Triple Coloum Pressure Swing Distillation in

MEK, Isopropanol & Ethanol.

What is meant by Pressure swing Distillation?

The process used to separate the pressure sensitive mixture with a close boiling point or form azeotrope or
When relativity volatility of binary mixture (or both component A & component B) is equal to 1 at that time
Azeotropes get form & thus, we use Pressure swing Distillation.
Relativity volatility (α)= 1.0, no separation is possible: both component-A and component B are equally
volatile. They will vapuorise together when heated.

Azeotropes?
Azeotropes are liquid mixtures that, when boiled give no separation; it means the composition of
components in the gas phase is equal to the composition of components in the liquid phase.
Whenever a liquid is boiled it is often done at a constant pressure.
In the temperature-composition diagram, the point at which the bubble point curve and the dew point curve
intersect is called the point of the azeotrope.
When ordinary distillation columns are used to treat such systems then the separation won't take place even
if an infinite number of stages are used.
Principle of Pressure swing Distillation
 It is based on the principle of shifting the physio-chemical compositions by changing the operating
pressures which alter the relative volatility of the mixture thereby, breaking the azeotrope.

Classification of Pressure swing Distillation

Advantages of Pressure Swing Distillation
 No additional material is needed hence any challenges to deal with cost, availability, or usage of a
substance are also eliminated.
 High Energy Savings are observed in continuous operations because heat transfer can be optimized
by utilizing heat integration.
 Low initial investment cost as the size of columns required is relatively smaller.

Disadvantages of Pressure Swing Distillation

 To properly design the system, accurate equilibrium and azeotropic data are needed.
 The control structure and automation needed to design the system are quite complex.
 If the azeotropes are low boiling in nature, then there is a possibility that the product may not be
pure, it may be contaminated with high boiling components.

Triple Column Pressure-Swing Distillation for Ternary Mixture of Methyl Ethyl

Ketone /Isopropanol /Ethanol
Compound needed for this ternary mixture distillation:
 Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)
 Isopropanol (IPA)
 Ethanol (EtOH)

Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), isopropanol (IPA), and ethanol (EtOH) are important chemical materials and
are widely used as intermediates solvent in many chemical processes. The boiling points of the three pure
components are very close and the maximum temperature difference is 3.74 K. Under atmospheric and high
pressures, the MEK /IPA /EtOH mixture forms two binary pressure-sensitive azeotropes of MEK-IPA and
MEK-EtOH and its residue curve maps (RCMs) present one distillation boundary. Under 0.1 ATM, the
azeotrope of MEK-IPA disappeared and the MEK /IPA /EtOH mixture forms one azeotrope of MEK-EtOH.
According to the RCMs, two different separation sequences using triple column pressure-swing distillation
(TCPSD) were available for the separation of this ternary mixture. Vapor-liquid equilibrium data from the
literature were regressed to verify the reliability of the thermodynamic model used.

Thermodynamic Property Packages:

 Non-Random Two-Liquid (NRTL),
In this Property Package, the NRTL (Non-Random Two-Liquid) model is used to calculate liquid-
phase activity coefficients. Enthalpies are calculated by the Lee-Kesler model and other
thermodynamic properties (both phases) are calculated by the Peng-Robinson EOS.
DWSIM Simulation of Pressure Swing Distillation: