TRAYS AND PACKING IN DISTILLATION COLUMN @CONTENTS OQ TRAYS Q BUBBLE CAP TRAYS QO SIEVE TRAYS OQ VALVE TRAYS OG PARAMETERS FOR TRAY DESIGN GQ STRUCTURED PACKAGING O TRAYS VS PACKAGINGTRAYS = To provide liquid holdup in order to achieve the proper vapor-liquid mass transfer that the distillation process requires for separation. = The function of a tray is to facilitate contact between the vapour phase and liquid phase so that mass transfer between the two phases can take place. = Each tray can be considered as being made up of three sections: weir, bubbling area, and downcomer.« The function of a weir is to maintain a desired liquid level on the tray. = Downcomers are used to guide liquid flow from an upper tray to a lower tray. = The bubbling area is the place where vapour-liquid contact takes place. Vapour flows through the openings on the tray from below, and into the liquid flowing across the tray, forming a foaming, turbulent mixture. = In the simplest design, sieves are provided for vapour- liquid contact. » Alternatively, valves or bubble-caps may be used. «During this foaming process, a high interfacial area for efficient vapour-liquid mass transfer is produced.= Trays are supported in a vessel by means of support rings or beams. «On the operating principles, there are three common types of trays: 1. Sieve 2. Valve 3. Bubble-capBUBBLE TRAYS « Riser or chimney fitted over each hole, and a cap that covers the riser. * The cap is mounted so that there is a space between riser and cap to allow the passage of vapour. = Vapour rises through the chimney and is directed downward by the cap, finally discharging through slots in the cap, and finally bubbling through the liquid on the tray.BUBBLE TRAYSSIEVE TRAYS « Sieve trays are simply metal plates with holes in them. = Vapour passes straight upward through the liquid on the plate. « The arrangement, number and size of the holes are design parameters.SIEVE TRAYSVALVE TRAYS = Perforations are covered by liftable caps. = Vapour flows lifts the caps, thus self creating a flow area for the passage of vapour. « The lifting cap directs the vapour to flow horizontally into the liquid, thus providing better mixing than is possible in sieve trays.VALVE TRAYS Nomallapnn Low epurHig VaguPARAMETERS FOR TRAY DESIGN Cost » Bubble-caps are appreciably more expensive than sieve or valve trays = The relative cost will depend on the material of construction used, = Due to its simple design, sieve trays are normally the cheapest,Operating Range = Bubble-cap trays have a positive liquid seal and can therefore operate efficiently at very low vapour rates. «Sieve trays rely on the flow of vapours through the holes to hold the liquid on the tray, thus cannot operate at very low vapour rates. « Valve trays are intended to give greater flexibility than sieve trays at a lower cost than bubble-caps. = Thus, bubble-cap trays have the widest operating range, followed by valve tray, and sieve tray.Pressure Drop * This factor will be important in vacuum operations. » The tray pressure drop will depend on the detailed design of the tray, but in general, sieve trays give the lowest pressure drop, followed by valves, with bubble-caps giving the highest. Maintenance «For dirty services, bubble-caps are not suitable as they are most susceptible to plugging. «Sieve trays are the easiest to clean.SUMMARY «Sieve trays are the cheapest and are satisfactory for most applications. = Valve trays should be considered if the specified turndown ratio cannot be met with sieve trays. = Bubble-caps should only be used where very low vapour rates have to be handled and a positive liquid seal is essential at all flow rates.STRUCTURED PACKAGING = Structured packing is formed from corrugated sheets of perforated embossed metal or wire gauze. = The result is a very open honeycomb structure with inclined flow channels giving a relatively high surface area but with very low resistance to gas flow. + The surface enhancements have been chosen to maximize liquid spreading. «These characteristics tend to show _ significant performance benefits in low pressure and low irrigation rate applications.TRAYS VS PACKAGING A tray column that is facing throughput problems may be de-bottlenecked by replacing a section of trays with packings. This is because: =packings provide extra inter-facial area for liquid-vapour contact «efficiency of separation is increased for the same column height =packed columns are shorter than trayed columns Packed columns are called continuous-contact columns while trayed columns are called staged-contact columns because of the manner in which vapour and liquid are contacted.REFERENCES [1] R. Perry, D. Green and R. Perry, Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. [2] Distillation Tray Fundamentals. Cambridge University Press, 2009. [3] A. Gorak and Z. Olujic, Distillation. 2014. [4]E. Ludwig, Applied Process Pesign for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants. Houston, Tex. [u.a.]! Gulf Publ, 1997.THANKS TO ALL OF YOU