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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Heat Transfer

Reboiler

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/riˈbɔɪlər/nounCommon term

In chemical engineering, reboiler means: A heat exchanger at the bottom of a distillation column that boils part of the bottom liquid to produce the vapor that rises up the column.

In Turkish: reboiler, kolon dibi kaynatıcısı, yeniden kaynatıcı

How it is used

Used in every distillation column. It is usually heated with steam or hot oil. Common types are kettle and thermosiphon reboilers. Operators raise reboiler duty to send more vapor up the column.

Example sentences

  1. Increase the steam to the reboiler slowly or you'll flood the column.

  2. The thermosiphon reboiler needs no pump because circulation is driven by density difference.

Common collocations

  • kettle reboiler
  • thermosiphon reboiler
  • reboiler duty
  • reboiler steam
  • condenserA heat exchanger that cools a vapor until it turns back into liquid, for example at the top of a distillation column or at the exhaust of a steam turbine.
  • distillationA way of separating a liquid mixture by boiling it and condensing the vapor, using the fact that the components boil at different temperatures.
  • heat dutyThe amount of heat that a heat exchanger, reboiler, condenser or furnace must transfer per unit time, usually given in kW or MW.
  • heat exchangerA piece of equipment that moves heat from one fluid to another without letting them mix, for example from hot oil to cold water through the walls of tubes or plates.

More terms: Heat Transfer

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