How is the diameter of the steam pipeline in a distillation column calculated?

First, you need to know your tower’s overall heat balance, calculate how much heat is required, and then determine it based on your steam pressure. This is also a rough estimate; for accuracy, it’s better to have the designers perform computer simulations

Does this still require heat balance? Isn’t it sufficient to use steam to clean the inside of the tower? What standards are used for its design? It belongs to…

Do you need a steaming and cooking tower? It doesn’t matter then; a simple rubber hose will solve the problem, it’s just that the cooking time varies

This post was last edited by altpage on 2018-12-16 at 10:11. All the steam pipelines in the distillation towers I’ve seen are DN50, using 1.0MPa steam, with double-valve arrangements: one globe valve and one gate valve； Intermediate \"8\"-shaped blind flange, with a drain valve in front of the blind flange ； (Both the big tower and the small tower).

Well, ours are the same as well; all of them use DN50 steam at 1.0 MPa. There are also double-valve blind flanges for drainage. I’m not sure what criteria were used in the design – maybe changes are needed if the tower is smaller

There’s no way to determine the required diameter and pressure of steam pipes based on the tower height and diameter. For the calculation of all pipe diameters, it is done according to what is stated in textbooks on chemical engineering principles: select the pipe diameter within the range of optimal flow velocities and then round it off. The steam pipelines here are the same. The size of the steam pipeline depends on the amount of steam required, which in turn is determined by the operating load specified in the design of the distillation tower and by the amount of heat needed for that design. The steam consumption can then be calculated based on the latent heat of steam. The steam pressure to be used depends on the dew point of the product at the bottom of the tower under that pressure; the saturated temperature of the steam required must not be lower than the dew point of the product at the bottom of the tower. As the original poster mentioned, their tower has a capacity of 60 mH and a diameter of 3 meters, and they use steam pipes with a DN50 diameter; for our tower, which has a capacity of 40 mH and a diameter of 1.2 meters, the steam pipes use a DN125 diameter. It has no direct relation to the tower’s size. In the end, it’s still the thermal load of the tower design. There’s nothing else really.

I must be ignorant then; may I ask: what kind of tower is it that is 40 meters high and has a diameter of 1.2 meters, and what is its operating pressure? What pressure rating of steam is being used? Why is a steam tower pipe with a DN125 diameter required?

We use ordinary distillation columns for chlorosilanes, atmospheric-pressure columns, with low-pressure steam at 3 kilograms per unit volume.

The selection of the steam pipe diameter should be independent of the size of the distillation/treatment tower； Before conducting a comprehensive evaluation, it is necessary to first consider the flow rate, and then determine the pipe size (if possible, the capacity increase aspect will also be taken into account... The simplest way to think about it is that there is usually a reducer at the front of most control valves). For distillation towers, the separation efficiency is evaluated first; then, the type of packing chosen for the tower is considered, followed by an assessment of the tower’s height/size. Based on the desired stripping volume (or evaporation rate) and operating temperature, the pressure and flow rate of steam are determined, while the diameter of the flow pipes is chosen according to the flow volume. This is my understanding of chemical processing processes, shared here