride and then this Methyl chloride is reacted with Chlorine to produce mixture of Chloromethanes.

Plant capacity was increased by making the following modifications:

1)A new column for chloroform distillation was installed in year 1997.2)An additional decanter was provided in wash section.3)Both the chlorine pumps started running parallel in year 2001.Maximum distillation capacity achieved till date was 107 TPD in October 2002.

 

Product mix is changed by varying the feed ratio. (Methyl chloride to Chlorine)Higher is the Methyl chloride in feed more will be Methylene chloride generation.

Plant layoutRaw material & productsUtilities and productsPhoto chlorination sectionHCl separation from crude CMS CH3Cl separation from crude CMS 33% HCl systemCaustic wash of wet CMSWater wash of wet CMSAzeodrying of wet CMS

PROCESS OVERVIEW

Methylene chloride separation unit Chloroform separation unitCarbon tetra chloride separation unitHydro chlorination reactor and reactionsWater wash section Caustic wash Azeodrying of crude CH3ClDemethanolization columnsStorage tanks and Hypo sectionProducts specification and usesHeight and diameter of the distillation column

Raw materials and byproducts

Raw materials

Methanol – CH3OH

Chlorine – Cl2

Caustic soda - NaOH

Conc. Sulphuric acid (98 %) – H2SO4

Nitrogen – N2

Ammonium Hydroxide - NH3OH

Products

Methylene Chloride – CH2Cl2

Chloroform – CHCl3

Carbon tetra chloride – CCl4

Byproducts

Hydrochloric acid – HCl ( used in process and sell )

Spent sulphuric acid (90 %) -H2SO4

Sodium hypo chloride – NaOCl

Chloromethane – CH3Cl (used in process)

UHB material

PRODUCTION UTILITIESC1 110.85MT/D Cl2 110.6MT/DC2 59.88MT/D CH3OH 37.13MT/DC3 40.649MT/D Electricity 45950 unit/DC4 4.44MT/D Steam 133.5MT/D

H2SO4 7.5MT/DNaOH 5.76MT/D

crude cms 108.169MT/DSpent H2SO4 7.3MT/DNaOCl 9 MT/D RQ feed Ratio 1.4233%HCl 38 MT/D

Chlorine Unloading

Cl2 comes from GRCD Nagda, LCAL Alwar, GRASIM Renukoat, SVCL Kota, GRASIM BCCL Jharkhand.Chlorine tonner made up of carbon steel (CS) with Capacity 990 Kg.

Tonner are unloaded by giving pressure (17 bar) of N2 that is unreactive gas.

In the transportation line of Cl2 or any other hazardous gas the lines are jacketed with a positive pressure ( 1.5 bar – greater than atmospheric pressure) so unfortunately there is any leakage of gas then pressure of jacketed line would increase that is easily predictable.If the line pressure is decreasing that means jacketed line it self leak.

Chlorine Storage

Chlorine storage tanks are made of carbon steel that are called bullets .Each bullet have capacity of 90 MT but we fill only max 70 MT for safety purpose. Presently we have 3 bullets in which 2 are used and 1 is kept for emergency system.Bullets have special shape like capsule because of high pressure storage tanks otherwise high pressure will tear the tank.In chlorine storage area we use low & high level alarm system for indication of Cl2 amount in surrounding. 1 ppm = low level alarm(yellow) & 2 ppm = high level alarm(Red).

NH4OH solution is used to pinpoint the location of leakage of Cl2 gas in pipeline & storage tanks that makes the white turbidity after contact with Cl2.

Photo Chlorination Reaction

In this reactor (RQ-500) chlorine and methyl chloride are reacted in presence of UV light to form a mixture of chloromethane.

PRODUCT

CH2Cl2 - Methylene Chloride (C-2 )/ R30.

CHCl3 - Chloroform (C-3)/ R20.

CCl4 - Carbon tetra chloride (C-4) / CTC/ R10.HCl is also formed in the reaction as by product that is used in Hydro-section and rest HCl is sold in market making it 33% diluted ( byproduct).

