Plate towers

Packed vs Plate Columns. Relative to plate towers, packed towers are more useful for multipurpose distillations, usually in small (under 0.5 m) towers or for the following specific appHcations severe corrosion environment where some corrosion-resistant materials, such as plastics, ceramics, and certain metaUics, can easily be fabricated into packing but may be difficult to fabricate into plates vacuum operation where a low pressure drop per theoretical plate is a critical requirement high (eg, above 49,000 kg/(hm ) (- 10, 000 lb/(hft )) Hquid rates foaming systems or debottlenecking plate towers having plate spacings that are relatively close, under 0.3 m. 

Height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) plate tower data ... 

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. 

The design of a plate tower for gas-absorption or gas-stripping operations involves many of the same principles employed in distillation calculations, such as the determination of the number of theoretical plates needed to achieve a specified composition change (see Sec. 13). Distillation differs from gas absorption in that it involves the separation of components based on the distribution of the various substances between a gas phase and a hquid phase when all the components are present in Doth phases. In distillation, the new phase is generated From the original feed mixture by vaporization or condensation of the volatile components, and the separation is achieved by introducing reflux to the top of the tower. 

In gas absorption, the new phase consists of an inert nonvolatile solvent (absorption) or an inert nonsoluble gas (stripping), and normally no reflux is involved. The following paragraphs discuss some of the considerations peculiar to gas-absorption calculations for plate towers and some of the approximate design methods that can be employed when simplifying assumptions are vahd. 

In the references cited previously, the authors discuss the influence of operating variables upon the performance of plate towers when large heat effects are involved. Some general observations are as follows ... 

FIG. 14-79 Cost of trays in plate towers. Price includes tray deck, bubble caps, risers, downcomers, and structural-steel parts. The stainless steel designated is type 410 Peters and Timmerhaus, Plant Design and Economics for Cbemical Engineers, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1.9.91). 

Plate Towers Plate (tray) towers are countercurrent gas-atomized spray scrubbers using one or more plates for gas-liquid contacting. They are essentially the same as, if not identical to, the devices used for gas absorption and are frequently employed in apphcations in which gases are to be absorbed simultaneously with the removal of dust. Except possibly in cases in which condensation effects are involved, countercurrent operation is not significantly beneficial in dust collection. 

Plate towers are more subject to plugging and fouling than venturi-type scrubbers that have large passages for gas and liquid. 

These scrubbers have had limited use as part of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems, but the scrubbing solution flow rate must be carefully controlled to avoid flooding. When absorption is used for VOC control, packed towers are usually more cost effective than impingement plate towers (discussed later). 

PM Impingement-plate tower collection efficiencies range from 50 to 99 percent, depending upon the application. This type of scrubber relies almost exclusively on inertial impaction for PM collection. Therefore, collection efficiency decreases as particle size decreases. Short residence times will also lower scrubber efficiency for small particles. Collection efficiencies for small particles (< 1 fim in aerodynamic diameter) are low for these scrubbers hence, they are not recommended for fine PM control. 

Platten-gewebe, n. lamellar tissue, -glimmer, m. sheet mica, -gummi, n. plate rubber sheet rubber, -kaik, m. slab limestone, -kautschuk, n. plate rubber sheet rubber, -kondensator, m. (Elec.) plate condenser, -kultur, /. plate culture, -kupfer, n. sheet copper, -pulver, n. (Expl.) rolled powder, flake powder, -achale, /. flat dish, specif. Petri dish, -turm, m. plate column, plate tower, -zink, n. slab zinc, plattgedriickt, a. flat-pressed, flattened, plattieren, jj.t. plate clad. 

Because the packed tower is a continuous contacting device as compared to the step-wise plate tower, performance capacity is expressed as the number of transfer units, N, the height of the transfer unit, H.T.U., and mass transfer coefficients K a and Kj a. Figure 9-68 identifies the key symbols and constant flow material balance. 

Packed towers are used in some distillation operations in preference to plate towers. Usually the selection requires an understanding of the fouling characteristics of fluids of the system. These towers have been used even in polymer forming operations. However, other contacting devices can be cleaned easier. For some processes the packed tower is much more effective as well as cheaper than a tray tower. 

The problems relating to mass transfer may be elucidated out by two clear-cut yet different methods one using the concept of equilibrium stages, and the other built on diffusional rate processes. The selection of a method depends on the type of device in which the operation is performed. Distillation (and sometimes also liquid extraction) are carried out in equipment such as mixer settler trains, diffusion batteries, or plate towers which contain a series of discrete processing units, and problems in these spheres are usually solved by equilibrium-stage calculation. Gas absorption and other operations which are performed in packed towers and similar devices are usually dealt with utilizing the concept of a diffusional process. All mass transfer calculations, however, involve a knowledge of the equilibrium relationships between phases. 

Figure 24.1 Types of tower or column reactors for gas-liquid reactions (a) packed tower, (b) plate tower, (c) spray tower, (d) falling-film tower, (e) bubble column...

Plate tower. A plate tower (Figure 24.1(b)) contains, for example, bubble-cap or... 

Control device vendors estimate that removal efficiencies range from 95 to 99%. For S02 control, removal efficiencies vary from 80 to greater than 99%, depending upon the type of reagent used and the plate tower design. Most current applications have an S02 removal efficiency greater than 90%. 

P8.Q4.29. RESIDENCE TIME DISTRIBUTION IN AN EIGHT-PLATE TOWER... 

Measurements were made of RTD in an eight-plate tower under different operating conditions (Prokop et al, Biotech Bioeng H 945, 1969). (a) Effect... 

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