The state of fluids in pipelines, and the physical arrangement

of equiprnent around the distillation tower, establish the design

parameters for Ineeting hydraulic and piping conditions of the system.

Robert Kern, Hoffmann - La Roche Inc.*

.,
o The state of fluid in the pipelines, and the hydraulic Gravity-flow reflll.x
and thermal conditions in condensing systems of dis- Horizontal condensers-A condenser in "gravity-flow ar-
tillation columns, are the reverse of those in reboiler rangements is located above the level of the terminating
circuits. point of the condenser's outlet line, as shown in F II
The inlet line to condensers can carry superheated and F 12. For the horizontal condenser in F lIb, vapor
or saturated vapor, or dispersed vapor-liquid mixtures. enters the exchanger at the top, and subcooled liquid
Fluid is cooled in the exchanger, and partial or full leaves at the bottom. The looped-outlet pipe ensures
condensation takes place. The condenser's outlet line a permanent liquid level in the condenser. This liquid
can have stratified and dispersed two-phase flow, satu- level is controlled through the reflux branch and
rated liquid, or subcoolcd liquid. In addition, the flow" through the takeoff line to storage.
ing fluid can be a mixture of two substances. Thus, this The static-head pressure difference, tiPs, between the
type of condensation offers a wide range of classification vertical overhead line and the condenser's outlet line
from a thermodynamic standpoint [1]. for the arrangements in F II can be written as:

I
In contrast, saturated liquid normally flows in the
downcomer of reboilcrs. The liquid is vaporized while (1)
passing through the exchanger. The reboiler's outlet M s must be equal to or greater than the sum of (1)
~ line carries a dispersed vapor-liquid mixture having a the pipe-system resistance, tipp , between reference
I vapor content of 30 to 90% of total flow. (See Part 9 points A and B; (a) exchanger pressure drop, tipe; and
of this series for more details, Chern. Eng., Aug. 4, 1975, (3) required pressure difference across the control valve,
p. 107.) tipcv:
In this article, we \vill examine the hydraulics for
the following: (2)
1. Condensers with gravity-flow return lines.
The required distance, H, between fractionator inlet
2. Condensers with pumped-reflux lines.

I 3. Two-stage condensation.
Within these groups, hydraulic-design and plpmg-
and exchanger centerline can be calculated from Eg.
(1) as:

, design conditions vary, depending on the state of fluid

in the lines and the physical arrangement of the instal-
lation.
Vacuum technology has its own systems,equipment
The vapor column can be neglected by assuming
P2 = 0 in Eq. (1) and (3). All pressures are in psi;
(3)

densities, P, in Ib/ft 3 ; and dimensions, H, in ft.

and terminology. Piping design of vacuum-condensing
As Eq. (3) shows, for a minimum of elevation differ-
systems are outside the Euler-Bernoulli-Darcy theories
ence between the top of the column and the exchanger
and are not included in this article.
centerline, the piping and components resistances must
"For biography of author, see Ch,m. Eng., Aug. 4, 1975. p. 113. also be minimal.
129
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SEPTEMBER 15. 1975
I Vapor

I
!-i
, '2

e;::,'Q :
f"=~*~J"<:~i".~)<F",",~~=~~:!.~.-c;::.
To COO~~i 1
~

Point 8- J,
!

Drain 1

a.Saturated liquid {sheiiside condensation} i

]
i1
Vapor

I
Ij

Horizontal condensers with gravity-flow reflux ~

Generally, in condensing systems, the unit loss in the

piping is low-about a tenth or a hundredth of 1
psi/lOO ft. Inlet and outlet resistances to process equip-
ment usually take a considerable portion of the pipeline
resistance and should not be ignored in the calculations.
(Using three decimal places in the calculations is not
unusual.)
In horizontal condensers, condensation takes place in
the sheIl. This gives lower resistance than the tubeside.
A baffle (or baffles) in the exchanger is in the horizontal
plane through the exchanger's centerline. If necessary,
two inlet and two outlet nozzles can halv.e the total flow,
and reduce entrance and exit resistances considerably.
In this case, the inlet and outlet piping should be sym-
metrical.
The subcooled liquid for the arrangement in F/1 b
can be drained or pumped directly to storage. The
Vertical condensers with gravity-flow reflux condense ~
product stream for F /la is usually directed through a
vapors on the sheilside or tuheside of exchanger ~
cooler before storage.
130
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SEI'TEMIlI~R 15. IY75
.-----------._._.._ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