In this reactor some amount of unreacted amount of methyl chloride and Cl2 also present.

Reaction Involved in RQ-500

3CH3Cl + 3Cl2 3CH2Cl2 + 3HCl H = 23.7 kcal/mol

2CH2Cl2 + 2Cl2 2CHCl3 + 2HCl H = 46.7 kcal/mol

CHCl3 + Cl2 CCl4 + HCl H = 76.3kcal/mol

All these three reactions are exothermic and release a huge amount of energy.By maintaining the feed ratio of the reactant we get the max amount of marketing product.

Material balance on photo reactorBasis = 5400 kg/ hr CMS

It contains CH2Cl2 = 2808 kg/r, CHCl3 = 2268 kg/hr, CCl4 = 324 kg/hrAmount of HCl formed = [ 36.5 * 2808 / 85 ] + [ 36.5 * 2 * 2268 / 1195 ] + [ 36.5 * 3 * 324 / 154 ] = 2821.7655 kg/ hr

Amount of CH3Cl required =[ 50.5 * 2808 / 85 ] + [ 50.5 * 2268 / 119.5 ] + [ 50.5 * 324 / 154 ]= 2732.97 kg/hr

Amount of Cl2 required = [ 71 * 2808 / 85 ] + [ 71 * 2 * 2268 / 119.5 ] + [ 71 * 3 * 324 / 154 ]5488.63 kg/hr

RQ 500

CH3Cl

D482

R 510 Dump tank

UV lamps

UV lamps

Reactor RQ- 500

Cooling Water 230 Kg/hr

R524

Gas

liquid

T 7°C

Emergency system

Cl2

Emergency system

Characteristics of the reactor RQ 500

Material – Monel ( 67% nickel & copper prominently) its very costly and highly resistive with acids and base.Hexagonal shape of the reactor and it is thermally insulated.14 UV lamps ( 7 at top & 7 at bottom) are used to start the reaction that is chain mechanism.An inbuilt Heat Exchanger is used in upper part of Reactor for proper thermosiphoning.We feed the input from the bottom In liquid phase and by the concept of thermo siphoning these vapor mixture goes upper part of column and through the heat exchanger goes down and remain circulating.

D-521 ( HCl separation unit )

Column is made up of Monel since it is handling HCl which is highly corrosive in presence of moisture.HCl is generated in RQ-500 in gaseous form enters in this column through R524 ( Flash Drum) which works as a knock out pot.HCl is removed from the top which is condensed by condenser E-522 up to (-33oC) using CHF2Cl (R 22) as refrigerant and it is sent to column as reflux and also sent in another condenser ( Economizer) to condense the HCl vapor coming from the flash drum.Our first priority is to use in RQ-603 then after excess HCl is used in making 33% HCl as byproduct of the process and sold in market after the testing the sample in lab.

And bottom of D-521 ( crude CMS and unreacted CH3Cl )goes to D-541 where methyl chloride is removed.

D 521

E 520

R 524

RQ 500

steam

53OC

-27.49DEGC

86oC

E522

D541`

R22 E524coolant

HCl 33%

RQ603

D481HCl separation unit

reflux

GasFlash Drum

D-541 (Methyl chloride separation)

Column D-541 takes the input from the bottom of D-521 which have mainly crude CMS, unreacted C1, traces of moisture, acidity and free chlorine. This column is attached with an inbuilt heat exchanger in upper part of the column D-541 which maintained the column pressure by flowing the coolant liquid water in heat exchanger. This heat exchanger is made up of Monel.In any case bottom temperature should not go beyond the 110oC otherwise it will lead to decomposition of CMS that leads to fouling of reboiler tubes.Unreacted C1, free chlorine, acidity, and moisture are removed from the top of the column into hydro section. Top and bottom temperature are maintained such that acidity as HCl doesn’t escape to next column.

