Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
5-31-1978
Degree Name
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering - (M.S.)
Department
Chemical Engineering and Chemistry
First Advisor
John E. McCormick
Second Advisor
Mahmoud F. Abd-El-Bary
Third Advisor
Edward Charles Roche, Jr.
Abstract
The desorption of a acetic acid and water solution with an inert gas was experimentally investigated using a perforated plate distillation column having 17 actual trays. An inert air stream flowing countercurrent was used to strip the water from the acetic acid and water solution.
The feed composition was 0.2509 mole fraction acetic acid. The experimental results showed the best obtainable separation to be 0.16118 and 0.3965 mole fraction acetic acid in the overhead condensate and bottoms respectively, at an average column operating temperature of 56.0 degrees centigrade. The concentration of acetic acid predicted by calculation is 0.003917 and 0.9860 mole fraction in the overhead condensate and bottoms respectively, at an average column operating temperature of 108.9 degrees centigrade.
It was found that inadequate temperature inhibited the activity of the system, limiting the amount of heat available as Heat of Vapor-ization, and therefore caused much larger amount of water to remain in solution than calculations indicate. This insufficient heat produced results less promising than those obtained by mathematical simulation.
Recommended Citation
Danko, Michael John, "The countercurrent multistage desorption of the acetic acid/water solution with an inert vapor" (1978). Theses. 2099.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/theses/2099