\/ent

Seal loops prevent a reversed flow of vapor in gravity-flow condensing systems

Control valves in these svstems should be located at leg (Zz dimension in F /3), the piping design should be
a low point of the r('tun; line and product stream. such as to prevent siphoning that can empty the seal.
Sufficient static head before the valve inlet will prevent If dimension ZI is smaller than Z2' and the pressure
vaporization across the valve. A product cooler should just before the seal loop and at the terminating point
not receive a liquid-vapor mixture. after the seal loop is identical (for example, with greatly
Vertical condensers-Arrangements for these condensers reduced flow), liquid can be siphoned out of the seal;
with gravity-flow outlets are shown in F /2. Conden- and intermittently, the condenser will not operate well.
sation can take place in the shell (F/2a), or tubes This can be prevented if ZI is designed to be longer
(F/2b). A single-pass vertical condenser is more suitable than Zz (see F /3a).
for liquid subcooling than a horizontal one. The seal- For the arrangement in F /3b, the final vertical leg
loop height can be adjusted within a greater range than has a larger diameter than the gravity-flow reflux line.
with horizontal condensers (F /2c). The required liquid Again, this can prevent the siphoning of liquid from
level in the exchanger shell is determined by the ex- the seal loop.
changer's designer. Another arrangement (F/3c) has a closed vent line.
The hydraulic balance for the arrangements shown This can be opened at reduced condensate flow to keep
in F /2 is: the seal loop filled with liquid. With this type of vent-
ing, the pressure difference across the vent valve should
(1/144)(H I PI + H 2i'2) > (1/144)H 3P3 + 6.P (4)
be zero. Therefore, it is essential to connect the end-
...here 6.P is the sum of piping, 6.P p , exchanger, 6.Pe' points of the vent line to locations where pressures are
·and control-valve (if any), 6.Pcv' resistances: expected to be about equal.
6.P = 6.P p + t:..Pe + 6.pcv (5) Pumped-reflux arrangements
The elevation difference, as expressed from Eq. (4), Typical overhead lines for hydrocarbon distillation
between the condenser's outlet and the reflux inlet noz- columns are shown in F /4. Fluid circulation in the
zle will be: piping is the result of the thermosiphon effect in grav-
ity-reflux condensation. For the systems shown in F /4,
HI > (l/PI)(f!;Ii'3 - H 2P2 + 1446.P) (6)
there is (and most of the time must be) a pressure
where PI is the density of condensate in the reflux line, difference between the top of the tower and reflux
P3 is the vapor density in the overhead line, and P2 is drum. The reflux drum has a pump, which returns the
the average density in the vertical exchanger: liquid to the top of the tower or sends it to storage.
i
In _these arrangements (besides the sum of the static
(7)
heads), actual pressure differences, 6.Pp , also enter into

Seal loop _preve_nts flow reversal

In gravity-flow condensing systems, a seal loop is
-provided to prevent a re"'ersed flow of vapor in the
condenser's outlet line. This loop can be used for hold-
ing a liquid level in the condenser, as shown in F /la
the calculations:

For the dimensions given in F /5, the static-head

difference will be:
(8)
I
II
(9) t
and F/2c.
If the gravity-flow reflux line terminates in a vertical where PI is usually vapor density, and P2 is vapor-liquid
\
131
Cm;II11CAL ENGINEEIUNG SEPTEMBER jj. 197j
 i Overhead line

I
II
!
I

~
condenser
y,
'j

Reflux
drum

i:·_~. Thesimp!cst overhead b. Subcooied liquid

c', line gh:es the in the
smaUest pipe SiZ9. g:"avit"/-frovoJ
clitiet !ine.

