Separating a liquid mixture by boiling point. Tray and packing geometry decides whether it meets spec.
In a distillation column, rising vapour and descending liquid meet across a series of stages. Each stage transfers the lighter component into the vapour and the heavier into the liquid. The efficiency of that contact — not the thermodynamics — is what usually limits a real column.
Get the geometry right and a column runs stable across a wide turndown. Get it wrong and you see the classic symptoms: jet flood, downcomer backup, weeping, entrainment carryover and off-spec overheads.