D 541

E 540

D 521

R 552

D 551

E 550

E541

R 564

Reflux drum

CH3Cl separation unit

Wet crude CMS

E552ACH3Cl storage tank

Brine

cw

E552B

33 % HCl system

HCl is byproduct formed during the photo chlorination process. That HCl is separated from CMS in D 521 column from the top. Major of the HCl gas is used in hydro chlorination process to provide methyl chloride as required.Excess HCl gas is sent to 33% HCl generation unit through D 521 column.HCl gas get absorbed in E-701 liberating a lot of heat.This block is made of Graphite in separate blocks.HCl coming from other vents firstly go through the column D-701 then then passes through absorption column.Finally we store it in R-701 storage tank and sold in market.

E 701

E 524

Excess HCl

R 701

33 % HCl

To gas scrubber

R 702

D 701

For dilution HCl

From vents

HCl – 33 % Section

Drying process of crude CMS

Crude CMS from D551 bottom is collected in crude storage tank R564.Positive pressure of 0.05 kg/cm2 is maintained in the tank to avoid corrosion of tank due to moisture entry from atmosphere.Crude CMS storage tank also receives off spec product from the distillation section.These tanks are made up of carbon steel.Crude CMS contains acidic metallic chloride (mainly FeCl3) and high boiling compounds as organic impurities.

Caustic Wash of Crude CMS

Crude CMS is firstly washed with caustic soda solution. Acidity is neutralized and ferric chloride gets transformed into hydroxide which get precipitated.Emulsion of R-682 flow into R-683 decanter by gravity.

R564

R682

R 683

20% NaOH

Water wash of Crude CMSIn R-683, lighter aqueous phase, saturated with organic impurities makes a layer at the top and overflows to a safety decanter. Purpose of the water wash is to remove the caustic present in the crude at the caustic wash section.

R682

R683

R684

NaCl

Sample point R685

R686R-695

Organic stripper section Agitator

Decanter

Organic stripper section

R695

D461

R461

R462

organics

R684 Drain

NaOH

Hypo section

process

Azeodrying section of crude CMS

Here wet CMS is fed from R-689 to the to the distillation column D-691 by pump P689 A/B.In D-691 we use monel packing in upper section and pall rings in bottom section. Bottom product of the D-691 goes to dry storage tank R693 but when we get more moisture content in the suction stream then we recycled it into the knock out drum R-689.The top stream of the R-689 goes to vent to remove the acidity and top of D-691 removes the water vapors.

R686

vent

E692H2O vapors

Flow sheet Azeodrying section of crude CMS

R689 D691

P689A

P689B

E690

R693

Dry storage tank of crude CMSKnock out

drum

Methylene chloride separation unit

Dry CMS is fed in D-581 from the storage tank R-693 via pump P693A/B/C.Feed is prepared to 85-90 DEGC by steam in a shell and tube heat exchanger before entering in the column.Methylene chloride as final product is withdrawn as side stream from the bottom of the top most section.We don’t take product stream from the top of the column due to traces present at top because of low boiling point. The top stream goes as reflux through condenser.

The bottom product ( CHCl3, CCl4 ) of this column goes to next distillation column D-571.

D581R693

E580

Dry crude CMS

E583

E582

R582

D571

R595

Vent

C2

C3 / C4 /UHB

E533

Liquid as reflux

C2 Distillation Unit

C2 liquid

Chloroform separation unit

This unit is same as the methylene chloride separation unit. The bottom product of the column D-581 is work as feed for the column D-571.The top line of the column is recycled back to the column after passing the condenser and knock out drums that separates the incondensable gases as vent.The bottom of the upper top most section of the column gives the product stream that goes through the condenser in liquid storage tanks R585.The bottom section of the column gives the chloroform and UHB( undesirable high boiling) material.

