Assignment
1
Distillation
Group Project
Group 2 – Acetic Acid-Acetic Anhydride
System
A waste stream in an Aspirin production process
is a mixture of Acetic Acid and Acetic Anhydride. It is proposed to separate these two components
by distillation. The waste stream
flowrate consists of 775 mol/hr of Acetic Acid and 300 mol/hr of Acetic Anydride.
You are required to investigate the following:
·
Should
continuous or batch distillation be used?
Choose one option, justify the decision, and proceed with the rest of
the assignment on this basis.
·
What
size will the distillation column be? (Height and footprint)
·
What
will be the composition of the bottom and distillate streams?
·
How
will the feed be supplied to the distillation unit?
·
What
will be the capital cost? (A rough estimate).
·
What
will be the operating cost?
·
What
is the approximate payback time on capital cost?
Your report should include the following:
·
Details
on the column internals.
·
A
process flow diagram for the system.
·
For
the batch option, how long will a distillation take.
·
An
energy balance.
·
Details
on the reboiler and condenser (size, material of
construction, etc.).
·
Operating
conditions (stream temperatures and pressures, reflux ratio, etc.)
Prepare a report to address all of the above issues. State clearly any assumptions made and reference all information sources used.