PROCESS VALIDATION AND SCALE UP OF A

DISTILLATION COLUMN

RIETHANELIA USUN RICHARD

EK18160037

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
2020

1
PROCESS VALIDATION AND SCALE UP OF A
DISTILLATION COLUMN

RIETHANELIA USUN RICHARD

EK18160037

THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT FOR

THE DIPLOMA IN PROCESS ENGINEERING
(OIL & GAS OPERATIONS)

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH
2020

2
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the material in this thesis is my own except for quotations,
equations, summaries and references, which have been duly acknowledged.

No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support
of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or
other institute of learning.

December 2020 _____________________

RIETHANELIA USUN RICHARD
EK18160037

3
 CERTIFICATION

CERTIFICATION
NAME : RIETHANELIA USUN RICHARD

MATRIC NO. : EK18160037

TITLE :   PROCESS VALIDATION AND SCALE UP OF A DISTILLATION

COLUMN

DEGREE : DIPLOMA IN PROCESS ENGINEERING

(OIL & GAS OPERATIONS)

VIVA DATE :

CERTIFIED BY:

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE Signature

Supervisor
Ms. Zykamillia Kamin
______________________

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, thanks and praises to God the Almighty, for His shower the
blessing throughout this project and complete it successfully.

I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my research

supervisor and co-supervisor, Ms. Zykamillia Bt Kamin and Prof.Dr Awang Bono for
Diploma in Process of Engineer (Oil and Gas Operation) Final Year Project, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, for giving me the opportunity for this project
and providing invaluable guidance throughout this study. The vision, motivation,
knowledge and sincerity has inspired me. They has taught me the methodology to
carry out this project and to present this works as clearly as possible. I gain more
information regarding the field of work that I will go through in the future with this
study. It was a honor to work and study with their guidance. I heartfelt thanks to the
time, efforts and patience during the discussion I had on the project preparation.

I am highly grateful to my parents for their love, prayers, caring and sacrifices
for preparing me an education for my future. I am thankful to my friends and
coursemate for the support and help to complete this project successfully.

RIETHANELIA USUN RICHARD

XX December 2020

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 ABSTRACT
In the oil and gas industry, the column distillation process is extremely significant.
The Petroleum and Kerosene of the validation and scales of distillation column are
listed as substances in this article. For convenience, the sorting of the columns
follows its boiling point to separate the petrochemical into each fraction. The column
is also designed to distinguish the multi-piece compositions of gasoline and kerosene.
Then some other related column parameters are also calculated (for example, reflux
ratio, mass flow rate, temperatures, friction, distillation rate and rackets). All
outcomes in a commercial simulation kit are derived from a procedure (ASPEN
HYSYS). We note that the simulation process can be extended on the size of the
industry simply by replacing the simulation assumptions. Any simulation and
modelling tools demonstrate the success of this project. Finally, we also explore
future applications for teaching and industry by using commercial simulation package
as an example.

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 ABSTRAK
ABSTRAK
(PROSES PENGESAHAN DAN KENAIKKAN SKALA KOLUM PENYULINGAN)

Dalam industri minyak dan gas, proses kolum penyulingan adalah sangat penting.
Petrol dan Kerosene untuk pengesahan dan kenaikkan skala bagi proses kolum
penyulingan disenaraikan sebagai bahan dalam projek ini. Oleh yang demikian,
penyulingan berperingkat adalah mengikuti titik didihnya untuk memisahkan
petrokimia ke dalam setiap pecahan bahan. Kolum ini juga dirancang untuk
membezakan komposisi berbahan petrol dan kerosene. Kemudian beberapa
parameter kolum lain yang berkaitan juga dikira (contohnya, nisbah refluks, kadar
aliran jisim, suhu, tekanan, kadar penyulingan dan kuantiti dulang). Semua hasil
dalam pakej simulasi komersial iaitu ASPEN HYSYS. Kami perhatikan bahawa proses
simulasi dapat diperluas pada ukuran industri hanya dengan menggantikan asumsi
simulasi. Sebarang alat simulasi dan pemodelan menunjukkan kejayaan projek ini.
Akhirnya, kami juga meneroka aplikasi masa depan untuk pengajaran dan industri
dengan menggunakan pakej simulasi komersial sebagai projek.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
DECLARATION i

CERTIFICATION ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

ABSTRACT iV

ABSTRAK V

TABLE OF CONTENTS Vi

LIST OF TABLES Vii

LIST OF FIGURES X

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS X

LIST OF NOMENCLATURES Xi

GLOSSARY Xii

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 17
1.1 Research Background 17

