Distillation computation fluid dynamics

Most of the published literature on reactive distillation (RD) has been focussed mainly on aspects such as conceptual design with the aid of residue curve maps, steady-state multiplicity and bifurcations, and development of equilibrium (EQ) stage and rigorous non-equilibrium (NEQ) steady-state and dynamic models [1, 2]. Relatively little attention has been paid to hardware design. In this chapter the concepts underlying the selection of the appropriate hardware for RD columns are discussed. For RD column design, detailed information on hydrodynamics and mass transfer for the chosen hardware is required, but this information is often lacking. Modern tools such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be invaluable aids in hydrodynamic and mass-transfer studies. 

Wang XL, Liu CT, Yuan XG, Yu KT (2004) Computational fluid dynamics simulation of three-dimensional liquid flow and mass transfer on distillation column trays. Ind Eng Chem Res 43(10) 2556-2567... 

Figure 16 shows the experimental arrangement for the measurement of the surface pressure. The trough (200 mm long, 50 mm wide and 10 mm deep) was coated with Teflon. The subphase temperature was controlled within 0.1 C by means of a jacket connected to a thermostated water circulator, and the environmental air temperature was kept at 18 °C. The surface tension was measured with a Wilhelmy plate of platinum(24.5 x 10.0 x 0.15 mm). The surface pressure monitored by an electronic balance was successively stored in a micro- computer, and then Fourier transformed to a frequency domain. The surface area was changed successively in a sinusoidal manner, between 37.5 A2/molecule and 62.5 A2/molecule. We have chosen an unsaturated phospholipid(l,2-dioleoyl-3-sn-phosphatidyI-choline DOPC) as a curious sample to measure the dynamic surface tension with this novel instrument, as the unsaturated lipids play an important role in biomembranes and, moreover, such a "fluid" lipid was expected to exhibit marked dynamic, nonlinear characteristics. The spreading solution was 0.133 mM chloroform solution of DOPC. The chloroform was purified with three consecutive distillations. 

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