Overhead condensers for distillation columns ~

mixture (or liquid) density. The overall available D.P

is the sum of Eg. (8) and (9), or:
tiP = !:J.Ps + tiPp . (10)
If the righthand side of Eg. (10) becomes negative,
the condensc'!" 1l111St be placed at an elevation closer to,
or above, tlte reilllx drum. A negative value indicates
that the static-head backpressure (pzH z) in Eg. (9) is
greater titan tlte sum of (1) pressure difference between
the top of the (ower and the reflux drum plus (2) the
vapor static !Jc;ld ((,;Ill) in the overhead line. The
P,
greater the condC'!Is,JtiOll, the heavier the mixture be-
~omes in the condcnser's outlet line , which results in ,
a grealfT bad.plc,sure. Of course, pzHz becomes posi-
tive when the li!!e has a gravity-flow arrangement be-
tween the C()Iltlc-ll't'! oudet and the reflux-drum inlet,
as shown ill F .Ja and F/4b.
P1>P:.~ Eq. (Ill) slHm's the driving force in the overhead
system. This must bc' greater than the sum of piping,
inlet and exi ( lus'c's, 0.l'P' and exchanger resistance, tiPe:

0.P > tip + tiPe

p (11)
!:J.Pl' lISlIallv is rWlween 2 to 6 psi, and condenser tipe
ran~es froIll 0.:) to 5 psi.
The IllaxiIlllIlll possible condenser-centerline location
belov·; tlte I~cflllx drum (dimension Hz in F 15) can be
calclilakd llOlll th.. combination of Eg. (9), (10) and
(II), to give:
(1/144)(p/ll - p}J2 ) +
'Dimensional relations for a condenser at grade tiPp '- (tip p + Upe) = 0 (12)
As a safety factor, the positive static-head column pres-
132.__ ...'
-C-H""I~M-I-C-A-L-EN-(:C-:ll~Nf:::;(';-;;;R-';:lNG SEPTEMBER 1\ I!U r,
 I!
!
i

Froth flow

PI
\

LI
Elevated condensers and details of reflux drum

sure of the overhead vapor line' can be neglected. Con-

sider:
P1H1 = o.
Expressing H 2 from Eq. (12) in feet, we get:
5
H 2 =:: (144/P2)(Mp - D.pp ~ D.Pe) (13)
In layout design, usually the reflux drum is elevated
first in accordance with the required NPSH (net posi-
tive suction head) of the reflux pump. The dimensions
3 shown in Detail A of F /5 will establish the condenser
elevation from grade.

Slug flow is undesirable

Slug flow can develop in the pocketed condenser-
outlet line shown in F/5, depending on vapor-liquid
o proportion and fluid velocity. Slug flow should be
\J avoided because it can cause undesirable pressure
surges.
An empirical relation can be used to estimate the
slug-flow region. If the velocity (calculated with two-
. Liquid and vapor velocities determine type of flow phase density) in the pipeline is smaller than (5Pl/
Pv )1/2, slug flow is possible. The type of flow can also
133
CHEMICAL ENfiINEERING SEPTEMBER IS, 1975
 42·jn dia.

~
,.,

14i~~b~
,:
lit :
~h
&

Detai! C

,Ii

72·in dis.
overhead "!!n:;-
'.

~~DI
(;2 ~.• fk/·2<'ind:'1
(I Outlet a
Western Supply Co.