1.2 Research Motivation 19

1.3.1 Problem Statement 19

1.3.2 Research Challenges 20

1.3 Research Aim 21

1.4.1 Objectives 21

1.4.2 Scope of Work 21

1.4 Thesis Structure 22

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWS 23

2.1 Background of Distillation Process 23

2.2 Types of Distillation Process 25

2.2.1 Binary Batch Distillation 25

2.2.2 Multicomponent Batch Distillation 26

2.2.3 Binary Continuous Distillation 26

2.3 Application of Distillation Process 27

2.3.1 Non-Petrol Component 27

2.3.2 Petrol Component 28

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Equipment in the simulation of Distillation Process

3.1.1 Feed Tank

3.1.2 Pump

3.1.3 Heater

3.1.4 Distillation Column

3.1.5 Reboiler

3.1.6 Condenser

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3.2 Flow Chart

3.3 Methods in Simulations

3.3.1 Peng-Robinson Equations

3.3.2 Size of Distillation Column

3.3.3 Reflux Ratio

3.3.4 Flow Rate

3.4 Summary on Simulation of the Process

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS DISCUSSION

4.1 Project Overview

4.2 Simulation Analysis

4.2.1 Feed Compositions

4.2.2 Final Product Compositions

4.3 Review of the Result

4.4 Performance Analysis and Discussion

4.5 Differences between Lab process and Simulation process

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1 Conclusion

5.1.1 Purpose of the Project

5.1.2 Project Findings

5.1.3 Project Contribution

5.2 Future Recommendation

REFERENCES
APPENDICS

10
LIST OF TABLES
Page

11
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Page

12
LIST OF NOMENCLATURES
Page

13
LIST OF APPENDICES

14
GLOSSARY

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

Distillation Column is an equipment that involves separation process of fluids into its fraction in the
downstream sector of Oil and Gas industry. The crude oil are separated into each fraction for
marketable product. A method called fractional distillation was introduced in some applications, including

petroleum refining, since the simple distillation of liquids with a boiling point close together is not
efficient. The crude oil refinery is separating the products into Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), gasoline,

diesel, kerosene, heavy oil and other goods from a typical barrel. Crude oil distillation process will
be discussed further in this section to understand the operation of oil refineries.

The first oil well in Malaysia was discovered in Shell boiling in 1910 in Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Then about 1914 Shell in Miri, in Sarawak, established the first oil refinery and submarine pipeline in
Malaysia. Innovative characteristics of the submarine pipeline system are at the moment to carry crude
oil offshore. The first gas pump on Foch Road, Kuala Lumpur, was built in 1921. Malaysia's oil and gas
corporation begins searching Malaysia for more oil and gas. The corporation discovered oil for the first
time in Sabah offshore in 1971. The Malaysian, Sarawak and Sabah basins are the three generating
basins. Due to a strong demand for fuels and gas for everyday uses, oil and gas industry is being
introduced in Malaysia over the years. In Southeast Asia, Malaysia is a fast-paced developing nation
aimed at achieving high-income countries by 2020. Its economic development relies heavily on its

plentiful natural resources in particular gas and crude oil. Table 1.1 bellow shown the distillation
column list in Malaysia:

Refinery Ownership Capacity (BBL/D)

Melaka I refinery PETRONAS 93000
Melaka II refinery PETRONAS, ConocoPhilips 126000
Kertih refinery PETRONAS 40000
Port Dickson refinery Royal Dutch Shell 125000
Petron Port Dickson refinery Petron 86000

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 Kemaman Bitumen refinery TIPCO 24000
Table 1.1 List of crude oil distillation column in Malaysia [ CITATION Chi15 \l 1033 ].

In this paper, we will study the separability of petrol and kerosene with the use of commercial
simulation package (ASPEN HYSYS) for the distillation phase. The composition of Petrol varies from C5-
C10 and the ranges of Kerosene is C8-C12 as for Naphtha is C10-C16. Light oils and heavy oils are also
known for Petrol and Kerosene. Light gas oil has a low density and provides fuel for car engine use as it
is distilled from Naphtha. Higher densities exist for heavy gas oil and it creates Kerosene for use in jet
engines and the solvent for greases. The fractional method for distillation involves the mixture of raw oil
components that heats the different boiling points at a high temperature. Heating with high pressure
steam is typically carried out at temperatures of around 600 ℃. The gas-forming components go into
the vapor process. A heavy oil hits the bottom of the trays. To permit steam to flow through the trays,
the distillation column includes multiple plates or bubble caps. They improve the time of interaction
between the vapor and fluids in the column and help to re-boil the liquids. The temperature inside the
column is different. As a material in the vapor reaches the height of its approaching column
temperature, the column can condense into a liquid. Trays are collecting the various liquid fractions. The
gathered liquid fractions can be transferred into condensers that cool further, and then into storage
tanks or other processing areas. Table 1.1.2 shown the list of typical distillation column fractions and
components after the process:

Fractions Component B.P Range (⸰F)

Gases C1-C4
Light Naphtha C5-C6 90-190
Heavy Naphtha C6-C12 190-330
Kerosene C10-C16 330-480
Diesel oils C14-C20 480-610
Lubricants C20-C50 480-610
Fuel oil C20-C70 610-700
Residue ¿C70
Table 1.1.2: Typical distillation tower fractions and components after the process
(energy.fanchi.com,2015).

