A nonequilibrium stage model of multicomponent separation processes. Part II: Comparison with experiment

Abstract

Abstract A nonequilibrium stage model of countercurrent separation processes is used to predict composition and temperature profiles during binary and multicomponent distillation in wetted‐wall and bubble‐cap‐tray columns. The profiles predicted by the model are compared with experimental data for the binary systems benzene‐toluene, ethanol‐water, and acetone‐chloroform and for the ternary systems benzene‐toluene‐ethylbenzene, acetone‐methanol‐water, methanol‐isopropanol‐water, acetone‐methanol‐ethanol, and benzene‐toluene‐ m ‐xylene. The model does a very commendable job of predicting the composition profiles measured for these systems; average absolute differences between predicted and measured mole fractions are seldom greater than 4 mole percent and are often very much less.