Steam flow rate and bottom temperature of the distillation tower
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In gasoline hydrogenation units, the heat source used for the reboiler of the fractionation tower is steam. In actual operation, when the steam flow rate is increased, why does the bottom temperature sometimes drop? Is there any specific quantitative relationship between the two?
The bottom temperature reflects the composition of the components at the bottom of the tower. Generally, increasing the steam supply causes the light components at the bottom to be vaporized and carried to the top of the tower, resulting in an increase in the bottom temperature; however, this is not always the case. When operations are unstable or the reflux rate is high, there are more light components at the bottom, and the bottom temperature may not rise or might even decrease.