Assignment # 3

CHENG 313 : Separation II

Due : 28 March 2013

Q1.
A distillation unit consists of a partial reboiler, a column with seven equilibrium plates,
and a total condenser. The feed consists of a 50 mol % of benzene in toluene. It is desired
to produce a distillate containing of 96 mol % benzene, when operating at 101 kPa.

i. With saturated liquid feed fed to the fifth plate from the top determine:
a. minimum reflux ratio
b. the bottoms composition, using a reflux ratio of twice the
minimum.
c. Moles of product per 100 moles of feed.
ii. Repeat part (i) for a saturated vapor feed fed to the fifth plate from the
top.
iii. With saturated vapor feed fed to the reboiler and a reflux ratio (L/V) of
0.9, calculate
a. Bottoms composition,
b. Moles of product per 100 mole of feed.






Q2.
A mixture of 54.5 mol% benzene in chlorobenzene at its bubble point is fed continuously
to the bottom of a column containing two theoretical plates. The column is equipped with
a partial reboiler and a total condenser. Sufficient heat is supplied to the reboiler to give
V/F= 0.855 and the reflux ratio L/V in the top of the column is kept constant at 0.5.
Under these conditions, what quality of product and bottoms (xD, xB) can be expected.