Two-stage condensing system has parallel flow through large surface condens~rs in series with air cooiers

be estimated by calculating the Baker parameters and biiilY of slu" 11,,\\ GIl) be minimiz~d by (a) increasing
using Fig. 1 in Part 8 of this series (Chem. Eng., June the pn'ssulc dlOP iu the condenser's outlet line and
23,1975, p. 146). Flow-region maps such as are shown r('ducillL; 111(' n·'l'.!;II"·,· of the rest of the condensing
in F/6 are also available for vertical flows. To use these systt'lll. Ih, jJil)\'idilll; two parallel lines between con-
maps, the vapor-phase and liquid-phase velocities are cknstT alld Idlw. dlll ll1 , (c) using valved alternative
calculated separately for the same pipe diameter. The pipe I1llh fill ;t!I'TJI;ltiyc flovvTates, and (el) changing
intersection of these in the appropriate diagram of F/6 to a gravIly-Ii,!\, iti!;Jllgnnent. '
establishes the flow region.
The general criterion for selecting a suitable line size Equipmellt arrangement
is that the pipe diameter must be sufficiently small to III a gravity-IIIl" arranuement a structure is often
have the highest possible velocity, but large enough to ~·l'q\~iJ~·d. I";HIOI\ th:lt, inllll~nce la;out design are shown
stay within available pressure differential. The possi- III 1, / /. lklm\' the elevated condensers, a platform is
I :H
CHEMICAL ENGINI:.i:.ll·IN(:SEI"1 E~lllll\ 1',.1'1;',
usually provided. Structural members, space for piping leaving 20 to 25';; of 1.75 psi for pipe resistance. This,
below the platform, and reflux-drum diameter or mini- and the rather lonf! pipe configuration, mean very large
mum headroom requirement determine the platform pipe sizes. These are indicated in F /8. Velocities in these
level for the reflux drum. Piping, NPSH or headroom lines are less than 50 ft/s. Under these conditions, the
will establish the distance between grade and the re- piping system from the fractionator to the reflux drum
flux-drum platform. has to be self-draining. Horizontal sections of the piping
The piping arrangement of condensing systems slope toward the ref]~lx drum.
should be as simple as possible. Each elbow in the Saturated vapor flows in the 72-in-dia. overhead line.
overhead line represents a sizable percentage of the (Overhead lines are not usually insulated, and it is rea-
overall pipe-friction loss. However, lines can become sonable to assume that some condensation will take
longer because of flexibility considerations. Usually, plate in them.) Condensate, collected in the overhead
there is no valve in an overhead line. Pressure loss in line, can drain to the surface condensers through the
fittings and line length have to be compensated for with three tangentially welded branch-connections (see De~
increased pipe diameter. tail A in F 18). Quite likely, this condensed liquid is not
Piping design, and access to valves and instruments, distributed to the three surface condensers equally be-
also depend on how well nozzles are located and ori- cause of the nonsvmmetrical arrangement of the branch
ented on process vessels. The usual nozzle arrangement lines. Considering the small amount of liquid, and that
of a reflux drum is shown in Detail A of F /7. The this liquid does not affect the heat-transfer duty of the
condensate inlet is at one end of the top. Alternatively, exchangers, the nonsymmetrical arrangement is ac-
a bottom inlet with a standpipe in the reflux drum can cepted.
be designed, eliminating a couple of elbows and reduc- For equal vapor distribution to the three surface
ing pipe resistance. The pump drawoff nozzle is at the condensers, butterHy valves are installed at the inlet
bottom and opposite end of the reflux drum. Level-gage flanges of the flared exchanger sections (see Detail B
and level-controller connections can be in the center. in F /8). The butterfly flap in each valve has a reduced
At the center, the liquid level is least agitated by the diameter-leaving 50% of the cross-sectional area of the
inlet and outlet streams. Pressure connections are usu- inlet nozzle pern;anently open. In this way, it is as-
