An Algorithm for Rayleigh Distillation

by Brian Berg

Submitted : Spring 2009

A Rayleigh still is used to separate substances into individual compounds using a batch process. If an initial mixture of pentane is placed in the still, the resulting concentration of pentane is given according to the Rayleigh distillation equation. In practice, the Rayleigh distillation equation assigns a relationship between the volatility of the different compounds in the original mixture. Optimazation of this process requires the use of calculus. When finding numerical approximations to the optimal solution, Excel may be with a precision calibrated according to a partition of the particular Riemann sum.

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