(64a) Packed Tower Internals Important to Tower Efficiency

The paper reviews the importance of liquid distribution to packed tower performance. Given the energy intensity of the distillation process it is essential that distillation towers operate efficiently. Miss-design or installation of tower internals can cause any where from minor to catastrophic efficiency loss.

The results of Fractionation Research, Inc's many years of research with various types of liquid misdistribution and its effects on packings efficiency under distillation conditions will be reviewed.

Many of the items to be considered when designing a liquid distributor will be presented. Things to watch out for when installing packing and internals will be discussed based upon the experience gained by FRI(SM) staff from hundreds of hardware installations performed installing packing and tray hardware in FRI's 1200mm diameter pilot plant towers.

Key Words: Internals, distillation, packing, liquid distribution,