Rabindra, thanks for all the extra information. It seems the more info you give, the more questions we ask. But this is an interesting situation and I would also like to understand what is really happening.
In the book Distillation Operation by Henry Kister there are several
reboiler steam control strategies shown on pages 515-516. In every situation where the condensate flow is controlled (as opposed to controlling the inlet steam) the condensate pot height is set such that the levels in the
reboiler and the condensate pot are very much the same. Contrary to what Pavanayi has written above, I believe that the pressure drop through the steam inlet piping (after the valve) will be negligible and the level in the pot will be very close to the level in the
reboiler.
So my questions for you now are
1. In post #3 above you said "I still have a doubt whether the
reboiler will function if the condensate pot is below the
reboiler itself". Is this a working plant or not? Are you having problems with it, or is it just an intellectual exercise?
2. If it is a working plant where does the level in the condensate pot actually sit?
3. Where is the upper tapping point for the level indicator? If it is at a height above the
reboiler the level could be controlling in the vent pipe where we expect it to be.
Edit : I see that you have answered my questions 2 & 3 in your reply to npp while I was typing! Can you tell us what the steam flow rate is so that we can get an idea of the pressure drops?
Edited by katmar, 04 October 2011 - 04:50 AM.