Problem of excessive heavy components at the top of the distillation column
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The company has a distillation column; the heavy components are removed intermittently from the bottom of the column, while the light components are removed continuously from the top. I wonder why a high liquid level at the bottom of the column can lead to an increase in the concentration of heavy components at the top. I’m a beginner – I saw this mentioned in the operating procedures, but I don’t quite understand it
Some operating procedures contain terms with rather imprecise definitions. It is recommended to understand it from a fundamental perspective. The interior layout of distillation towers varies; it would be perfect to include a schematic diagram with the process parameters indicated. Visuals facilitate discussion and are provided for reference.
Simply put, a high liquid level in the tower bottom means that the amount of liquid removed from the tower bottom decreases; as a result, the heavier components accumulate and are not removed in time, ending up at the tower top and causing an elevated level of these heavy components there.
I forgot to mention that the distillation tower operates under negative pressure; the qualified product is continuously extracted from the top of the tower, while the heavy components are removed from the bottom of the tower approximately every 90 minutes
The liquid level is too high; there isn’t enough space for separation!