Fractionation Towers

PROCESS DESCRIPTION
 After desalting, the crude oil is pumped through a series of
heat exchanger and its temperature raised to about 550 oF
(288 oC ) by heat exchange with product and reflux streams.
 It is then further heated to about 650 oF (399 oC ) in a furnace
(i.e. direct fired heater or "pipe still" ) and charged to flash
zone of atmospheric fractionators.
 The furnace discharge temperature is sufficiently high to cause
vaporization of all products with drawn above the flash zone
+20% of the bottom product.
 The 20% "over flash" allows some fractionation to occur on
the trays just above the flashing zone by providing internal
reflux in excess of side stream withdrawals.
 In many petroleum distillations, steam is admitted to the
space in which vaporization occurs, the steam increases
the partial pressure to make it equal to total pressure so
the boiling point of a material may be reduced. This
reduction in boiling point could be possible in only two
ways:
1) the pressure may be reduced,
2) or some inert gas such as steam may be introduced.

 The distillation causes the fractions to separate in

increasing order of boiling point. The top product being
highly volatile has to be condensed in a reflux condenser.
Some portion of the condensed fraction goes back as
reflux. All other fractions form the side draw products of
distillation column. There fractions are usually classified as
heavy naphtha, kerosene, gas oil.
Bottom product of atmospheric column is now again routed
through a furnace to reach a temperature of 350 to 400 oC
and is allowed to flash in a vacuum column, vacuum gas oil,
heavy diesel, lubrications oil cuts / pressure distillates shall
be the side cuts.
Flash Zone operating conditions-FZ temperature is limited by advent of cracking.
• FZ pressure is set by fixing the reflux drum pressure and adding to it to the line and
tower pressure drop.
• Over flash: Over flash is the vaporization of crude over and above the crude
overhead and side stream products.
• Over flash is generally kept in the range of 3-6 liquid volume %. Kept at minimum
value as a Larger over flash consumes larger utilities.
• Over flash prevents coking of wash section plates and carryover of coke to the
bottom side streams by and the tower bottom by providing reflux to the plates
between the lowest side stream and the flash zone.

Flash Zone Temperature

• Crude TBP provides estimate of total distillate.

• EFV curve of the crude is derived from the TBP and converted to the flash zone
pressure.
• Overflash quantity is selected included this material balance and heat balance
around the bottom section including feed section is done to fix the flash zone
temperature.
• Flash zone temperature thus fixed ensures desired total distillate yield.
Degree of separation & Difficulty of
separation.
 FRACTIONATION
Fractionation is the difference between 5% ASTM curve of
Heavy cut and the 95 % point on the ASTM curve of a
lighter cut of two adjacent side product.
 Positive difference is called Gap.
 Negative difference is called overlap.
 ASTM Boiling range gives general composition of
fractions.
 5- 95 GAP: Defines the relative degree of separation
between adjacent fractions.
 Determined by subtracting 95 vol.% ASTM Temperature
of a fraction from the 5 Vol. % ASTM temperature of the
adjacent heavy fraction.
a gap indicating good
fractionation

some of the light product is

still in the heavier product
 FRACTIONATION
The ability to separate the fractions efficiently decreases as the products
become heavier. Thus, one can expect an ASTM gap between the
overhead product and the first side stream to be around 25◦F, while that
between a third and fourth side stream to have an ASTM gap
around−10◦F (an overlap of 10F).

 (5-95) Gap = (t5H-T95L)ASTM

 5H=5% OF THE HEAVIER FRACTION
 95L= 95% OF THE LIGHTER FRACTION
 TBP CUT POINT = (TOH+ T100L)/2
 TBP Over lap= [T100L – TOH]
Fractionation requirements: ASTM gap and overlap

Knowing gaps as the design parameters correlate deviation or gap with F factor( product of number
of plates between two adjacent side draws off stream and internal reflux ratio.

Packie’s Method

 Degree of difficulty of separation : The difference between 50 vol.%

temperatures of the fractions under study.
 Convert 50% TBP temp to ASTM.
 Separation Capability (F):defined as the product of the reflux to feed ratio at
the upper draw tray as calculated on the volumetric basis and the number of
actual trays in that section.(F, Factor related to gap and overlap).
 Packie method: Based on Gap and overlap.
 Number of plates in particular section depends on gap and reflux ratio.
 F= Reflux ratio x Number of plates in that section.