In the case of the distillation column scale, the procedure for validation and the scale-up of the
distillation column will be operated by using commercial simulation package (ASPEN HYSYS). In a small
preliminary analysis, a simulation is to test the process of a distillation column to separate Petrol and
Kerosene efficiently with the modern technology. During the old days, we are using the lab scale to
study the process of crude oil distillation column. By using the modern technology, validation and scale-
up process is easier with the help of simulation that can design a refinery plant process. The design
simulation is including some of the parameters that important to study the efficiency of the products to
separate. The process characteristic of pressure drop, liquid and separation efficiency were nevertheless
calculated [ CITATION Ach041 \l 1033 ].

The main factor in the investigation of this issue is to introduce the oil and gas business in the
future, by increasing the output of the crude oil commodity and efficiencies to separate the product
from each fraction. Very few components come from the column that is ready for the market. In order
to obtain additional fractions, certain materials must be chemically removed. For example, petrol is just

17
40% of crude oil refined, gasoline is one of petroleum firms' key products. The oil firms chemically
process many other fractions of the distillation column to produce petrol instead of continuously distilling
vast volumes of crude oil. It will help in fact to solve the problem of a very limited number of products
which efficiently separate the crude in Malaysia oil and gas industry and decrease the cost of production
by designing the refinery plant with simulation package before scale up to industry scale.

1.2 Research Motivation

1.2.1 Problem Statement

Crude oil is an unprocessed fuel from the reservoir. There are many different components that
can be found in the Crude Oil with different boiling points. Hydrocarbons are hydrogen and
carbon-containing molecules that come from straight chains to chains and rings in different
lengths and structures. The processing or refining of crude oil is done in order to produce usable
products like petrol. There are thousands of different molecules of crude oil. The isolation of each
molecule and the production of finished products of each molecule would be almost impossible.
This problem can be addressed by chemists and engineers by isolating the molecular blends
according to the mixture boiling point area.

A fractional distillation column begins the process of oil refining. Crude oil components
vary in size, density, and boiling temperatures, hence separating these components is the first
step. As they have varying boiling temperatures, a method called fractional distillation will quickly
isolate them. The crude oil is refined chemically to convert one fraction into another after
fractional distillate. Finish by treating distilling and refined chemical fractions for the elimination of
impurities.

Crude oil is the hydrocarbon combination with complexity. Crude oil has been identified
from hundreds of various hydrocarbons. The production of oil and gas can be classified as
conventional and unconventional. Figure 1.2 shown the convention and unconventional resource:

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 Figure 1.2: Resource triangle. (Source: Adapted from Synder and Seale (2011) and Holditch,
2007.)
Innovation viewpoint on these innovations and impetus for their wider use for the propagation
of these instruments, although relatively confined to laboratories. Awareness of many operating
parameters is required to scale the distillation column from the lab to the industrial scale. If the
procedure is to be applied, there should be ample knowledge available to make the design of new
equipment feasible in a manner which ensures that the specifications of the products are met. From this
point, the importance of this literary analysis article is critical to stress, which collects methodologically
scientific histories and basic principles about the drop of liquid distillation into columns which have been
developed over the years to promote potential prospects of innovation and to stimulate the spread of
this technology.

The HYSYS is a flexible engineering modelling framework developed particularly for program
architecture, interface creation, engineering capability and interactive activity. It is designed to provide a
solution for distillate column validation by means of commercial simulation that is ASPEN HYSYS. The
built-in state and dynamic modelling capabilities that represent the big developments that the software
engineering industry will examine from any point of view with a full sharing of process information. In
refineries we are now faced with this dilemma, which can be validated and calculated so that
hydrocarbons can be segregated and improved operating quality, maximized production and processed
at lower cost.

1.2.2 Research Challenges

There are so many obstacles facing us to carry out research on this initiative. First, we are now
struggling with the Coronavirus pandemic, which adds to the need for everyone to isolate themselves at
home as to deter the transmission of the virus. Thus, we need to gain information by using online
sources. For instance, Google, Google Scholar, Petrolwiki, and online library. Some of these sources are
limited because we need to pay for the subscription of the website for more information regarding the
project we need to find. Second, we could not do the pilot scale distillation column in the laboratory
regarding to the self-isolation.