ally in the vapor space, and temperature connections sumed that, with less resistance, a more-sensitive regu-
in the liquid space near the pump drawoff nozzle. Al- lation can be accomplished than with a valve having
ternative manhole locations, and vent, drain and sup- a full-diameter flap.
port connections are shown in Detail A of F /7. Pipelines between the surface condensers and air
coolers have two-phase dispersed flow. Because of the
Two-stage condensation low velocity, elbows and tee connections, some liquid
We will now describe a large, two-stage, condensing separation (with stratified flow) at the bottom of the
system, and in doing so we will find additional design lines is also assumed. (Under such conditions, and with
ideas for the condenser piping. these line sizes. it is difficult to assess how valid two-
Where cooling water is expensive, condensing systems phase-flow theories arc.)
can be designed for use with air coolers or with a com- The outlet lines of the surface condensers connect
bination of air coolers and water coolers in series. If centrally to the inlet headers of the air coolers. Equal
close condensate-temperature control is required, the fluid distrihution is assured by the relatively great
water coolers are located after the air coolers. For op- difference in resistance between the verv-low header loss
timum heat transfer, a reversed sequence can be chosen. and the hid! entrance resistance td the air cooler
A large-capacity condensing system handling the branch-connections. For equal distribution of the strati-
overhead from the primary fractionator of an ethylene fied liqui<i at the bottom of the pipe, each branch-
unit is shown in F /8. The pressure difference between connection cxt<'j](h abOltt 2 in up into the horizontal
the fractionator and reflux drum is small, t1P = 1. 75 air-cooler hC:ldn i;·;cc Detail C in F /8). These extensions'
psi. With this limited pressure differential, it is essential dam up the ijCjlli:) in the bottom of the pipe, and the
to have minimal resistance through exchangers, piping overflow bcilitiltc, CC]ualliquid distribution across each
and pip:: components. air-cooler p:"'" S\'11llnetrical piping at the outlet side
Resistance of the surface condensers has been mini- of air cookrs is not considered as essential as at the
mized by choosing three exchangers, each handling inlet side.
one-third of the total flow; and by providing a flared The next [,nick in this series of piping design will
exchanger inlet, and four large outlets for each shell. appear in the issue of Oct. 13, 1975, and will cover'
Exchanger resistance is given as 0.12 psi, exclusive of calcula lion procedures for compressible fluid flow under
inlet and outlet resistances. The photograph in F /8 isotil.en.nal and adiabatic conditions in pipelines and
restnctlons.
shows one of the exchangers being delivered.
Air-cooler resistance has been minimized by using
numerous single passes and large-diameter finned tubes.
Air-cooler pressure loss is estimated as 0.7 psi, excluding
References
1. }\."':>. lJ Q. "1'''''("\'' !leat Transfer" McGraw-Hili New York 1950.
I
I
2. (:oLIIJ, L l' ;:lld, ~l!·~ii:i':i!~. A, H., l;wo~Phase Vcrti~al Flow 1\laps, foint
nozzles. S\·Jjlj>(.'l,"\~!ll (~Jl Illlu! .\I:,~challics and lYkasuremcnt in Two-Phase "'Flow
Even with all these provisions, close to 50% of the SY~I>':·ill .. ,.:ll .~,-'fJl\'n,jl\. (II Leeds, Leeds, England, Sept. 24-25, 1969; Proc.
, 1~1'1 :11,,'" j,,,:;,,: (1"'''I''',!. \',,1. 184. Part 3C (1970).
available overall pressure difference has been consumed .1. ( ..,,1\. 1. I J. I f"" I"
uHhufl 1 " l I l t l \ .. ~{'j)l.
.",,'!'
Slug FJo\v in Condenser Outlet Piping Hydro-
lO{d '
by the exchangers alone. About 30% of the overall t1P 4. (;/TCI,IC,.1.. L.,} ~)_~l:11nqlj~:,d Piping Arrangements Solve Two-Phase Flow
has been taken up by the inlet and outlet resistances, 1 ll:-.ll JlllJl 1011 11lJh,nn~, I{rdnlcarbun Prouss.,.Fcb. 1967.

136
CH EM ICAL ENGINEEI<1 N(;-SErl'I::<liii::-i{-i~~--1 ;;-7';-
I