Bottom Section and Column Outlets 103

4.9 Chimney Trays

Chimney trays (Fig, 4.10~2, b) are used for withdrawing intermediate
liquid streams from the column; in a packed tower, they are also used
as liquid collectors or vapor distributors. Alternative devices used for
liquid withdrawal are downcomer trapouts in tray columns, chevron
collectors, and some redistributors in packed columns. Compared to
these alternative devices, chimney trays have the following advan-
tages:
1. They minimize liquid leakage to the section below. For this reason,
they are preferred
m When all liquid in a column section is withdrawn (“total drawoff’).
n When most (but not all) of the liquid is to be withdrawn, because exces-
sive leakage will starve the draw off of liquid.
n In low-liquid-load applications.

2. They provide greater residence times for vapor disentrainment, a

greater surge volume, a better buffer against upsets, and smoother
control. Therefore, they are frequently preferred
n When the intermediate drawoff is pumped
w When most of the liquid in a column section is withdrawn
l When two-liquid phase separation is required.

3. In packed columns, chimney trays are the most effective liquid col-
lection devices for high liquid flow rate services, for interreboilers,
and for once-through reboilers. They are also sometimes used for
collecting liquid from an upper bed for redistribution (when the
redistributor is not self-collecting), and as vapor distributors.
4. In tray columns, chimney trays do not suffer from unsealing prob-
lems and are generally less troublesome than downcomer trapouts.
The main drawback of chimney trays is that they consume more col-
umn height than alternative drawoff devices, resulting in a more
expensive arrangement. Chimney trays are also relatively high-
pressure-drop devices, which is a major disadvantage in packed col-
umns operating in deep vacuum.

,4.10 DOS and Don’ts for Chimney Trays

Detailed procedures for the design and operation of chimney trays are
available in the published literature (138, 207, 420). The important
factors and guidelines are summarized below:

1. The flow area of the risers is set by the allowable pressure drop.
Too large an area wastes sump space; too small an area causes ex-
cessive pressure drop. A pressure drop of 5 in of water was recom-
104 Dlstfllation Operation

1
nh Vapor
riser
Overflow
r, - c -.
^-,=-
downcomer + z--_
=- --
-- _ Liquid
--_
- - --. - -.
I3 -_-.- out let
L- =
P
Overf lov V
seal - ;---2- I =
i _Ij \-
(a)

inlet
downcomer

Aerated
liauid Vapor
- riser

Liquid
outlet
u-
Overflow
downpipe /

Overflow Figure 4.10 Chimney tray ar-

rangements. (a) With liquid en-
sea I tering from a seal pan; (b) with
a submerged inlet downcomer.
 Bottom Section and Column Outlets 105

mended for chimney trays (420). A pressure drop of 8 in of water

was recommended for packed-tower chimney trays in pressure
services (~25 psig) in order to improve vapor distribution to the
bed above (237). A method for estimating this pressure drop was
detailed elsewhere (420). A lower pressure drop may be desired in
packed columns operating under deep vacuum. In such cases, it
has been recommended (237) that the chimney tray be designed to
a pressure drop of 1 in of liquid. An alternative criterion (179,
307) recommends setting the risers’ flow area at 15 percent of the
tower area.
2. The number of risers must be large enough to ensure good vapor
distribution. This is essential in packed towers, especially when
the chimney tray delivers vapor to a short or a low-pressure-drop
bed. *
An excessive number of risers should be avoided, because they
will obstruct liquid flow and form a hydraulic gradient on the
chimney tray. With short risers, this can provoke liquid overflow
into risers. Caution is required to prevent any row of risers from
restricting liquid flow. The hydraulic gradient can be estimated
by techniques similar to those used for estimating hydraulic gra-
dients on bubble-cap trays (48, 257, 319, 371).
In larger towers, the hydraulic gradient can be minimized by
using a split-flow arrangement, with two downcomers or draw
sumps located at opposite ends of the chimney tray. In packed
towers, this split-flow arrangement also assists in obtaining a
more uniform vapor profile. The split-flow arrangement has been
advocated (386) for large-diameter (>12-R) packed columns un-
less the amount of liquid drawn is small.
Risers may be round, square, or rectangular. Square or rectan-
gular risers are usually less expensive to fabricate (144, 207). For
good vapor distribution, rectangular risers are typically 4 to 6 in
wide (237). In packed columns, risers should be uniformly spaced
to maintain uniform vapor distribution (386).
3. The riser must be tall enough to ensure adequate residence time
on the tray. A riser height of at least 12 to 18 in was recommended
(74, 237). Further discussion is in Sec. 4.4. Where residence time
is not a significant consideration (e.g., when the sole purpose of
the tray is to serve as a vapor distributor), riser height as low as 6
in (237) can be used.
4. For total draw-off arrangements, it has been recommended to lo-
cate the top of the vapor risers 6 to 9 in above the maximum liquid
level on the chimney tray (179, 307).
106 Distillation Operation

5. A cap or hat should be placed over each riser to deflect liquid rain-
ing from above, so that no liquid enters the risers and bypasses
the chimney tray. The caps also improve vapor mixing by forcing
it to move laterally.
All sides of each hat should either slope down, or be equipped
with a drip lip (typically a l-in-wide strip seal-welded to the edge
of a flat hat and protruding and sloping downward) (143, 207,
421). The recommended slope is 15” (143,207), although up to 45”
slopes are sometimes used in leak-tight services (421). Alterna-
tively, standard pipe caps may be used (420). The practice of using
flat hats (without drip lips) is not recommended because they may
not prevent liquid from running back underneath the hat and
down into the chimney (207), and because they may lead to blow-
ing the liquid running off the hat into the tray above.
Chimney trays equipped with rectangular risers that stretch
from one end of the tray to another often use open-top gutters
(“rainwater conduits”) rather than hats (see Fig. 8.6b later). The
g-utters can be V-shaped or U-shaped, are mounted above the ris-
ers, and slope toward the short edges of the rectangles. Compared
to hats, these reduce riser pressure drop and eliminate the down-
ward velocity component of vapor leaving the chimneys, but at the
expense of allowing some liquid to rain into the risers. This makes
them less suitable for total drawoffs.
6. Flow area for the hat is set by the vapor velocity, which should be
the same through the hat as through the riser. A method for de-
termining this flow area is detailed elsewhere (420). An alterna-
tive criterion (207) is to make the peripheral area of vapor outlet
at the hat 1.25 times the riser area. In services prone to pressure
surges, the peripheral area should be further increased to at least
twice the riser area (237), because surges often blow off the hats.
7. Hats should extend at least 1 in past the chimney (on all sides) to
prevent liquid from entering the vapor risers (143, 207,421).
8. The net flow area between each hat and the column shell must be
sufficiently large to avoid excessive vapor velocities. Excessive va-
por velocities may entrain liquid dropping from above, or fling
this liquid on the shell, thus promoting corrosion.
9. In tray columns, vapor leaving the chimneys should not impinge
on the downcomer feeding the tray. Failure to do this may cause
vaporization in the downcomer.
10. Spacing between the top of the hat and the tray or packed bed
above should be at least 12 in, but 18 in or more is preferred (74,
207). This is most important in packed towers, especially when