(378j) Distillation Performance in Packed Columns with Structured Packing: Numerical Simulation Considering the Liquid Distribution Profiles

This paper provides a simulation tool with a cell-model to evaluate distillation performance considering liquid distribution profiles in packed columns with structured packing. A cell-model is one in which distillation performance is calculated by taking these condition into consideration that a packing element is considered as clusters of a cubic cell, and liquid descending from the top of columns is distributed into each cell according to a certain ratio which is called the ‘splitting factor’. The splitting factor was obtained by referring to experimental results the author performed in advance.

Experiments for cryogenic distillation, in which some holes of the liquid distributor were intentionally plugged to cause initial liquid maldistribution, were performed under a total reflux condition for nitrogen-oxygen system to confirm the validity of the simulation tool. A column 0.3m in diameter and 1.5m high with structured packing of specific area 750 m²/m³ was used. Consequently, it is confirmed that the distillation performance was reduced significantly compared with homogeneous liquid distribution.

This paper presents the comparison between simulation and experimental results.