Regarding the issue of excessive rise in tower top temperature during methanol distillation / occasional absence of reflux flow
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Dear brothers and sisters, I have only been working in the field of methanol purification for a short time, and now I am facing a problem related to the purification of methanol. During the distillation of methanol, the temperature at the bottom of the tower sometimes rises and sometimes falls; afterward, its increase becomes very slow. The feed and output rates remain constant, while the temperature at the top of the tower rises relatively quickly. The reflux also varies greatly, sometimes being present and sometimes absent. Additionally, when the tower is restarted after being shut down, once the temperature at the top of the tower reaches the boiling point of methanol, no condensate flows out from there (i.e., there is no reflux). I hope someone can help me with this issue. Help me interpret it, thank you!
Is the original poster returning voluntarily or under coercion? How to determine if the reflux isn’t coming down?
Reply to 2# Li Yunfei: Of course, normal reflux should occur after the temperature rises. When the condensate in the condenser is completely full, it becomes impossible to see the condensate flowing down from the condenser through the sight glass in the main material pipe. Could a pressure drop in the reflux pipeline cause this phenomenon? If so, what adjustments should be made?
Is the pressure in the reflux tank higher than the pressure at the top of the tower?