Heat exchangers absorbers

Conservation is a general concept widely used in chemical engineering systems analysis. Normally it relates to accounting for flows of heat, mass or momentum (mainly fluid flow) through control volumes within vessels and pipes. This leads to the formation of conservation equations, which, when coupled with the appropriate rate process (for heat, mass or momentum flux respectively), enables equipment (such as heat exchangers, absorbers and pipes etc.) to be sized and its performance in operation predicted. In analysing crystallization and other particulate systems, however, a further conservation equation is... 

Reay, D.A., Hesselgreaves, J.E. and Sizmann, R. (1998). Novel compact heat exchanger/ absorber technology for cost-effective absorption cycle machines. Exploratory Award Contract JOE3-CT97-1016, Einal report. Commission of the European Communities, March. 

The rich oil from the absorber is expanded through a hydrauHc turbiae for power recovery. The fluid from the turbiae is flashed ia the rich-oil flash tank to 2.1 MPa (300 psi) and —32°C. The flash vapor is compressed until it equals the inlet pressure before it is recycled to the inlet. The oil phase from the flash passes through another heat exchanger and to the rich-oil deethanizer. The ethane-rich overhead gas produced from the deethanizer is compressed and used for produciag petrochemicals or is added to the residue-gas stream. 

The lean oil from the lean-oil fractionator passes through several heat exchangers and then through a refrigerator where the temperature is lowered to —37° C. Part of the lean oil is used as a reflux to the lower section of the rich-oil deethanizer. Most of the lean oil is presaturated ia the top section of the deethanizer, is cooled again to —37° C, and is returned to the top of the absorber, thus completing the oil cycle. 

Hot combustion gases are quenched and saturated with water in a spray chamber called a hydrator. An absorber bed of carbon or graphite rings may be mounted above the hydrator in the same stmcture to obtain more complete absorption of P40 q and to assure that the gas stream is cooled to about 100°C. Weak acid from mist collection is sprayed on the absorber bed, and product acid at 75—85% H PO leaves the hydrator through a heat exchanger. 

Process. A typical indirect hydration process is presented in Eigure 1. In the process, propylene reacts with sulfuric acid (>60 wt%) in agitated reactors or absorbers at moderate (0.7—2.8 MPa (100—400 psig)) pressure. The isopropyl sulfate esters form and are maintained in the Hquid state at 20—80°C. Low propylene concentrations, ie, 50 wt %, can be tolerated, but concentrations of 65 wt % or higher are preferred to achieve high alcohol yields. Because the reaction is exothermic, internal cooling coils or external heat exchangers are used to control the temperature. 

Gas leaving the economizer flows to a packed tower where SO is absorbed. Most plants do not produce oleum and need only one tower. Concentrated sulfuric acid circulates in the tower and cools the gas to about the acid inlet temperature. The typical acid inlet temperature for 98.5% sulfuric acid absorption towers is 70—80°C. The 98.5% sulfuric acid exits the absorption tower at 100—125°C, depending on acid circulation rate. Acid temperature rise within the tower comes from the heat of hydration of sulfur trioxide and sensible heat of the process gas. The hot product acid leaving the tower is cooled in heat exchangers before being recirculated or pumped into storage tanks. 

A flow diagram for the system is shown in Figure 5. Feed gas is dried, and ammonia and sulfur compounds are removed to prevent the irreversible buildup of insoluble salts in the system. Water and soHds formed by trace ammonia and sulfur compounds are removed in the solvent maintenance section (96). The pretreated carbon monoxide feed gas enters the absorber where it is selectively absorbed by a countercurrent flow of solvent to form a carbon monoxide complex with the active copper salt. The carbon monoxide-rich solution flows from the bottom of the absorber to a flash vessel where physically absorbed gas species such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and methane are removed. The solution is then sent to the stripper where the carbon monoxide is released from the complex by heating and pressure reduction to about 0.15 MPa (1.5 atm). The solvent is stripped of residual carbon monoxide, heat-exchanged with the stripper feed, and pumped to the top of the absorber to complete the cycle. 

The per pass ethylene conversion in the primary reactors is maintained at 20—30% in order to ensure catalyst selectivities of 70—80%. Vapor-phase oxidation inhibitors such as ethylene dichloride or vinyl chloride or other halogenated compounds are added to the inlet of the reactors in ppm concentrations to retard carbon dioxide formation (107,120,121). The process stream exiting the reactor may contain 1—3 mol % ethylene oxide. This hot effluent gas is then cooled ia a shell-and-tube heat exchanger to around 35—40°C by usiag the cold recycle reactor feed stream gas from the primary absorber. The cooled cmde product gas is then compressed ia a centrifugal blower before entering the primary absorber. 

The third key section of the process deals with ethylene oxide purification. In this section of the process, a variety of column sequences have been practiced. The scheme shown in Figure 2 is typical. The ethylene oxide-rich water streams from both the main and purge absorbers are combined, and after heat exchange are fed to the top section of a desorber where the absorbate is steam stripped. The lean water from the lower section of the desorber is virtually free of oxide, and is recirculated to the main and purge absorbers. The concentrated ethylene oxide vapor overhead is fed to the ensuing stripper for further purification. If the desorber is operated under vacuum, a compressor is required. 

Fig. 15. Low hydrocarbon emission control system utilising a cross-flow heat exchanger TWC catalyst, A, and a 2eohte-based hydrocarbon absorber system. Cold start HCs are absorbed by the hydrocarbon trap, B, until the cross-flow heat exchanger catalyst is hot enough to destroy the HCs that...

In the case of HCl absorption, a shell-and-tube heat exchanger often is employed as a cooled wetted-waU vertical-column absorber so that the exothermic heat of reaction can be removed continuously as it is released into the liquid film. 

Installation of heat-exchange equipment to precool and dehumidify the feed gas to an absorber also deserves consideration in order to take advantage of the cooling effects created by vaporization of solvent in the lower sections of the tower. 

When heat-exchange surface is being provided in the design of an absorber, the isothermal design procedure can be rendered valid by virtue of the exchanger design specifications. With ample surface area and a close approach, isotherm operation can be guaranteed. 

Condensation Equipment There are two basic types of condensers used for control contact and surface. In contact condensers, the gaseous stream is brought into direct contact with a cooling medium so that the vapors condense and mix with the coolant (see Fig. 25-15). The more widely used system, however, is the surface condenser (or heat exchanger), in which the vapor and the cooling medium are separated by a wall (see Fig. 25-16). Since high removal efficiencies cannot be obtained with low-condensable vapor concentrations, condensers are typically used for pretreatment prior to some other more efficient control device such as an incinerator, absorber, or adsorber. 

If the outlet gas temperature from the absorber exceeds the inlet gas temperature more than 20 to 30°F, the lean glycol entering the top of the absorber may be too hot. This could indicate a heat exchanger problem or an excessive glycol circulation rate. 

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