E572

R572D571

Reflux

E533vent

E573

R585

E570

D591C4 / UHB

C3

D581

C3/C4/UHB

C3 liquid

C3 Distillation unit

Carbon tetrachloride separation unit

This separation unit is also similar as C2 and C3 separation units.Vent flow rate is adjusted so that no acidity is circulated in reflux drum otherwise acidity will create corrosion problem.Minimum vent flow rate is managed 60 Kg/hr.From the bottom line of the top most section CCl4 is taken and bottom section discharge contains max 20 % UHB (undesirable high boiling) material which goes to heavies plant.UHB amount should not go beyond this limit otherwise this would result fouling the reboiler tubes and choke the piping & instrument fittngs.

C4 separation unit

E-590

D591

E592

R592

E533venting

E593

R566A/B

Heavies plant

Reflux

CW

CW

D571

Hydro chlorination Reactor

Hydro chlorination reactor RQ 603 in which CH3Cl is manufactured. This is a glass lined vessel having volume 17 cubic meter.The feed for this reactor is HCl coming from E-524 of HCl separation unit and crude CH3OH is taken from other companies.Here Methanol is fed in gaseous form, chilled and normal liquid form.The reaction take place in the reactor is such as

CH3OH + HCl CH3Cl + H2O

Here ZnCl2(50 %) is in liquid form that is behave as catalyst in the reaction.

ZnCl2

Material balance on Hydro-sectionFrom the material balance of photo-section CH3Cl is required 2732.97kg/hr. by using this data apply material balance on Hydro-section.Methanol reacted = [ 32 * 2732.967 / 50.5 ] = 1731.78 kg/hrHCl reacted = [ 36.5 * 2732.97 / 50.5 ] = 1975.32 kg/hrH2O formed = [ 18 * 2732.967 / 50.5 ] = 974.13 kg/hr

RQ 603

Crude CH3OH

E 524

steam

R 603

E 603

HCl

E 623

Methanol Vapor Form

Economizer

ZnCl2 catalyst

E 625

E 624R624

Disengaged ZnCl2

Vapor mixer

D601

we use steam circulation at top of reactor continuously to maintain the temperature. In case temperature decreases it increases the level of the column. So it is used to maintain the upper part of the column more than 100 DEGC

Reactor RQ-603 contains our desired product CH3Cl with water vapors and unreacted methanol and HCl vapors.The reactor is handling corrosive materials that’s why here we used glass lined vessel and is economical also w.r.t. Monel.Temperature of reactor bottom below 1590C methanol forms Di methyl ether and above 161 oC ZnCl2 entrainment increases with gaseous product of reactor RQ 603.That’s why we have to maintain the temperature of reactor bottom very preciously.

CH3

2CH3OH O + H2O

CH3

HCl is used in excess amount to reduce the concentration of side product Di-Methyl Ether.In case formed Di-methyl ether react with excess HCl to form methyl chloride and water.

CH3

O + 2HCl 2CH3Cl + H2O

CH3

Reactor outlet gas containing crude methyl chloride, Excess HCl, Water and Unreacted Methanol enter into a vessel R-624 through a installed pipe at a temperature 160 oC.

R- 624 is entrainment separator which disengage ZnCl2 droplets carried over along with gases and return it back into the reactor through the bottom drain line.The temperature of gases comes down to 135oC at R – 624 outlet.

Water Wash Section of Product of RQ-603

In this section gases passes through E-625 that condenses subazeotropic HCl solution from crude methyl chloride to R-623 tank. E-625 condenser is set at temperature at 40 oC by temperature controller to avoid any methyl hydrate formation.R-623 disengage liquid from methyl chloride vapor, which is sent to the water wash column D-621.D621 is a scrubbing column in which water scrubs the HCl and methanol vapor from mixture of CH3Cl, CH3OH and HCl vapor mixture. D-621 also receives the methyl chloride vapor from D541 column.D621 is glass lined column and Polypropylene CMR packed column.

