Discussion on the hydrogenation refining distillation column
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A heater is installed in front of the distillation column used for hydrogenation refining in the company, with feed coming from the vapor phase at the top of the column. There is another process that does not use a heating furnace; instead, a reboiler is installed at the bottom of the distillation tower, though this requires two additional pumps. Please discuss which set of processes is better.
The investment in heating furnaces is relatively high, but the operating costs are low, as they generally use dry gas； Reboilers require much less investment in equipment; having a heat source is the ideal solution. If no ideal heat source is available and steam has to be used, the operating costs are relatively high. Please correct me.
In a process with a reboiler for feed, it is necessary to determine whether steam needs to be injected into the distillation tower; if steam is injected, diesel may contain water, which can lead to corrosion and issues that prevent it from meeting quality standards.
No steam injection is required for the reboiler; since there is a heat source in the stripping section at the bottom of the reboiler tower, steam injection is not necessary.
Reboilers have high investment costs, but they produce better product quality and are less prone to water contamination. When steam is used for heating, the oil contains a high amount of water, which results in it not meeting the required standards; consequently, a water removal device must be added. However, considering costs and product quality, each method has its advantages.
This post was last edited by chengkang on 2009-8-13 20:09. Our equipment uses a reboiler, mainly to ensure the quality of the product. Everyone is now moving towards the Euro 4 standard
Based on the distillation range of the feed and that after hydrogenation, if gasoline and diesel are blended for hydrogenation, it is advisable to install a reboiler. If it is simply diesel hydrogenation, a feed heater can be installed; alternatively, it can be omitted and the reaction gas heat can be used for heating, with steam being blown at the bottom of the tower.