Packed towers tower considerations

The design of a packed tower requires consideration of mechanical factors, such as pressure drop, flow capacities, and foundation load. In addition, consideration must be given to the factors that influence the effectiveness of contact between the fluid phases. A satisfactory packing should have the following properties ... 

The actual liquid-to-gas ratio (solvent-circulation rate) normally will be greater than the minimum by as much as 25 to 100 percent and may be arrived at by economic considerations as well as by judgment and experience. For example, in some packed-tower applications involving veiy soluble gases or vacuum operation, the minimum quantity of solvent needed to dissolve the solute may be insufficient to keep the packing surface thoroughly wet, leading to poor distribution of the liquid stream. 

Computation of Tower Height The required height of a gas-absorption or stripping tower depends on (1) the phase equilibria involved, (2) the specified degree of removal of the solute from the gas, and (3) the mass-transfer efficiency of the apparatus. These same considerations apply both to plate towers and to packed towers. Items 1 and 2 dictate the required number of theoretic stages (plate tower) or transfer units (packed tower). Item 3 is derived from the tray efficiency and spacing (plate tower) or from the height of one transfer unit (packed tower). Solute-removal specifications normally are derived from economic considerations. 

Principles of Rigorous Absorber Design Danckwerts and Alper [Trans. Tn.st. Chem. Eng., 53, 34 (1975)] have shown that when adequate data are available for the Idnetic-reaciion-rate coefficients, the mass-transfer coefficients fcc and /c , the effective interfacial area per unit volume a, the physical solubility or Henry s-law constants, and the effective diffusivities of the various reactants, then the design of a packed tower can be calculated from first principles with considerable precision. 

Bolles and Fair [129] present an analysis of considerable data in developing a mass-transfer model for packed tower design however, there is too much detail to present here. 

Rukovena, F. and T. D. Koshy, Packed Distillation Tower Hydraulic Design Method and Mechanical Considerations, Ind. and Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 32, No. 10 0993) p. 2400 (Used by permission. The American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.)... 

With packed towers it is considerably more difficult to arrange for cooling, and it is usually necessary to remove the liquid stream at intervals down the column and to cool externally. Coggan and Bourne149 have presented a computer programme to enable the economic decision to be made between an adiabatic absorption tower, or a smaller isothermal column with interstage cooling. 

Because of minimum wetting rate considerations, Ludwig (83) recommends against designing for pressure drops lower then 0.1 in woter/ft Billet (66) also warns against designing packed vacuum towers with too low a pressure drop. 

Because of liquid-dispersion difficulties in packed towers, the design of plate towers is considerably more reliable and requires less safety factor when the ratio of liquid mass velocity to gas mass velocity is low. 

The amount of liquid holdup is considerably less in packed towers. 

The absorption of ozone by cyanide solutions in stirred reactors is complicated by mass transfer considerations. The presence of ozone gas in the exhaust from such a reactor does not indicate that equilibrium has been obtained between ozone gas bubbles and ozone in solution, but rather that the mass transfer through the individual bubbles is not complete, because of the resistance on the gas side. In other words, mass transfer controls the reaction, as the ozone will react almost instantaneously with the cyanide ion in solution. The presence of some metals, particularly copper, appears to speed up the absorption by acting as oxygen carriers. A solution of ozone in dilute acid decomposes somewhat more quickly when a trace of cupric ion is added. The presence of these metal catalysts, if this be their function, does not appear to be a necessary condition to ozone oxidation. What is important is that adequate mass transfer time and surface be available, as would be found in a countercurrent packed tower. 

When column diameters are less than 0.6 m (2.0 ft) packed towers can be considerably cheaper. However, if alloy metals are necessary, plate towers may result in less cost. Using ceramic or other similar resistant materials for packing and materials of construction, packed towers can serve to handle corrosive materials and acids. Because the gas flow in packed towers may offer less degree of agitation, packed tower operation may be better for liquids that tend to foam. When liquids are thermally sensitive, packed columns may offer less holdup and thus prevent changes taking place in the liquids due to thermal reaction. 

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