E 624

E 625

R-62362 DEGC

D 541D-621

125oC R-624

HCl liquid

E-62130 oC

D-641

Water Wash Column

HCl & methanol liquid

CH3Cl,CH3OH,HCl

Caustic wash column D 641 , D651

Crude methyl chloride vapor from D-621 contains traces of chlorine, HCl and dimethyl ether.Caustic wash is required to eliminate chlorine and HCl. Here caustic is mixed in D651 rather than n D641.Reaction of caustic soda with acidic traces of HCl is exothermic reaction so there is a lot of energy release in D641 so we make slight caustic medium in D641 so no more load on any one column. level of caustic in column D641 is maintained by an interconnecting line with

D651.

D 621

D 641

D651E641

Fresh Caustic 20 %

D 661

E651

P651A

Hypo Section

D641 & D651 are glass lined column, packed with polypropylene CMR rings. There is counter current flow between gas and liquid with gas coming from the bottom and liquid from the top. Demister pad is fixed at the top of D651 prevents the caustic mists carry over to H2SO4 system.spent caustic from D641 is mixed with fresh caustic soda to make hypochlorite and it should be free from methanol and organics.

H2SO4 Drying section of CH3Cl

Sulphuric acid removes moisture as well as Di methyl impurities.D661 and D671 are glass lined columns and packed with PVDF pall rings.

98 % H2SO4 is adjusted in suction line of the column D671 and we get 90% concentrated H2SO4 as spent acid from the bottom of the column D661.Top of D661 goes as reflux in the column in the column D671 and the top of D671 gives the Dry CMS.

D661 D671

E661E671

P673A

D651

H2SO4

Fresh

Spent H2SO4

Dry CH3Cl

LRC6610

Demethanolization columns

Knock out drum R-624 contains vapors of CH3OH and HCl which is sent to distillation column D-631.Top of the distillation column gives the methanol vapor which further condensed and chilled with the help of heat exchanger E600 and column D601 which is used as the feed for the reactor RQ-603.Bottom of the D631 gives the HCl liquid which is sent to R702 and used as the reactant in photo-section and rest is sold in the market.

R624

D631 R632E635

R702

CH3OH vapor

HCl liquid

CW

CW

E600

D601

RQ603Chilled methanol

Storage tanks

Production of the plant are kept in the storage tanks that are made up of mild steel and fed amylene to prevent the decomposition of C2,C3 & C4 products.The tanks are kept under nitrogen pressure which is controlled by a split control pressure transmitter. This nitrogen blanket serves the tanks from vacuum or any moisture entry with air.

Hypo sectionThis section takes the venting of chlorine from the vent that are scrubbed with caustic soda solution to make Sodium hypo chloride, which is sold as a byproduct.

Products specification and uses 1) Methylene Chloride (CH2Cl2) / R-30

APPEARANCE: Clear, colorless liquid PHYSICAL STATE: Liquid MOLECULAR WEIGHT: 84.94 gm/molODOR: Mild, sweet (similar to Chloroform)SPECIFIC GRAVITY (water = 1.0): 1.33 SOLUBILITY IN WATER (weight %): 1.32 gm/ 100gm @ 77°F (25°C)BOILING POINT: 40°CMELTING POINT: -95°C VAPOUR PRESSURE: 350 mm Hg at 68°F (20°C) VAPOUR DENSITY (air = 1.0): 2.9

DCM is Irritating to skin. If liquid remains on skin, can cause skin burns. Skin absorption may cause toxic effects. Causes headache, drowsiness or other effects to the central nervous system. Do not allow product to contact skin, eyes and clothing.

USESSolvent- DCM has the ability to dissolve a wide range of organic compounds makes it a useful solvent.Paint stripper- Paint stripper is a product designed to remove paint and other finishing products and also as a cleaning agent because it breaks the bonds of paint materials.Refrigerant – DCM is also a refrigerant gas also use in making CFCs.