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 I excel in overcoming hurdles, however, by using the commercial simulation for validation and
calculation for the petroleum and kerosene distillation column. Modelling and simulation is a discipline
for stage development that recognizes the function of the elements of the system. It is a lot of art to
model and to simulate. By reading a bicycle, you will understand. You must train a bike actively if you
ever plan to learn to drive a bike. Tone of the same definition is accompanied by modelling and
simulation. You will learn a great deal by reading the books and talking to the modelers about design
and simulation. Power and talent in model simulation production and implementation was developed
solely through model construction and simulation. I designed the distillation column with AUTOCAD
software for modelling. This helps to provide a clearer view of the industry's distillation column.

1.3 Research Aim

1.3.1 Objectives

Based on the project title, Process Validation and Scale Up Distillation Column contains some
of the objectives to be accomplished during the analysis, which are as follows:

1. To separate mixtures of liquid hydrocarbon using pilot scale or commercial simulation

distillation column.

2. To analyse separability of liquid hydrocarbon by distillation process using commercial

simulation package simulator.

3. To scale up distillation process for separation of liquid hydrocarbon.

Thus, these goals would include some pictures of the project and provide more information on
the fuel chemical distillation column, which details the method of separation of petrol and kerosene.

1.3.2 Scope of Work

This research concentrates on doing a simulation and modelling for the Process Validation and
Scale Up Distillation Column,

In this case, I used a Commercial Simulation Package which is ASPEN HYSYS V11 to
process the Petrol and Kerosene distillation column. The equations used in this simulation are Peng-
Robinson which suitable for Petrol-chemical products. For the modelling in designing the Distillation
Column, I used AUTOCAD 2020 software. In the process of validation and scale up distillation column
via commercial simulation package, the product that includes in this project are Petrol ranges from C5-
C10 and Kerosene ranges from C10-C16.

Petrol and Kerosene in the process via commercial simulation package parameters are included
mass flowrate, temperature, pressure, reflux ration, and distillate rate.

1. Mass Flowrate (kg/h) = 5000 kg/h

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 2. Temperature (℃) = 170 ℃
3. Pressure (atm) = 1 atm
4. Reflux Ratio = 3
5. Distillate Rate (kg/h) = 900 kg/h (1st Distillation Column)
1200 kg/h (2nd Distillation Column)
6. Table 1.3 shown the fractions and composition % in the simulation.

Fractions Compositions %
C5 0.0500
C6 0.0500
C7 0.0500
C8 0.0500
C9 0.0500
C10 0.2000
C12 0.0500
C13 0.0500
C14 0.0500
C15 0.1000
C16 0.3000
Table1.3 : List of fractions and its compositions %.

1.4 Thesis Structure

This thesis presents the research of Process Validation and Scale Up of a Distillation Column. The overall
thesis is structured as follow:

Chapter 1 presents introduction of the distillation process by using Petrol and Kerosene as a
product.

Chapter 2 reviews on the literature of distillation column for the industry.

Chapter 3 is the research methodology for this thesis. This chapter describes the timeline of
the project and flow charts.

Chapter 4 provides the results and discussion regarding the distillation process.

Chapter 5 reports the conclusion and findings of the project and its recommendation.

CHAPTER 2

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Background of Distillation Process

Distillation Process is a process that includes a raw substance to be separated into its boiling points
that produced variety of different products. This process is widely used in the Oil and Gas industry
whereas the Crude Oil need to be separated in order to have Gasoline, Kerosene, Diesel and other
petroleum product for marketable place.

Using three main methods, refining transforms crude oil into finished products: extraction,
conversion and purification. The first phase, one or two towers for distillation, is refining with
separation. Based on the mixture boiling points, a distilling tower, also referred to as a crude
atmosphere splitter, separates crude oil into product blends. Vaporizing and heating the crude oil by
using a heat source which is heater. The remaining liquid phase is at the bottom of the tower which is a
mixture of fractions that is higher boiling point, whereas for the lower boiling point fractions is rising to
the top of the tower as a vapor phase. Each fraction is a mixture of hydrocarbons which can be used for
the production of different goods. For examples, naphtha is used to generate car petrol and kerosene is
used to generate jet fuel. This approach is based on the principle that various liquids boil at various
temperatures. At a temperature higher than the fuel, the kerosene condenses is evaporated and then
the mixture of kerosene and petrol is cooled off. When the mixture cools, the kerosene first condenses,
and the naphtha condenses afterward. Petrol is boiled at between 40 C and 205 °C. The kerosene

boiling temperature is between 175 °C and 325 °C. The distillation of kerosene occurs in the
atmosphere. The final boiling point (FBP) does not exceed 300 °C and must be distilled by at least 20
per cent at or above 200 C. As an explosion occurs, particularly in petrol due to the presence of a very
light boiling fraction, too light kerosene is unstable to be used in a household kerosene stove. The
presence of kerosene boiling fractions that are so high makes it a poorly combustible fuel. Typically, as
the number of carbon molecules grows, the hydrocarbon boiling point is increasing. The temperature

fractions is created when the lower part temperature is decrease to the top part of the distillation
tower. Appropriate ranges for the collection of hydrocarbons condensed within a given segment's
temperature spectrum. The product stream for that portion shall constitute the liquid mixture obtained
in each section.

