I understand that this is a very basic question so please don't shoot me down too much.
I have been quite involved in steam trace heating and steam line distribution systems for all sizes of industries including chemical and petrochemical. But regarding process applications of steam, I have only been involved in small process applications for smaller industries and have very little knowledge of large chemical steam process applications.
I have been asked some steam trap related questions regarding a reboiler for a hot regeneration column. The information I have been given is as follows:
"This reboiler uses LP steam (shell side) to strip unwanted components from flashed methanol (tube side) in order to produce fine wash methanol. The exchanger is a natural flow thermosiphon reboiler. The steam flow to the reboiler is controlled by a control valve. The latent heat of the steam is used in this reboiler. It is not expected that there is significant subcooling of the condensate, as the condensate removal is handled by a float type steam trap. The condensate discharges into a condensate collection system that is open to atmosphere."
From the explanation above it sounds as if the reboiler is another name for some form of heat exchanger. Is that assumption correct?
Is it a distillation like process (like found in alcohol distillation processes) or is it more like a shell and tube heat exchanger, or is it something very different?
Any assistance in helping me understand what exactly a reboiler is and how it works would be greatly appreciated. If possible, a picture or drawing would really help me too, but if not then just a written explanation will help.
Thanks very much