12/25/2014

ChemEngineeringFlashevaporation

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Flashevaporationisthepartialortotalvaporizationthatoccurswhenasaturatedliquid
streamundergoesareductioninpressurebypassingthroughathrottlingvalveorother
A
throttlingdevice.Thisprocessisoneofthesimplestunitoperations.Ifthethrottlingvalve
ordeviceislocatedattheentryintoapressurevesselsothattheflashevaporationoccurs typical
flash
withinthevessel,thenthevesselisoftenreferredtoasaflashdrum.
drum
Ifthesaturatedliquidisasinglecomponentliquid(forexample,liquidpropaneorliquidammonia),
apartoftheliquidimmediately"flashes"intovapor(i.e.,evaporates).Boththevaporandthe
residualliquidarecooledtothesaturationtemperatureoftheliquidatthereducedpressure.Thisis
oftenreferredtoas"autorefrigeration"andisthebasisofmostconventionalvaporcompression
refrigerationsystems.
Ifthesaturatedliquidisamulticomponentliquid(forexample,amixtureofpropane,isobutaneand
normalbutane),apartoftheliquidwillalsoimmediatelyflashintoavaporandtheflashedvapor
willbericherinthemorevolatilecomponentsthanistheremainingliquid.

Flashevaporationofasinglecomponentliquid
Theflashevaporationofasinglecomponentliquidisanisenthalpic(i.e.,constantenthalpy)
processandisoftenreferredtoasanadiabaticflash,aflashdistillationorathrottlingexpansion.
Thefollowingequation,derivedfromasimpleheatbalancearoundthethrottlingvalveordevice,is
usedtopredicthowmuchofasinglecomponentliquidisvaporizedwhenit"flashes":
X=100(HuLHdL)(HdVHdL)
where:
X=weightpercentvaporized
HuL=upstreamliquidenthalpyatupstreamtemperatureandpressure,J/kg
HdV=flashedvaporenthalpyatdownstreampressureandcorrespondingsaturation
temperature,J/kg
HdL=residualliquidenthalpyatdownstreampressureandcorrespondingsaturation
temperature,J/kg
Iftheenthalpydatarequiredfortheaboveequationisunavailable,thenthefollowingequationmay
beused.
X=100cp(TuTd)Hv
where:
X=weightpercentvaporized
cp=liquidspecificheatatupstreamtemperatureandpressure,J/(kgC)
Tu=upstreamliquidtemperature,C
Td=liquidsaturationtemperaturecorrespondingtothedownstreampressure,C
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12/25/2014

ChemEngineeringFlashevaporation

Hv=liquidheatofvaporizationatdownstreampressureandcorrespondingsaturation
temperature,J/kg
(Note:Thewords"upstream"and"downstream"refertobeforeandaftertheliquidpassesthrough
thethrottlingvalveordevice.)
ThistypeofflashevaporationisusedinthedesalinationofbrackishwateroroceanwaterbyMulti
StageFlashDistillation.Thewaterisheatedandthenroutedintoareducedpressureflash
evaporation"stage"wheresomeofthewaterflashesintosteam.Thissteamissubsequently
condensedintosaltfreewater.Theresidualsaltyliquidfromthatfirststageisintroducedintoa
secondflashevaporationstageatapressurelowerthanthefirststagepressure.Morewateris
flashedintosteamwhichisalsosubsequentlycondensedintomoresaltfreewater.Thissequential
useofmultipleflashevaporationstagesiscontinueduntilthedesignobjectivesofthesystemare
met.Alargepartoftheworld'sinstalleddesalinationcapacityusesmultistageflashdistillation.
Typicallysuchplantshave24ormoresequentialstagesofflashevaporation.

Equilibriumflashofamulticomponentliquid
Theequilibriumflashofamulticomponentliquidisalsoanisenthalpicprocessand
maybevisualizedasasimpledistillationprocessusingasingleequilibriumstage.Itis
verydifferentandmorecomplexthantheflashevaporationofsinglecomponentliquid. Equilibrium
Foramulticomponentliquid,calculatingtheamountsofflashedvaporandresidual
flashofa
liquidinequilibriumwitheachotheratagiventemperatureandpressurerequiresatrial multi
anderroriterativesolution.Suchacalculationiscommonlyreferredtoasan
component
equilibriumflashcalculation.ItinvolvessolvingthefollowingRachfordRiceequation:
feed
[1] [2] [3] [4]

n
i=1

[z i (K i 1)] [1 + (K i 1)] = 0

where:
z i=molefractionofcomponentiinthefeedliquid
=molefractionoffeedthatisvaporized=V/F
Ki=vaporliquidequilibriumconstant=yi/xi
yi=molefractionofcomponentiintheflashedvapor
xi=molefractionofcomponentiintheresidualliquid
Newton'smethod(alsoknownastheNewtonRaphsonmethod)isanefficientiterativealgorithmfor
solvingtheRachfordRiceequation.Alternatively,thebisectionmethodortheBrentmethodmay
beused.Oncetheequationhasbeensolvedfor,thecompositionsxiandyicanbeimmediately
calculatedas:
xi = z i [1 + (K i 1)]
y

= K i xi

Theequilibriumflashofmulticomponentliquidsisverywidelyutilizedinpetroleumrefineries,
petrochemicalandchemicalplantsandnaturalgasprocessingplants.xx

Imagecredits
BothimagesinthisarticlewerecreatedbyMiltonBeychokandarereleasedintothePublic
Domain.

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References
1. ^Editors:DonW.GreenandRobertH.Perry(2007),Perry'sChemicalEngineers'Handbook,
8thEdition,McGrawHillProfessional,ISBN0071422943
2. ^HarryKooijmanandRossTaylor(2000),TheChemSepBook,2ndEdition,ISBN38311
10689.AvailableonlineatTheChemSepBook (Seepdfpage186of194pdfpages)
3. ^ModuleElementaryVaporLiquidEquilibrium (FromthewebsiteofthePennsylvania
StateUniversity)
4. ^FlashCalculationsusingtheSoaveRedlichKwongequationofstate (Clickonthesmall
imagetoviewitlegiblyatfullsize)

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