Is it feasible to blow gas at the bottom of a distillation tower?
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In atmospheric and vacuum distillation towers, superheated steam is generally injected at the bottom of the tower to reduce the vapor pressure of the oil and gas present therein, thereby increasing the recovery rate. I was wondering whether it would be possible to use gas to be blown in at the bottom of the tower in order to reduce the vapor pressure of the oil and gas What impact does this have? ? New user, new post – please give me some advice, experts! ! ! Thank you! !
It’s possible in theory. However, it is necessary to consider how to recover the gas coming from the top, and the pressure level of the injected gas also needs to be taken into account. Because the atmospheric and vacuum distillation tower has pressure requirements.
It doesn’t seem very feasible; introducing steam at the top of the tower allows the pressure inside the tower to be reduced through condensation. However, when gas is introduced, it cannot be condensed, so the pressure inside the tower rises, which affects the vaporization rate of the oil – making it a disadvantageous approach.
If that’s the case: The gas at the top of the tower is originally sent out through a compressor, but due to the low amount of gas available and the high capacity of the compressor, it becomes impossible to keep the pressure at the top of the tower within an appropriate range. As a result, it is necessary to open the return line connected to the compressor’s outlet in order to barely maintain equilibrium in the pressure there. In this situation, could the gas that returns to the compressor’s inlet be redirected to the bottom of the tower instead? In theory, if I can maintain the pressure inside the tower while injecting gas, could it achieve the same goal of reducing the partial pressure of oil and gas and ensuring high yields as injecting steam? ? ?
I think this would be quite risky; the absence of condensation means that gas pressure will increase, making it difficult to control the pressure in a normal-pressure system. It can also lead to unstable tower pressures. It’s not advisable to go ahead with this approach!
Why is it necessary to maintain pressure in an atmospheric pressure tower? I think the lower, the better. With the same extraction rate, a lower pressure allows the extraction temperature to be reduced, which helps save energy.