Falling film distillation column with heat transfer by means of a vapor chamber. Part II: operation with a temperature profile

Abstract

Based on previous results and a new proposal for the configuration of falling film distillation columns heated by a vapor chamber operating at atmospheric pressure, the present study analyzed a different application for heat transfer by means of an the axial temperature profile in the same vapor chamber, generated by the presence of non-condensable gases. Experimental tests were performed with an ethanol–water mixture by varying the feed flow rate and vapor chamber temperature. This new heat transfer proposal allowed the formation of a temperature gradient inside the distillation tube (similarly to the isothermal proposal previously reported), thus indicating that this heat transfer method is feasible for a distillation unit. The results demonstrated that higher flow rates are suitable for the distillation of ethanol and water in this new proposal; the temperature profile operation shows the feasibility of this new heat transfer proposal in falling film distillation columns and encourages further studies on the optimization of the process and the evaluation of the energy consumption.

Keywords:

• Axial temperature profile
• Falling film distillation column
• Process design
• Process intensification
• Thermosyphon
• Vapor chamber

This article is related to:

Falling film distillation column with heat transfer by means of a vapor chamber – part I: isothermal operation

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank CAPES (Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil), CNPq (National Council of Scientific Research, Brazil) and ANP (National Agency of Petroleum and Bio-Combustibles, Brazil) for the financial support and UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina) for the technological support granted.