Question

Raising the column pressure, results in

(a) Lower relative volatility

(b) Higher relative volatility

(c) No effect

(d) Higher boiling point

This question was posed to me in an interview for job.

This interesting question is from Process Design and Optimization topic in section Column Process Design, Optimization and Shortcut Calculations of Distillation Design

Answer 1

Correct option is (a) Lower relative volatility

To elaborate: The unfavorable effects of raising column pressure is that it lowers relative volatility and thus discarding the products formation.