Separation Science

and Engineering
Zenamarkos B. (PhD)

Process Engineering Program (MSc)

Faculty of Chemical and Food Engineering
Bahir Dar Institute of Technology (BiT)
Bahir Dar University
April, 2021
 Separation Technology
General Information:
Academic year: 2020/2021
Study Points: 3 Cr Hr
Language: English
Duration: 48 hrs
Taught in: 2nd semester

Aim: Levelling of students bases in the separation processes of

multicomponent and multiphase systems.

Course materials:
Text books, PPTs
Articles and literature
2
 Contents
I. Fundamentals of equilibrium stage process

➢ Vapor-liquid equilibrium of multi-component mixtures.

II.Approximate Methods for Multicomponent, Multistage

Separations: -

➢ Approximate and rigorous problem solving methods for

multi-component multi-stage separation processes using
computational approach
➢ Energy requirements of separation processes
➢ Selection of separation processes
 Contents
III. Enhanced Distillation

➢ Azeotropic

➢ Extractive distillation

➢ reactive distillation

IV. Equilibrium based and Rate governed Separation

Methods

➢ Design and performance evaluation of equilibrium and rate

governed separation process
V. Introduction to advanced separation processes
➢ Membrane
➢ Adsorption
➢ ion exchange
➢ chromatography
➢ electrophoresis
➢ crystallization
 References

6
 Introduction
❖Key operations in chemical or biochemical plants are:
o Chemical reactions
o Separation of chemical/biochemical mixtures

❖Separation processes:
➢ use physical, chemical, or electrical forces to isolate or concentrate
selected constituents of a mixture.
➢ essential to the chemical, petroleum refining, and materials processing
industries.
➢ present opportunities for reducing waste and using energy and raw
materials more efficiently.
Functions:
➢ removal of impurities from raw materials, products, and by-products
➢ separation of recycle streams
➢ removal of contaminants from air and water waste streams
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 Introduction
Clean air
Recycle
Separation
contaminant

Impurity Effluent air By-products

Raw
Separation Process Separation Products
materials
Recycle

Effluent water
Recycle
Separation contaminant

Clean water

8
 Introduction
❖ Biochemical processes differ significantly from chemical processes:
➢ Reactors for chemical processes normally operate at elevated
temperatures and pressures using metallic or chemical catalysts
➢ Reactors for biochemical processes typically operate in aqueous
solutions at or near the normal, healthy, non-pathologic (i.e.,
physiologic) state of an organism or bioproduct.
➢ Bioreactors make use of catalytic enzymes (products of in vivo
polypeptide synthesis), and require residence times of hours and
days.
➢ Bioproducts from fermentation reactors may be inside the
microorganism (intracellular), or in the fermentation broth
(extracellular).
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BASIC SEPARATION
TECHNIQUES

10
 Basic Separation Techniques

❖ The creation of a mixture of chemical species from the separate species

is a spontaneous process that requires no energy input.

➢ The inverse process, separation of a chemical mixture into pure

components, is not a spontaneous process and thus requires energy.

➢ A mixture to be separated may be single or multiphase.

If it is multiphase, it is usually advantageous to first separate
the phases.

11
 Basic Separation Techniques
❖ In separation processes:
➢ the feed and products may be vapor, liquid, or solid
➢ one or more separation operations may be taking place
➢ the products differ in composition and may differ in phase

❖ In each separation operation, the mixture components are induced to

move into different, separable spatial locations or phases by any one or
more of the five basic separation methods.

12
 Basic Separation Techniques
❖ The five basic separation methods are separations by:
1. Phase creation
2. Phase addition
3. Barrier
4. Solid agent
5. Force field or gradient

13
Separations by Phase
Addition or Creation

14
 Separations by Phase Addition or Creation

1. Partial condensation or vaporization 14. Crystallization

2. Flash vaporization 15. Desublimation
3. Distillation 16. Leaching
4. Extractive distillation 17. Foam fractionation
5. Reboiled absorption
6. Absorption
7. Stripping
8. Refluxed stripping (steam
distillation)
9. Reboiled stripping
10. Azeotropic distillation
11. Liquid-liquid extraction
12. Drying
13. Evaporation
15
Separations by
Barriers
- Membrane separations

16
Separations By
Solid Agents
- Adsorption
- Chromatography
- Ion exchange

17
Separations By External
Field or Gradient
External fields can take advantage of differing degrees
of response of molecules and ions to force fields.
- Centrifugation
- Thermal diffusion
- Electrolysis
- Electrodialysis
- Electrophoresis
- Field-flow fractionation 18
 Reading Assignments
❑ PHASE EQUILIBRIA:
- The nature of equilibrium
- The phase rule
- Phase equilibria in one component
- Binary mixture equilibria
- Ideal solutions
- Phase diagrams for one component and binary mixtures
- Chemical potential in ideal solutions
- Free energy change of mixing
- Non-ideal liquids
- Azeotropic mixture
- Colligative properties
❑ Approximate Methods for Multicomponent, Multistage Separations