2)Chloroform – CHCl3/R-20

APPEARANCE: Clear, colorless liquid PHYSICAL STATE: Dense Liquid MOLECULAR WEIGHT: 119.38 gm/molODOR: Mild, sweet SPECIFIC GRAVITY (water = 1.0): 1.33 SOLUBILITY IN WATER (weight %): very less soluble but more soluble in oil.BOILING POINT: 61°CMELTING POINT: -63.5°CVAPOUR PRESSURE: 21.1 KPa at 68°F (20°C) VAPOUR DENSITY (air = 1.0): 4.36

Chloroform is well absorbed, metabolized and eliminated rapidly by mammals after oral inhalation or dermal exposure. It also shows the same effects to skin eyes and respiratory system as DCM shows. Prolonged exposure of this gas may cause carcinological and mutagenic effects.USESmost widely used of chloroform in making chlorofluorocarbon gases that is a precursor in the production of poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).The best known brand of PTFE is Teflon. CHCl3 + 2HF CHClF2 + 2HClCHClF2 is a popular refrigerant.CHCl3 used as a solvents, rubber industry, alkaloids, waxes, resin, cleaning agent, fire extinguishers, CDCl3 ( a common solvent in NMR spectroscopy ), anesthetic.

3) Carbon tetra chloride- CCl4 / R-10

APPEARANCE: Clear, colorless liquid PHYSICAL STATE: Dense Liquid MOLECULAR WEIGHT: 154 gm/molODOR: SPECIFIC GRAVITY (water = 1.0): 1.594 SOLUBILITY IN WATER (weight %): very lessBOILING POINT: 76.54°CMELTING POINT: -23°CVAPOUR PRESSURE: 91.3 mm of Hg at 20°C VAPOUR DENSITY (air = 1.0): 5.3

CCl4 is very hazardous for central nervous system depressant which can also cause respiratory and cardiac failure with sufficient exposure. It also hazardous for skin and eyes as other DCM and chloroform gases.

USESCCl4 has a high degree of liver toxicity that’s why it is not preferred as refrigerant in market but used in industries a small scale. It is used as a fire suppression and a cleaning agent, a good solvent.Historically it was used in surgical anesthetic but the aforementioned toxicities led to an unacceptably high fatality rate. Its use in medical application has been discontinued.

Design of Distillation column D581 (CH2Cl2)

Feed rate 2100 Kg/hr

Bottom product 940 Kg/hr, Xw = 0.001

Distilled product 1060 Kg/hr

XD = 0.99

Reflux 4000kg/hr

CH2Cl2 5060 Kg/hr

No of stages required in packed column

Np = ln [ Xd(1-Xw) / Xw(1-Xd) ] / ln α - 1 Np = no of the stages required α = relative volatility = 1.5 Xd = mole fraction of solute in distillate Xw = mole fraction of solute in residue Np = ln [ 0.99(1-0.001)/0.001(1-0.99) ] / ln 1.5 - 1Np = 27.367 ≈ 27No of actual stages = No of theoretical stages / efficiency 27/0.50 = 54

Here we consider the plant efficiency is 50 ℅. In CMS plant packed distillation column is used with random packing.Height equivalent to the theoretical plates (HETP) for random packing is 0.45 in general.So height of the distillation column will be = 0.45 * 54 = 24.3 meter

Determination of the Diameter of the column Dc = (4 Vv / ∏ dv Uv )0.5

Here

Dc = Diameter of the column

Vw = Mass flow rate of top product ( Kg/sec )

Uv = top product velocity ( meter / sec )

Uv = ( - 0.17 lt 2 + 0.27 lt – 0.047 ) * ( dl – dv / dv )0.5

Here lt = 0.5 meter

dl = density of liquid C2 = 1326.6 kg/m3

dv = vapor density of C2 = 2.9 kg/m3

Uv = ( - 0.17* 0.52 + 0.27*0.5 - 0.047 ) * ( 1326.6 – 2.9 / 2.9 )0.5 = 0.97 meter / sec

Vw = 5060 kg/ hr = 1.4055 kg/sec

Dc = ( 4*1.4055 / ∏* 2.9 *0.97 )0.5 = 0.8 meter

Thanks