Design and conception of an innovative packing for separation column—Part I: Hydrodynamic study on wire intersections

Abstract

Packed columns are crucial equipment established in the process industry in order to per­form several separation operations (e.g. distillation, absorption, etc.). The scientific challenge is to improve the performance of these separation columns. This work aims to develop an innovative wire-based packing, where the liquid flow on the wire will have an interfacial surface greater than the geometric surface of the packing structure. A study of the liquid film behavior on inclined wires and their intersections is carried out based on experimen­tal observations and a numerical simulation. The result is a mapping of the liquid flow regimes favored for the distillation process. Hence, it will be possible to orient the design of the wire-based packing, especially the wire diameter and inclination and the shape of the intersections.