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Distillation Pilot Plant Design, Operating Parameters and Scale-up Considerations
(Special Shared Content with Norton Chemical)

Norton Distillation Pilot Plants

Norton Chemical Process Products Corporation (NCPPC) and its predecessor company has been operating a carbon steel distillation pilot plant for over 30 years at NCPPC’s Chamberlain Laboratories in Stow, Ohio. The internal diameter of the tower is 387 mm (15.25 in.) and it could accommodate beds up to 3050 mm (10 ft.) in depth. About seven years ago the height of this tower was raised so that it could accommodate a packed bed up to 6100 mm (20 ft.) in depth. This tower can operate at pressures in the range of 1.1 kPa (8 mm Hg. Abs.) to 170 kPa (10 psig). Most of the distillation data in the NCPPC data bank were collected using this carbon steel distillation column.

In 1992, NCPPC designed and built a new high-pressure distillation pilot plant. This tower and its ancillary equipment were fabricated from 316L stainless steel. This tower can be operated from high vacuum (0.133 kPa = 1 mm Hg. Abs.) to 2170 kPa (300 psig) at 177°C. It can be operated at pressures up to 2860 kPa (400 psig) at lower temperatures. This tower, like the carbon steel distillation tower has an internal diameter of 387 mm (15.25 in.). It can accommodate packed beds up to 7000 mm (23 ft.) in depth, resulting in a height-to-diameter ratio up to 18.

Both distillation pilot plants have similar flow schemes; they are located in a 12.2 m (40 ft.) tall high bay. The main difference is that the carbon steel distillation column sits atop a kettle reboiler, whereas the vapor produced in the stainless steel kettle reboiler enters the stainless steel distillation column through a 200 mm diameter side nozzle. A carbon steel skirt fastened to the floor supports the stainless steel column. *Figure 1 shows the flow scheme of the stainless steel distillation tower, and *Figure 2 is a scale drawing of the major pieces of equipment. Both columns can be operated at total reflux, or in the rectification mode at a LN ratio of less than 1. In addition, the high-pressure stainless steel tower has the capability to be modified as a center feed tower with beds up to 3050 mm (10 ft.) in the stripping as well as the rectification sections.

*Special Note: Due to resolution constraints, Figures 1 and 2 are only available in the Adobe Acrobat Version of this article.

Norton Distillation Pilot Plants Continued