The problem with flooded towers

Reduce the feed rate, increase the steam supply, and appropriately increase the draw rate or reduce the reflux rate – provided that the parameters of the effluent and the product from the bottom of the tower remain within normal ranges

When the tower is flooded, it means there is too much liquid material; this can be addressed in two ways: one is to reduce the feed amount, including both the feed and the reflux, and the other is to increase the processing capacity by raising the steam volume or the amount of material extracted. The prerequisite is that the quality of the material remains within acceptable limits

Tower flooding is caused by an excessive liquid load; the reasons for it should be carefully analyzed and addressed.

The distillation equipment in our plant has not experienced any tower flooding to date. Now we need to find out how to deal with such situations when tower flooding does occur

When submerging the tower, it is possible to check whether the vacuum level has an impact; in such cases, the amount of steam should be increased while reducing the feed rate, with the main goal being to maintain the temperature

A flooded tower occurs when there is an imbalance in the liquid material. The solution is: if it does not affect the discharge parameters, the reflux rate can be reduced slightly, while increasing the heat input at the top of the tower； However, if the tower discharge parameters are not up to standard, the feed amount can be reduced. Under normal operation, the tower should not get flooded; you should still check your tower – there’s probably a problem with the design!

Tower flooding is mainly caused by problems with the liquid-phase material balance. Once flooding occurs, the phase balance of the tower is generally disrupted, and the product quality quickly becomes substandard. There are three key actions to take: first, classify the product as substandard; second, reduce the processing volume by lowering the feed rate; third, increase the extraction rate from the bottom of the tower. If it is found that the side stream from the lower part of the tower is already of substandard quality (such as the third stream in a atmospheric pressure tower), increase the extraction rate from that stream – there’s no need to worry about emptying the tower; reflux should still be maintained as normal. After taking these measures, all that remains is to wait for the operating conditions of the entire tower to improve. This is an example I encountered when I first started working in this field: the liquid level gauge at the bottom of the tower stopped functioning, causing the liquid level to rise to the tray levels, which in turn led to changes in the operation of the entire tower. After taking appropriate actions, normal operations were quickly restored.

The three measures for flooding the tower are: first, reducing the feed rate； Second is to reduce backflow, and third is to reduce heat sources

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The problem is too serious; first, it’s necessary to understand the reasons for the tower flooding as well as the relevant procedures. In terms of emergency handling, based on experience, it’s possible to handle the situation on the 9th floor