A simple design technique for heterogeneous distillation columns has been developed. The underlying geometric conditions which govern minimum reflux are shown to share certain common features with homogeneous distillations, but differ in some important respects. It is shown that heterogeneous columns display some unusual sensitivities to the design parameters. The most notable being the drastic swings in the composition and temperature profiles with very small changes in the level of trace impurities in the product stream.
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