The separation process splits crude oil into commodity fluxes that have to be refined into
consumer-friendly mixtures. The process is called the process for converting hydrocarbon-hydrocarbon-
high value mixtures into hydrocarbon-high-value, low-molecular products. To create low molecular
hydrocarbon molecules, hydrocarbon chains with higher molecular weight molecules are breached.
conversion is completed. Another function of the conversion method is to adjust the stages of mixing
carbon chains. Catalytic redesign is the final step in the conversion process. The reformer manufactures

22
hydrogen and improves the amount of oil used. A high octane fuel may be more compressed until
ignition than a low octane fuel. In high-performance engines, high octane numbers of fuel were used.

The last step after separation and transformation in the development process is purification.
The primary aim of the purification process known as hydrotreating, is sulphur reduction. Unfinished
materials are injected into a hydrotreater with a catalyst and hydrogen in a high-temperature pressure
chamber. The catalyst raises the chemical response rate for a reaction that eliminates sulphur from the
molecules in the source. The principal reaction product is hydrogen sulphide derived by separation from
other units. Sulphide hydrogen is divided into simple sulphide and hydrogen by a process of
desulphurization. The extracted sulphur can be marketed as a by-product of refining and the hydrogen
can be used as a water treatment machine or hydrocracker.

Distillation methods are one of the most effective mixture separation technologies.
Distillation may be done as a binary or multi-component component. Batch distillation is
commonly used in fine chemical, pharmaceutical, biochemical and food industries particularly in the
production of high-value added fine materials. This is due to the low output costs, the frequent shift in
consumer demands and the flexibility to clean up multiple mixtures under many operating conditions. In
one operation, a single batch column may be used to separate one multicomponent into a different
product; on the other hand it may require either a column rail or a multipass operation if the separation

is carried out continuously. The distillation process is more versatile than continuous and
economically favorable for the reduction of machinery. The batch operation is neatly represented by
splitting it into two periods: initialization time and output cycle. The processing process is the stage in
which the component is withdrawn from the panel. During the start-up process, the column is adjusted
to a working state which provides the distillate with the desired purity.

In the past, three methods of managing a batch distillation column : constant reflux ratio,
configuration and ideal constant operation in distillation. The batch method normally first hits the
constant status and removes the distillate. The distillation takes place in the start-up stage in an
absolute reflux state to obtain the constant status. In this case the condenser-flux drum mechanism
condenses the overhead vapor and accumulates it. The dissolved material returns to the column fully as
a reflux, ensuring that no solvent is lost. In addition to the above three choices, another mode of

operation may be called full reflux batch distillation. The four modes thus include absolute reflux,
continuous reflux, constant composition of the distillates and optimized operation. Please notice that the
entire operating reflux mode volume is performed at start-up, and three other modes are used during

development. Batch distillation is a continuously reflux process in an unstable state. In this case, the
reflux ratio is kept unchanged during the distillation process and so the composition of the distillate
continuously varies. This is an open loop technology and is recognized at the end of the load. If in
practice a material exceeds the specification is obtained.

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 Batch distillation is a common physical separation method for binary and multi-component
mixtures. The same batch column is able to be used to disassemble numerous different components and
many commodity fractions at much lower capital costs than would be required for the analogous
continuous column train. The streams from a batch column may be the products they select that may be
sold directly on the market. An effective controller can otherwise maintain the necessary product
cleanliness. You can render multiple objects by using a single column. The lightest element is then taken
by the control unit at the required continuous purity until the reflux ratio in the industrial process, as is
normal, reaches the specified maximum value. At this point the reflux rate has been reduced, so that
the middle section approaches the top of the poles. Once this part is pure, it is returned to the constant
composition power. With the amount of reflux lowered, the pathway is then eliminated.

