Question: As a process engineer, your task is to design a debutanizer column operating at 1 atm, equipped with a partial reboiler and a total condenser.

As a process engineer, your task is to design a debutanizer column operating at 1 atm, equipped with a partial reboiler and a total condenser. The feed consists of 900 kg/h of propane, 180 kg/h of n-butane, and 210 kg/h of n-pentane, presented as a saturated vapor. The specific requirements from your customer are to achieve a 95% recovery of n-pentane in the bottoms and a 98% recovery of butane and lighter compounds in the distillate. For this process, reflux is returned as a saturated liquid, and it can be assumed that constant molal overflow (CMO) conditions apply. Moreover, equilibrium in the column is best represented by constant relative volatilities.

  • Determine
  • a) the total number of stages
  • b) the feed stage without Aspen simulation.
  • To achieve this, follow the steps to find Nmin (Fenske equation), Rmin (Underwood equation), R (relation between R and Rmin), N (Gilliland correlation), and Nfeed (Kirkbride or Fenske equation).
  •  Explain and show calculation for each part ?

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Debutanizer Column Design Given Feed composition Propane C3 900 kgh nbutane C4 180 kgh npentane C5 210 kgh Feed state Saturated vapor Operating pressu... View full answer

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