Sieve tray design pressure drop

For sieve trays, the number of kinetic heads equivalent to the total pressure drop through the plate itself is a function of the ratio of the sieve-hole diameter to the tray thickness and the ratio of the hole area per tray to the active area per tray as shown in Fig. 16-5. This pressure drop for a reasonable sieve-tray design is generally in the range of 1 to 3 kinetic heads, and Fig. 16-12 can be used to choose the most reasonable number to use in preliminary designs Designating the number of kinetic heads obtained from Fig. 16-12 as K.H., the pressure drop due to gas flow through the holes for a sieve tray expressed as liquid head is... 

Because of their proprietary nature, valve trays are usually designed by their respective vendors based on process specifications supplied by the customer. However, most fabricators publish technical manuals that make it possible to estimate some of the design parameters. The procedure for calculating valve-tray pressure drop outlined here has been adapted from the Koch Design Manual. As for the other column specifications required, they can be obtained via the same calculation procedures outlined above for the sieve-tray design. 

Bolles s (1976) design procedure uses the sieve tray design procedure as a basis and modifies it as necessary. One major difference between valve and sieve trays is in their pressure drop characteristics. The dry tray pressure drop in a valve tray is shown in Figure 10-23 fBolles. 19761. As the gas velocity increases, Ap first increases and then levels off at a plateau level. In the first range of increasing Ap, all valves are closed. At the closed balance point, some of the valves open. Additional valves open in the plateau region until all valves are open at the open balance point. With all valves open, Ap increases as the gas velocity increases further. The head loss in inches of liquid for both closed and open valves can be e q)ressed in terms of the kinetic energy. 

A common type of distillation contacting device used in refinery applications is the sieve tray. In the early 50 s and for many years before, the bubble cap tray was the mainstay of the distillation field. A sieve tray consists of a flat plate with regularly spaced holes, normally 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter. Liquid flows horizontally across the tray and into a channel, called a downcomer, which leads to the tray below. The sieve tray exhibits good capacity, excellent efficiency, low pressure drop, and good flexibility i.e., it will operate quite efficiently at tower loadings which are 1/2 to 1/3 of design values. 

The importance of the downcomer seal is to prevent vapor from the tray from bubbling into the downcomer (see Figure 8-63), whether the trays are bubble cap, valve or sieve types. If a seal weir is not included in the tray design, then operation problems to avoid flooding, weeping and unstable performance, including pressure drop, are increased, particularly during the start-up phase. 

The pressure drop of these trays is usually quite low. They can be operated at an effective bubbling condition wnth acceptable efficiencies and low pressure drops. For more efficient operation the clear liquid height on the tray appears to be. similar to the sieve tray, i.e., 1.5-2-in. minimum. This is peculiar to each system, and some operate at 1 in. with as good an efficiency as when a 2-in. is used. When data is not available, 2 in. is recommended as a median design point. 

Trays are usually designed with F-factor from 0.25 to 2.0 for a turndown of 8 1. Pressure drop per theoretical stage falls between 3 and 8 mm Hg. Note that bubble cap trays are on the high side and sieve trays are on the lower end of the range. Varying tray spacing and system efficiency, the HETP for trays are usually between 24 in. and 48 in. [133]. The C-factor is the familiar Souders and Brown capacity equation. 

Bubblecap trays are used only when a liquid ievei must be maintained at iow turndown ratio they can be designed for lower pressure drop than either sieve or valve trays. 

The plates may be any of several types, including sieve, bubble-cap, and valve trays. Valve trays constitute multiple self-adjusting orifices that provide nearly constant gas pressure drop over considerable ranges of variation in gas flow. The gas pressure drop that can be taken across a single plate is necessarily limited, so that units designed for high contacting power must use multiple plates. 

FIG. 14-37 Aeration factor for pressure drop calculation. (a) Sieve trays. [Bolles and Fair, Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design, vols. 16, 86. J. M. McKetta (ed.), Marcel Dekker, New York, 1982.] h. Valve trays. (From G. F. Klein, Chem. Eng., May 3, 1982, p. 81 reprinted courtesy of Chemical Engineering.)... 

Specifying the need for a tray-type column, the type of tray must be determined. Sieve trays are considered most appropriate for this application. They offer a simple and inexpensive construction with low pressure drop (if the hydraulic design is adequate). Bubble cap and valve-type trays offer advantages in controlling liquid droplet entrainment, but pose significant difficulties for installation of cooling coils. 

Pressure drop Moderate Moderate. Early designs somewhat higher. Recent designs same as sieve trays High Low to moderate... 

Examples 3 and 4 presented in the following illustrate methods for estimating pressure drop with bubble-cap contactors and with sieve-tray contactors. The examples also give information as to typical design conditions for the two types of contactors. 

Sieve tray tower Design is based on a coalesced layer of 1 inch h = 2.54 cm) with 50% of pressure drop through perforations and 50% through downcomer. An 18-inch tray spacing is used. 

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