Fractional & Steam Distillation Refer to the Figure 4.3 below (Temperature-Compo

Question

Fractional & Steam Distillation

Refer to the Figure 4.3 below (Temperature-Composition Diagram for Mixtures of Toluene and Benzene) to answer the following questions. Given a mixture containing 70 mol % toluene and 30 mol % benzene, and the requirement to perform a fractional distillation that will produce some benzene of at least 99% purity. What is the minimum number of theoretical plates required to accomplish this separation? Given a mixture containing 50 mol % toluene and 50 mol % benzene, and a 20-cm fractionating column with an HETP of 10 cm. Calculate the number of theoretical plates in the column. What would be the composition of the first small amount of distillate obtained?

Explanation / Answer

A.

To determine the minimum plates, stat with mole fraction of toulene in feed (0.7) on x-axis and project it to liquid line, then move left until vapor curve is touched. Now drop horizontally to liquid curve and repeat the process until the mole fraction of toulene is 0.01. So, number of theoretical plates will be 5.

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