Column system distributor

The particles of the bed of an analytical column are held by the column wall and by the porous frits at the column top and column end. Specific frit systems have been developed by column manufacturers to enable a homogeneous distribution of the flow across the column. Wide bore preparative columns contain distributors at both ends for optimum sample distribution. Both the quality of the frits and the distributors significantly affect the performance of a chromatographic column. While for analytical columns the bed is supported by friction between the column wall and the packed particles, the particles of wide bore preparative columns are subjected to a much higher mechanical stress. 

Semicontinuous and continuous systems are, with few exceptions, practiced in columns. Most columnar systems are semicontinuous since flow of the stream being processed must be intermpted for regeneration. Columnar installations almost always involve the process stream flowing down through a resin bed. Those that are upflow use a flow rate that either partially fluidizes the bed, or forms a packed bed against an upper porous barrier or distributor for process streams. 

The space immediately above the resin bed may or may not be filled with Hquid in downward flow systems, depending on the design. If not filled, water entering the column from the top and impinging on the upper surface of the resin bed forms hills and valleys unless the flow is dispersed over the cross-sectional area. A distributor similar to the one used to collect resin below the bed, or splash plate, is placed a short distance above the resin bed to improve the distribution of the process stream flow. 

A distributor is frequently installed at the top of the column for use during backwash. It collects water evenly and prevents resin from escaping the column should unexpected surges develop in the water flow during backwash. Columns lacking an upper distributor or screen to prevent loss of resin should have an external system to prevent resin from being lost to the drain. It is referred to as a resin trap and may consist of a porous bag that fits over the outlet pipe or a tank designed to lower the linear velocity. Resin drops to the bottom of the tank and is returned to the column when convenient. 

FK . 14-63 Efficiency of beds of 51 mm Pali rings with two different distributors. Column diameter =1.2 m, cyclohexane/n-heptane system at 1.65 bar and total reflux. [Shariat and Kunesh, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 34 1273 (1995).] Reproduced with permission. Copyright 1995, American Chemical Society. 

FIG. 14-74 HETP values for Max-Pak structured packing,. 35 kPa (5 psia), two column diameters. Cyclohexane/n-heptane system, total reflux. For 0.4.3 m (1.4 ft) column perforated pipe distributor, 400 streams/m2, 3.05 m (10 ft) bed height. For 1.2 m (4.0 ft) column tubed drip pan distributor, 100 streams/m ,. 3.7 m (12 ft) bed height. Smaller column data. University of Texas/Austin Larger column data. Fractionation Research, Inc. To convert (ft/s)(lb/ft ) to (m/s)(kg/m ) , multiply by 1.2199. (Couiiesy Jaeger Troducts, Inc., Housion, Texas.)... 

Pulsed beds of ac tivated carbon are used in water and wastewater treatment systems. The adsorber tank is usually a vertical cylindrical pressure vessel, with fluid distributors at top and bottom, similar to the arrangement of an ion exchanger. The column is filled with granular carbon. Fluid flow is upward, and carbon is intermittently dis-... 

Much higher shear forces than in stirred vessels can arise if the particles move into the gas-liquid boundary layer. For the roughly estimation of stress in bubble columns the Eq. (29) with the compression power, Eq. (10), can be used. The constant G is dependent on the particle system. The comparison of results of bubble columns with those from stirred vessel leads to G = > 1.35 for the floccular particle systems (see Sect. 6.3.6, Fig. 17) and for a water/kerosene emulsion (see Yoshida and Yamada [73]) to G =2.3. The value for the floe system was found mainly for hole gas distributors with hole diameters of dL = 0.2-2 mm, opening area AJA = dJ DY = (0.9... 80) 10 and filled heights of H = 0.4-2.1 m (see Fig. 15). 

In a typical fixed-bed carbon column, the column is similar to a pressure filter and has an inlet distributor, an underdrain system, and a surface wash. During the adsorption cycle, the influent flow enters through the inlet distributor at the top of the column, and the groundwater flows downward through the bed and exits through the underdrain system. The unit hydraulic flow rate is usually 2 to 5 gpm/ft2. When the head loss becomes excessive due to the accumulated suspended solids, the column is taken off-line and backwashed. 

Koide (1996) recommended that for air—water systems, if D 8 >2x10 4 m2, the flow can be considered to be in the heterogeneous regime. In this relationship, D is the column diameter and 8 the nozzle or hole diameter of the gas distributor. The transition region can be defined in terms of gas holdup by using Marrucci s and Akita-Yoshida equations as presented in Figure 3.28 (Koide, 1996). 

Pilot-plant experiments have been carried out at real process conditions in the coke plant August Thyssen (Duisburg, Germany). The DN 100 pilot column (Fig. 9.11) was made from stainless steel and equipped with about 4 m of structured packing (Sulzer MELLAPAK 350Y), three liquid distributors, and a digital control system. Several steady-state experiments have been compared with the simulation results and supported the design optimization of the coke gas purification process [91]. 

Example 38 Mass transfer in the G/L system in bubble columns with injectors as gas distributors. The effects of coalescence behavior of the material system... 

Example 35 Steady-state heat transfer in bubble columns 149 Example 36 Time course of temperature equalization in a liquid with temperature-dependent viscosity in the case of free convection 153 Example 37 Mass transfer in stirring vessels in the G/L system (bulk aeration) Effects of coalescence behavior of the material system 156 Example 38 Mass transfer in the G/L system in bubble columns with injectors as gas distributors. The effects of coalescence behavior of the material system 160... 

Piping connecdons are positioned between each of the fixed sieve beds. As required, they allow fluid injection or effluent withdrawal, and, to do this, are equipped with multipurpose distributor systems, designated for nnifoim dispersion or collection over the entire cross-section of the column. The ficdonal upward displacement of the sieve is simulated by means of a rotary valve that causes a gradual change in the injection and withdrawal points. 

Imafuku et al.46 measured the gas holdup in a batch (i.e., no liquid flow) three-phase fluidized-bed column. They found that the presence of solids caused significant coalescence of bubbles. They correlated the gas holdup with the slip velocity between the gas and liquid. They found that the gas holdup does not depend upon the type of gas distributor or the shape of the bottom of the column when solid particles are completely suspended. Kato et al.53 found that the gas holdup in an air-water-glass sphere system was somewhat less than that of the air-water system and that the larger solid particles showed a somewhat smaller... 

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