F=(LN/DN)NT,(NT: No of trays of distillation column)L/D= Reflux ratio

 Problem

In a refinery side stream operation the fraction to be

collected is diesel. The diesel entering the side
stripper is 4000 bbl/h, the 50 percent point of the
cut is 275oC and contained with Kerosene whose
mid boiling point is 150oC. If the stripper is having 4
plates find the actual amount of diesel coming
out of the stripper if the ASTM GAP is 20oC.
 Vacuum Distillation Unit
Process description

This process is often integrated with the Atmospheric Crude Distillation unit as far as heat transfer is
concerned. Generally the atmospheric residue from the CDU is routed hot to the fired heater of the
vacuum unit
 Vacuum Distillation Unit
The atmospheric residue is further distilled to provide the heavy distillate streams used for
producing lube oil or as feed to conversion units.

Normally though the feed is pumped hot directly from the CDU’s residue stripper to the vacuum
unit’s heater.

Thereafter the distillate vapors are condensed in the tower by heat and mass transfer with the cold
reflux streams moving down the tower in the same way as the side streams in the Atmospheric unit.

The products are taken off at the appropriate sections are cooled either by heat exchange with
colder streams in the atmospheric unit, by air coolers or, in some cases as heating mediums to light
end reboilers. They are then pumped to storage.

The vacuum condition is produced by steam ejectors taking suction from the top of the tower .

These ejectors remove inert and other vapour that may exist and pull a vacuum of about 5 mmHG
absolute.
Distillation is carried out with absolute pressures in the tower flash zone area of 25 to 40 mmHg
 Vacuum Distillation Unit
To improve vaporization, the effective pressure is lowered even further (to 10 mmHg or less) by the
addition of steam to the furnace inlet and at the bottom of the vacuum tower.

Addition of steam to the furnace inlet increases the furnace tube velocity and minimizes coke
formation in the furnace as well as decreasing the total hydrocarbon partial pressure in the vacuum
tower.

The amount of stripping steam used is a function of the boiling range of the feed and the fraction
vaporized, but generally ranges from 10 to 50 lb/bbl feed.

Typically the highest furnace outlet temperatures are for ‘‘dry’’ operation of the vacuum unit; that
is, no steam is added either to the furnace inlet or to the vacuum column.

The lowest furnace outlet temperatures are for ‘‘wet’’ operation when steam is added to both the
furnace inlet and to the bottom of the vacuum tower.

Intermediate temperatures are used for ‘‘damp’’ operation of the vacuum unit when steam is added
to the furnace inlet only.
 Vacuum Distillation Unit
Why the diameter of Vacuum column is so large?

The lower operating pressures cause significant increases in the volume of vapor per barrel
vaporized and, as a result, the vacuum distillation columns are much larger in diameter than
atmospheric towers. It is not unusual to have vacuum towers up to 40 feet in diameter.

The desired operating pressure is maintained by the use of steam ejectors and barometric
condensers.

The size and number of ejectors and condensers used is determined by the vacuum needed and the
quality of vapors handled.
 Vacuum Distillation Unit
Vacuum distillation columns are equipped with packing for fractionation and heat exchange zones.

This is in order to reduce the pressure drop in the column which is necessary for creating a low
vacuum in the lower section of the column.

The bottom zone is equipped with valve trays. The vapors from the flash zone go through a wash
and fractionation zone where the heavy ends are condensed with HVGO reflux.

Further up, the column sections (consisting of a heat exchange and fractionation zone) are separated
by sprays of liquid from the pumparound or the internal reflux.

Vacuum distillation units have a system to create the vacuum that uses either ejectors or a
combination of ejectors.

Ejectors recompress the gases through a nozzle where vapors from the column are sucked into the
venturi section of the nozzle by a stream of medium or low pressure steam.

The vapor phase at the ejector exit is partially condensed in an exchanger with cooling water. The
liquid phase is then sent to the overhead drum.

The vapor phase goes from the condenser to another ejector-condenser stage.
Vacuum Distillation Unit
 Vacuum Distillation Unit
Problem: A vacuum system with outgoing cooling water at 85 oF is to remove 30 lb/hr of non-
condensables hydrocarbon vapors (approx. Molecular weight=60) at a pressure of 45mm of Hg.
Calculate the amount of vapors to be handle by the vacuum system.

Given: The vapour pressure of water at 85oF is 30.8mm

Solution:

Total pressure = 45 mm
Partial pressure of water vapours = 30.8mm
Partial pressure of HC = 45-30.8 = 14.2mm

According to general gas equation: P1/n1 = P2/n2  30.8 x (30/60) x /14.2=(mass of water vapors)/18
Mass of water vapors = 19.52 lb/ hr
Total vapors load on the vacuum system is = 19.52 + 30 = 49.52 lb/hr
Heat Balances over a Distillation Column
1. The vapor liquid feed enters the tower at a high temperature,
and the product are withdrawn at lower temperature , hence
heat must be removed, and it is referred as " reflux heat ".
2. The most satisfactory temperature datum is the vaporizer
temperature because this temperature can be accurately
estimated and is the temperature about which the entire
design of tower, and pipe still hinges.
3. By using this datum plane , the heat balance consists simply of
the sensible heat required to:

 Cool each product from vaporizer temperature to its

withdrawal temperature.
 Condense the products that are withdrawal as liquid.
Problem: Heat Balance of a Fractionating Tower

A heat balance of the simple tower system shown in Fig.

below will be computed to determine the amount of heat
that must be removed to keep the tower in thermal
balance. The capacity is 1200bbl per day (2100 gal per
hour of a 12.1 to 12.2 Characterization Factor crude oil. At
576 oF the gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, and gas oil are
vapor and the reduced crude oil is a liquid.