2.2 Types of Distillation Process

2.2.1 Binary Batch Distillation
From manufacturing point of view, distillation is the most common method of separation. First of all,
petrol, kerosene, fuel, diesel, cooking oil, chemicals of different grades whereas for plastics processing
and other polymers are the basic materials in the refining process. This technique is conducted by

distillation columns which are designed to accomplish this separation efficiently. However, huge
energy volumes are used, which also amount to over 50% of the operational costs of the plant. This

shows that the proper configuration of the distillation columns is a very critical concern for the
industry. Figure 2.2.1 shown the binary batch distillation schematic representation of example:

Figure 2.2.1: Schematic representation of the example of batch distillation column [ CITATION
Jan11 \l 1033 ].

2.2.2 Multicomponent Batch Distillation

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At the end of the start-up process, the constant state of complete reflux condition is obtained with a

multicomponent batch distillation. The development stage will commence when the distillation
is removed after it hits a steady state. The column tray, reflux drum and the still-pot all have the same
composition of fresh feed. The lightest concentration of the component rises in the top column bowl
when in the column operation, while the moderate and heaviest concentration of the component in the

upper column decreases, although the slow-mounting concentration increases. The distillation of a
distillate material is initiated until it reaches its particular level of purity through concentration of the
lightest component of the distillate. The whole lot time spans the period that starts at the beginning of
distillate retirement and finishes at a fixed value for the instant composition of the distillate. For
temperature sensitive substances, the necessary lot time plays an important role in preventing thermal
degradation. Figure 2.2.2 shown the multicomponent batch distillation schematic representation of

example:

Figure 2.2.2: Multicomponent batch distillation schematic representation example[ CITATION Jan11 \l
1033 ].

2.2.3 Binary Continuous Distillation

This research consists of an ongoing column with a single flux and two fluids (distillate and bottoms). It
is used as an ethanol and water separation. The fractional column comprises 20 inefficient trays, a boiler
and a max condenser. Above the reboiler is the bottom tray (Tray 1), then following by Tray 2. The
trays are counted from the base of the column. Tray 10 includes the saturated liquid feed. The overhead
vapor condensation is complete and the condensed solvent in the reflux drum accumulates. There is no
vapor distillate here. The reflux drum extracts part of the non-subcooled condensed liquid as the
distillate substance and part of it is added to the column as a reflux steam to ensure that the tray fluids
circulate. The bases are extracted as a liquid substance at the base of the shaft. A heated steam reboiler
produces boiling vapor and the induced vapor flows back to the base platform. Figure 2.2.3 shown the
continuous distillation column schematic representation:

25
 Figure 2.2.3: Alcohol distillation column schematic representation example[ CITATION Jan11 \l
1033 ].

2.3 Applications of Distillation Process

2.3.1 Non-Petrol Component

Products that not made from crude oil following the distillation process are defined as non-petrol
products. Table 2.3.1 shown the list of non-petrol product that using distillation process to separate the
component:

Non-Petrol Product Types of Distillation Process

Palm Oil Steam-Vacuum Distillation Process

Alcohol Binary Continuous Distillation Process

Herbal Steam Distillation

Table 2.3.1: List of Non-Petrol Component.

Palm Oil is currently becoming a growing global vegetable oil and one of the largest
vegetable oil traded worldwide. Indonesia and Malaysia are the major producers and exporters of

crude palm oil. The procedure of Palm Oil refining operations are including Bleaching,
Deodorisation and Fractionation. In case of Bleaching process, the objective is to eliminates the different
contaminations that adversely affect the physical appearance of the oil and its consistency. The volatile
elements, primarily aldehydes, and ketones that scent refined oil are excluded from the deodorisation.
Free fatty acid distillates in palm fatty acid as processing waste after deodorization. The oil is first cooled

with cold fractionated oil after deodorization, to optimize heat recovery of the Palm Oil fractionation
system. This oil is cooled in the crystallisers to a breakdown temperature. The phase cooling is followed

26
by the crystallizer for full crystal maturation that improves the Palm Oil Spraying Plant production (Ltd.,
n.d.).

In the Alcohol distillation process, the alcohol is physically separate from water to reach
the highest ABV alcohol by evaporation and condensation process of distillation. The water boiling
point is higher than alcohol, this results the alcohol evaporated by itself, the tube is collecting the
vapor and condense itself back to liquid by using cold temperatures. There were only common method

in history to distillate the alcohol, column distilling or Alembic. The "alembic" is the large vessel
with a kettle structure and the primary fermented liquid is heated up. Ethanol flows through a cooling
tube before water and returns to another condense pipe. During distillation, compounds called

congeners also evaporate and can affect the flavour. The wash is repeatedly pumped into the column as
the column is distilled, and steam gradually rises. The steam is scheduled to be at the optimum
temperature for alcohol extraction from the wash and to leave the unnecessary compounds behind.

Column distillation results in more neutral, higher ABV spirits than pot distillation. Cutting is the
mechanism by which the distiller removes these components, usually by precise temperature and timing
regulation (STAFF, n.d.).

