DBM Lookup Utility

DBM Lookup Utility finds the feasible distillation boundary maps (DBMs) for any ternary mixture, using only the relative boiling points of its pure components and azeotropes. No thermodynamic modeling or residue curve sketching required.

DBMs are simplified residue curve maps. They show how a three-component mixture divides into distillation regions, and they're a key tool in the conceptual design of distillation processes. Finding the right map by hand means working through nodes, saddles and topological consistency. This app does it with a lookup.

THREE WAYS TO FIND A MAP
• Azeotropes: say whether each binary and ternary azeotrope exists and whether it's minimum- or maximum-boiling (or a saddle). Leave anything you don't know as "???" and the app keeps every possibility. The 307 possible temperature sequences (TSs) narrow down as you go.
• Example: pick one of six preloaded systems, such as Methanol/Ethanol/Water or Acetone/Chloroform/Methanol, and see its TS and DBMs instantly.
• Enter TS: type a temperature sequence you already know. The app checks it as you type and tells you what's wrong if it isn't valid.

Then choose a TS and one of its DBMs to see the map drawn on the composition triangle.

ALL 125 DBMs
Browse a gallery of all 125 unique distillation boundary maps. Tap any one to see it full size, along with every temperature sequence that produces it. Each map is labeled with its Matsuyama–Nishimura classification code.

USEFUL FOR
• Screening entrainers for azeotropic or extractive distillation
• Quick "what-if" checks during conceptual process design
• Teaching and learning ternary VLE behavior

Only thermodynamically feasible TSs and valid DBMs are generated, so you never have to judge inconsistent or indeterminate maps yourself.

Based on the method published by Peterson and Partin, "Temperature Sequences for Categorizing All Ternary Distillation Boundary Maps," Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. (1997), and cited in Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook.

Note: the app identifies which maps are possible. Experimental VLE data is still needed to pin down the exact boundary curvature for a specific mixture.