A sufficient quantity of heat must removed from the

vapors to cool them as vapors to the temperature at
which they are withdrawn from the tower and to
condense the naphtha, kerosene, and gas oil at their
withdrawal temperature.
 Example (2) : (Quantity of Reflux)
A tower fractionating system is such that
18652000 Btu per hr. of reflux heat must be
removed. Example (1) illustrates the method
of determining the reflux heat. How many
pounds of (1) hot (2) cold, and (3) circulating
reflux are required?
Hot reflux:
λ ( Gasoline ) =123 Btu/lb
lb of hot reflux = 1865200/120=15500 lb/hr
mole hot reflux=15500/110=141
mole gasoline = 3415/110=31
moles vapor=141+31=172
moles steam =567/18=31.5
total moles at the top of the tower=172+31.5= 203.5
total pressure at the top of the tower = 780 mm Hg
the partial pressure in the gas phase is
(172/203.5)x780 =660 mm Hg
 Side-Draw Temperature
1) The method of calculating side-draw temperature is much the same as the
calculation of the top temperature except that complications arise because of the
presence of the low boiling materials that pass the draw plate.
2) Making heat balance upon the drawn plate.
3) In practice, steam and vapor of lighter products are usually present, and hence the
effect of these vapors on the final condensation temperature must be estimated.
The lighter vapors extended from materials boiling at almost the same
temperature as the side-draw product to materials that are substantially fixed
gases.
4) Those vapor materials which are far above their boiling point behave as fixed gases
and lower condensation point by Dalton's law of partial pressures, just as steam
does, but those vapor materials which are at or near their boiling point are not
effective in reducing the partial pressure.
5) Arbitrarily, the vapors materials that will be condensed at the second or higher draw
plate above the plate under consideration may be considered to act as fixed gases.
 Side-Draw Temperature
6) Also, the vapor constituting the materials that is withdrawn
from the draw plate above the one under consideration are
assumed to have no effect at all on the partial pressure.

7) thus in a tower producing, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, and

gas oil , at the kerosene draw plate the gasoline vapor would
be considered as a fixed gas , whereas naphtha vapor would
assumed to have no effect on the condensation point.
Example (3) : (Calculation of Side Temperature)
This example is a continuation of examples (1) and (2). The
temperature of the kerosene plate will be computed. (actual
temperature=420 o F)
Solution :
Heat balance on kerosene plate, quantity of reflux and reflux (or vapor
reflux) that is present on kerosene plate must be determined.
Cool gasoline (vapor) =3415*(576-420)*0.58 = 327000
Cool naphtha (vapor) =754*(576-420)*0.57 = 71000
Cool kerosene(vapor) =2765*(576-420)*0.57= 260000
Cool gas oil (vapor) =1530*(576-510)*0.58= 62000
Reduced crude (liquid) =5610*(576-510)*0.72= 276000
996000
Cool steam =567*(535-420)*0.5= 44000
Condense kerosene = 2765*100= 276500
Condense gas oil =1530*90 = 138000
Reflux heat at kerosene plate 1454000
H.W:
Repeat the example above, recalculate the
temperature of the naphtha plate, assume a
tower pressure of 810 mm Hg?
Calculation of The Diameter of Distillation Column
Example (4): See examples 1, 2 and 3 the quantities and conditions will be taken
from these examples.
H.W:
120000 Lb/hr of 34 o API crude oil at 650 o F is fed to
an atmospheric distillation unit. Steam at a rate of
600 lb/hr and 850 o F is used. The fraction obtained
were 34000 lb/hr gasoline (MW=110,λ=120) at 310 o
F; 12000 lb/hr kerosene (MW=185, λ=108) at 420 o F;
30000lb/hr gas oil (MW=270,λ=95) at 510 o F . The
residue is withdrawn at 510 o F . Assume C
PL
=0.7 ,CPV=0.6 Btu/lb o F.
a) Check the top tower temperature if the dew point
of gasoline is 296 o F and the pressure at the top
plate is 780 mm Hg.
b) Calculate the diameter of the tower if K=735 and
ρl= 42.7 lb/ft3 .