Herbal distillates, also referred to as aqueous materials, hydrosols, floral liquids, herbal
waters, and vital waters. Steam distillation or hydrodistillation produces colloidal suspensions of
essential oils and water-soluble materials. Substances that vaporize at or below the distillation
temperature would be found in the distillate. While the exact chemical components of these orange
herbal distillates have not been precisely established yet as organic acids and other water-soluble plant
components, plant distillates usually contain volatile oil compounds. Compounds with a higher point of
vaporization will stay behind and will contain some pigments and flavonoids of water-soluble plants.

2.3.2 Petrol Component

Figure 2.3.1 : Basic Refined products [ CITATION Omh20 \l 1033 ].

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Figure 2.3.1 above shown the basic refined products. The liquids and vapor are separated into

petroleum components known as fractions within the distillation units, which refer to their boiling
points. The bottom of the cliff is hard fractions, and the higher fractions are moderate. The lightest

parts vaporize and go up to the largest distillation tower like gasoline and natural gas (LPG). The
lighter parts are refined to liquid. The middle of the distillation tower is filled by medium-weight
liquids like kerosene and distillates. In the distillation tower, heavy liquids, or gas oils, split up, while
the heaviest fractions of the tower are at their top with their highest boiling points. Light, higher quality

products, including fuel, are also distillated after distillation into lighter, lower value fractions. In this
case, sections of the distilling units become streams which eventually turn into finished products
(intermediate components).

Cracking is the type of transformation commonly used since hydrocarbon hard molecules are
disturbed by heat, friction, catalysts and rarely by hydrogen in light. During the whole process, the final
touches happen. Refinery technicians carefully mix the quantity of streams from the refineries to
produce fuel. The fuel mixture is determined by the amount of octane, steam pressure and other special
variables. Inbound fuel and thus outbound products are temporarily placed in large containers near the
refinery. The best products are transported from storage tanks to other parts of the place by pipelines,
virtual pipeline system and trailer.

In the study, process of distillate the crude oil will be operated in a simulation using ASPEN
HYSYS to separate Petrol and Kerosene as the final products. The design of distillation tower will further
model by using AUTOCAD. We will understand how the process of distillation work in industry and the
efficiency of Petrol and Kerosene to separate before operated it to industry scale. This will further
discuss in the next chapter with some methods of simulation.

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 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Equipment in the simulation of Distillation Process

3.1.1 Feed Tank

The feed tank is to store the feed of distillation process which is a liquid, vapor or a liquid vapor.
At any point in the column, it will join, but it is important to decide and use the optimum feed tray
position. The device can supply more than one source and draw more than one product.

3.1.2 Pump

The common pumps in oil and gas industry are the Centrifugal Pumps. By translating rotational
kinetic energy to the hydrodynamic energy of the fluid flow, centrifugal pumps are used to transport
fluids. Usually, the rotational energy comes from a generator or electric motor. They are a sub-class of

complex axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery. In a flowing fluid, a centrifugal pump

transforms rotational energy, often from a motor, into energy. A part of the energy goes into the fluid's
kinetic energy. Fluid reaches through the eye of the casing axially, is stuck in the impeller blades, and is
rotated outward tangentially and radially until it exits through the diffuser portion of the casing through
all circumferential areas of the impeller. In going through the impeller, the fluid gains both velocity and
pressure. The casing portion of the doughnut-shaped diffuser, or scroll, decelerates the flow and raises

the friction further. The figure 3.1 and figure 3.2.1 shown the pump in distillation process:

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 Figure 3.1 : Centrifugal Pump [ CITATION ltd20 \l Figure 3.1.2 : Pump in the simulation.
1033 ].

3.1.3 Heater

In the simulation process, heater increase the feed fluid temperature before it entered the distillation
column. Thus, the fluids will efficiently separate in the distillation column follows by their boiling
point. Figure 3.1.3 shown the heater in simulation of distillation process:

Figure 3.1.3 : Heater in the simulation.

3.1.4 Distillation Column

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 Several modules are made up of distillation columns, each of which is used either to transfer heat
energy or to increase the transfer of material. A standard distillation column consists of several main
components that are a vertical shell where component separation is carried out, internal columns such
as trays or plates or packings used to enhance component separation, a reboiler to provide the requisite
vaporization for the distillation phase, a condenser to cool and condense the vapor leaving the top of
the column and a condenser to cool and condense the vapor leaving the top of the column. Figure 3.1.4

and 3.1.5 shown the distillation column:

Figure 3.1.4: Distillation Column individual parts [ CITATION Figure 3.1.5: Distillation Column in
Jam07 \l 1033 ]. the simulation.

