I have a humble question regarding the refined propylene tower
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I would like to ask why the precision propylene tower has so many trays I would like to ask whether all propylene distillation columns have 240 trays? Are they all double-overflow or triple-overflow? Are they all float valve towers? Are there other types of trays? Is the higher number of layers due to the similar boiling ranges of C2 and C3? Thank you
The boiling points of propylene and propane are relatively close, so a larger number of trays are required. The specific design of these trays is determined by the design agency based on factors such as the processing capacity.
The necessary conditions for improving distillation are to increase the reflux ratio and the number of trays. Propane and propylene have very similar compositions with little difference in boiling points; therefore, multiple stages of partial condensation and vaporization are required. The number of trays in the so-called refined propylene tower shouldn’t be that high – it should be 130 for the crude propylene tower and 110 for the refined propylene tower
You can look up UOP’s technical documentation. The efficiency and flexibility of trays with multiple downcomers are slightly lower than those of sieve trays; leakage tends to occur more easily under low load conditions. EEMD improves efficiency, while ECMD offers a greater processing capacity. VGMD uses high-performance valves from Sulzer’s MMVG series – all these options are designed for different processing capacities and different component compositions. The reason for using so many trays is simple: it’s difficult to separate these components from one another; you’ll understand this if you check their physical and chemical properties. As for exactly how many trays are needed, it varies from factory to factory, depending on the feed material used in the reaction and the composition of the gas phase that emerges