Three equilibrium controls in a distillation tower
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How are the material flow, heat, and gas-liquid phase equilibrium in a distillation column controlled, and what are their interrelationships?
Material balance: Calculation of material inflow and outflow. Heat balance: Calculation of heat inflow and outflow. Phase equilibrium: Calculation of gas-liquid phase equilibrium for each tray
Material balance: feed, discharge, reflux. Heat balance: heat load of the reboiler at the bottom of the tower, cooling load of the condenser at the top of the tower. Gas-liquid equilibrium: in each tray of the tower, the concentration of volatile components in the gas phase increases from bottom to top, while their concentration in the liquid phase decreases from top to bottom.