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3.1.5 Reboiler

Reboilers are heat exchangers that are typically used to heat the bottom of industrial distillation
columns. To create the vapors that are returned to the column to induce the distillation separation,
the liquid is boiled from the bottom of the distillation column. The heat supplied to the column by
the reboiler at the bottom of the column is removed by the condenser at the top of the column. Many
reboilers are of the form of shell and tube heat exchanger and as a rule, steam is used as a heat source
in such reboilers. Figure 3.1.6 shown the reboiler in refinery plant example:

Figure 3.1.6: Reboiler example [ CITATION RCC16 \l 1033 ].

3.1.6 Condenser
A condenser is a device or machine for condensing a gas material into the liquid state by cooling in
systems requiring heat transfer. In that way, the latent heat is emitted into the atmosphere by the
material. In many industrial systems, condensers are used for effective heat refuse. A condenser is used
to transfer heat to a secondary fluid or ambient air from a working fluid. In the refinery, the condenser
is used to condense the vapor product to liquid. The condenser is usually reached by steam above the
secondary fluid at a temperature. As the vapor cools, it exceeds the temperature of equilibrium,
condenses into fluids and releases vast volumes of latent heat. The volume of vapor reduces as the
process takes place alongside the condenser and fluid rises.

3.2 Flow Chart

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3.3 Methods in Simulations

3.3.1 Peng-Robinson Equations

In the commercial simulation package, Peng-Robinson Equations is a desired thermodynamic package.
Peng-Robinson Equations is the most enhanced model in ASPEN HYSYS. In terms of Temperature and
Pressure, it has the largest applicability range. There is also special treatments for some key
components and the parameter database is largest binary interaction.

3.3.2 Size of Distillation Column

The diameter is 1.5m and the height is 5.5m. In this process, there are 10 trays inside the distillation
column. The distillation column is to separate the mixture of Petrol ranges C5-C10 and Kerosene
ranges C12-C16. In the simulation, two distillation towers are provided to separate the mixture
efficiently.

3.3.3 Reflux Ratio

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Reflux is the substance concentrated to a pot flask by the rising vapor. The reflux ratio is the ratio of the
boil-up rate to the start-up rate. This is the ratio between the quantity of reflux returned from the

distillation column and the quantity of reflux stored in the receiver. The higher the reflection ratio,
the more vapor or liquid in the distillation column will come into contact. Higher reflux ratios thus
typically indicate higher distillate purity. This also indicates that the distillate collection pace is slower. In
the simulation, the reflux ration is 3:1. Thus, 3 parts of the reflux is go to the bottom of the tower and
the collected distillate is 1 part.

3.3.4 Mass Flow Rate

The amount of the feed fluid flows in a given time is 5000 kg/h in the simulation. Increase in flow rate
will result the efficiency of the product to separate.

3.4 Summary on Simulation of the Process

Figure 3.2: Simulation of Petrol and Kerosene distillation process using ASPEN HYSYS.

Above figure 3.2 shown the process in simulation, this process is to separate Petrol and Kerosene to
each fraction. In this project, the feed pressure is 1 atm, temperature is 170 ℃ and the mass flowrate is
5000 kg/h. From the feed, the fluid flow into the pump to increase the pressure of the fluid. When it

reach the heater, it will heat up the fluid before the feed fluid enter the distillation column to give it

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a desired temperature for the separation process. Hot product will enter the distillation column, the
process of separating the Petrol and Kerosene into each fraction by their boiling point where it happen

in the tower. Therefore, the product will be collected at the top and bottom of the distillation units.
Table 3.1 bellow shown the compositions of each fractions:

Fractions Feed Petrol Kerosene

Composition Composition Composition
C5 0.0500 0.1729 0.0000
C6 0.0500 0.1729 0.0000
C7 0.0500 0.1729 0.0000
C8 0.0500 0.1728 0.0000
C9 0.0500 0.1657 0.0000
C10 0.2000 0.1428 0.0000
C12 0.0500 0.0000 0.0000
C13 0.0500 0.0000 0.0008
C14 0.0500 0.0000 0.0165
C15 0.1000 0.0000 0.2196
C16 0.3000 0.0000 0.6667
Table 3.1: The compositions of each fractions.

As we can see from above table, Petrol that ranges from C5-C10 is produce in the first

distillation column at the top product which is lighter boiling point. The Kerosene ranges from C12-
C16 is collected at the bottom of the tower at second distillation column. There are two distillation
columns in the simulation because the first distillation column does not manage to separate the
petrol and kerosene product efficiently. Thus, the top product of second distillation column also not
produce the efficient amount of the kerosene. This result can we see at figure 3.3 shown the
composition of the distillation process in ASPEN HYSYS:

Figure 3.3: The composition of the distillation process in ASPEN HYSYS

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