The main product obtained from the top of the distillation tower is of acceptable quality, but the concentration of heavy components is above the specified limit?
Thread Content
In the distillation tower used for producing the product, during vacuum distillation, the product emerges from the top while tar comes out from the bottom. The material balance is stable, and the main component in the product can reach a level of around 99.8%; its color also meets the required standards. However, when the product is used by the customer, an oily substance is produced upon dissolution with alkali, and subsequent reactions proceed at a slow rate, requiring a large amount of extractant. After analysis, it was found that the content of heavy components in the product is high. My question is: since the main components meet the required standards, there shouldn’t be any problems with the number of theoretical plates or the packing used; moreover, the operation process is stable. So why is there a high level of heavy components?
The reflux ratio has been increased, but the results are not satisfactory!
Is the heating temperature at the bottom of the tower too high?
Is the temperature at the bottom of the tower high? Is there a return flow pipeline at the bottom of the tower? Is the liquid level at the bottom of the tower high? The temperature in the tower at the top flow rate point, as well as the pressure at the tower top, all need to be checked
Have them conduct a test and get in touch with the customer to see if the process has been contaminated
Increasing the reflux effect doesn’t work well; it’s probably because too much product is taken from the top of the tower.
Try lowering the temperature at the bottom of the tower a bit and see