Stretching the Capacity of Structured Packings

Abstract

Comprehensive experimental and modeling studies conducted recently with various types and sizes of Montz structured packing have revealed most performance-related secrets of this gasliquid contacting device. Compared with other established gas-liquid contacting devices, structured packings are generally known as having the lowest pressure drop per theoretical tray. Less known is the fact that only a small fraction of this low-pressure drop is used in masstransfer processes. Knowing this and using a model capable of describing realistically the relationship between geometric features and fluid mechanics, we have manipulated the geometry of the packed bed to develop configurations that allow a substantial increase in capacity without affecting efficiency adversely. The resulting configurations were tested experimentally and a joint experimental and modeling effort by the Delft University of Technology and J. Montz GmbH has led to increased capacity of well-established 45°corrugated sheet packings.

A dimensionless model for predicting the mass‐transfer area of structured packing

“…34,48 High-capacity packings have been introduced to counteract this problem. 49,50 The idea is to bend the sheets near the joint from the standard 45 inclination to a vertical (90 ) orientation to facilitate a smoother flow transition. The packing used in this work (MP252Y) resembled M250Y except for this modification, which occurred at the top/bottom 1.…”

Augmenting distillation by using membrane based vapor–liquid contactors: An engineering view from Delft

“…during the period of developments addressed here, both random [18] and particularly structured packings [19][20][21] have been improved to the extent that we can talk of a technology breakthrough. Although impressive enough in real life perspective, the improvements achieved, reflected for instance by a 20 per cent capacity increase at the same pressure drop and same efficiency, are not appealing enough in the terms of present day technology development trends.…”

Experimental and Numerical Simulation of Dry Pressure Drop in High‐Capacity Structured Packings

“…These channels are oriented with the angle of a varying from 45°to 60°over the horizontal direction. Among the various channels with different angles, structured packings with 45°corrugation angles represent a well-established and widely utilized family of gas/liquid-contacting systems [12]. When the corrugation angle of a structured packing is increased from 45°t o 60°, the capacity becomes significantly higher in the device.…”

“…Among these commercial packings, Mellapak 2X from Sulzer had the lowest pressure drop under similar conditions. Olujić et al [23] presented an intermediate area of highperformance structured packing, Montz-PakB1-350MN. This modified device was compared with B1-250MN under similar conditions.…”