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Enhanced Reboiler for C3 splitter- Heat

Pump Improves Energy Efficiency and
Reduces CO2 Footprint
Source: Hydrocarbon Processing, MARCH 2022

By: Nafees Ahmad, Sr. Engineer-1, Process Engineering

Classification: Tasnee - General Information

Distillation Column
Distillation is method of separation of components from a liquid mixture which depends
on the differences in boiling points of the individual components and the distributions
of the components between a liquid and gas phase in the mixture.
Main Components of Distillation Columns:
Vertical shell: where the separation of liquid components is carried out
Column internals: enhance the component separations
Reboiler: provide necessary vaporization for process
Condenser: cool and condense the vapor leaving the top of the column
Reflux drum: hold the condensed liquid can be recycled back to the column as reflux

Energy Consumption (Heat Exchangers):

Reboiler: Steam, liquid heating medium (e.g., hot oil, quench water or hot process
stream) or even electric heaters.
Overhead condenser: water or air-cooled, depending on the operating pressure of
the distillation column.
The required heat duties are mostly high. Therefore always there is opportunity
to improve exchanger efficiency. E.g. Plain tubes can be replaced by externally
finned tubes, which help to increase the heat transfer area by a ratio of 2–3.
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Heat Pump Principal

The heat pump principle in the frame of a distillation column targets the
recovery of a part of the condensation duty released in the overhead
condenser to be used for the boiling service at the bottom of the column.
The overhead vapor will be compressed at a pressure level allowing the
overhead vapor to be condensed in the column reboiler.

This requires products having close boiling temperatures (typically less than
45°C) and column bottom temperatures below 100°C.

A prime example widely used in refining and petrochemical operations is the

propane-propylene splitter column.
Energy savings are expected on a heating medium for the reboiler and
cooling medium for the condenser. However, additional power is required to
drive the compressor by using either an electric motor or a steam gas turbine.

The major part of the gas overhead stream is routed to the reboiler. A trim
condenser is required to condense the remaining vapor for reflux and other
purposes.
This additional power demand in compressor should be
considered in the energy balance and carbon footprint.
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Case study: C3 splitter

reboiler/condenser-Open heat pump loop
A C3 splitter is used in the separation of propane and propylene.

At 11 barg, the boiling point of propane is 34.3°C, while the boiling point of propylene is 26.2°C. The difference of 8.1°C
is well below 45°C, and the boiling points are also lower than 100°C.

In fractionation column propylene is separated from the propane and will exit in the gas phase at the top of the column,
while the propane-concentrated liquid stream will leave at the bottom of the column. Because of the very close volatility
of the two components, the separation is difficult and is require many trays in the column and even several columns in
series.

The propylene gas phase will generally be condensed with cooling water, and a part of the condensate will come back to
the column as reflux stream. The main part of condensate will leave the unit as propylene product.

The heat available in the vapor is lost to the environment through cooling water. By directing the vapor to the reboiler,
some heat can be saved. But, the temperature level of the exhausting vapor is too low to ensure the heat transfer in the
reboiler. It is necessary to increase the pressure of the pure propylene stream to increase its dew point.

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Application of a heat pump to Borealis’ C3 splitter unit at its

Porvoo facility (Finland)
The unit was composed of three C3 splitter columns operating in series to produce a
chemical grade propylene product. Borealis (Lic.) evaluated several process schemes to
upgrade the C3 splitter unit for:
• For additional propylene production capacity
• Changing from chemical grade propylene (98 wt%) to polymer grade (99.5
wt%).
• The upgrade had to be performed within a given setup and within a limited plot
space.
• Shortage of quench water (already supported with steam in the existing unit)
• Shortage of cooling water (the cold source for the condenser) during the
summer season

The middle and bottom columns were equipped with quench water reboilers, and the
middle and top columns were equipped with cooling water condensers.
The middle column is larger than the other two. As mentioned, steam heating of quench
water was needed to supply sufficient energy to users and to operate the reboilers.

The challenge was to install reboiler/condenser had to be located close to the middle
column to allow the reboiling side to operate in thermosiphon mode. 5
Old Setup
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Application of a heat pump to Borealis’ C3 splitter unit at its

Porvoo facility (Finland)
• Borealis selected a vapor recompression heat pump scheme.
• Revamp of reflux system avoided by installing heat pump system to provide enough
reflux.
• The existing condenser on the middle column is used as trim condenser and to operate
without the heat pump at reduced capacity in case of compressor outage.
• The existing reboiler in the middle column required no modification, as the required
additional duty is phased in through a new reboiler/condenser within the vapor
recompression cycle.
• This scheme minimized the number of new equipment items.
• The compressor head was defined to be high enough to provide reflux to the middle
column.
•

• The compressor was selected to be an electric motor driven (due to renewable source of
power available) with inlet guided vanes.
• The compressor design was selected to be as simple as possible to work with column
operating pressures ranging between 12 bara–16 bara.

New Setup 6
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Results
The new heat pump was commissioned in 2017, with very good results without modification
in reboiler, condenser, cooling water system.

The targeted product propylene quality (99.5 wt%) and capacity were exceeded.

This success was due to a good distillation tray selection and performance, heat pump
design and performance and advanced process control.

Part of the heat pump performance is due to the new reboiler/condenser heat exchanger
using the proprietary enhanced nucleate boiling tube technology.

When in operation, savings in steam production of about 6 MW. In the balance, the
compressor required about 1.3 MW of electricity. Shifting energy input from steam to
electricity helps in sourcing energy from renewable sources.

Equivalent reduction of energy consumption Carbon foot print.

New Setup 7
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TASNEE C3 Splitter

PDH C3 Splitter EC C3 Splitter

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