this column is doing a rough split of C4's and C6's, not in a refinery, the level is controlled by a cascade loop to the steam to the reboiler.
level is kept constant by varying the steam rate
pressure control is a hot vapor bypass of the overhead condenser
reflux rate cascaded to feed rate...
My question is more how can you cut the feed rate by 40% and the steam rate not cut back on level control. Is there a physical problem with the column, anyone have any similiar experiences.
I have a distillation column with a thermosiphon reboiler, the steam to the reboiler is controlled by the level in the column. Prior to a shutdown and inspection of the column if you decreased the feed rate the steam rate would decrease, after the shutdown regardless of feed rate (250 gpm vs 400...
