Tray Column Design :

Keep Control of the

Details
Intelligent effective
Specifying of the trays for a
distillation or stripping
column involves much
more than simply choosing
the right kind of tray

By:
Brian Lee (13007006)
Laras Wuri Dianningrum (13007075)
 How to succeed
• The success of making a tray column needs a good coordination
between the process engineer and tray and column supplier.
• There must be something that must be written in Specification Sheet.
They are:
– column diameter
– tray spacing
– number of trays
– number of passes
– type of downcomers
– weir heights
– provision of downcomer backups
– tray pressure drops
– design of bottom seal pan
– column bottom arrangement
– nozzle location and orientation
– some downcomer additional equipment.
Selection of Tray Spacing
 Tray spacing, tray passes
Spacing involves a tradeoff between column height and
column diameter: with greater tray spacing, the column
height increases while the required diameter decreases.

• Tray design (based from Kister):

– Set the number of passes such that liquid loads do not exceed
70 m3/h per meter of weir length
– After the number of passes has been selected, check the path
length. Internal manways should be If the path length is
minimum 400 mm.
– To avoid short liquid paths, adhere to the following guidelines:
Maximum 2 passes for column diameters of 1,2 to 2,1 mm; 3
passes for 2,1 to 3,0 mm; at most 4 passes for above 3,0 mm.
 Downcomer Types

The version most often found in process plants is the straight,

segmental vertical downcomer. It is simpler and less expensive than
sloped downcomers. On the other hand, the sloped versions make
the best use of the column cross-sectional area for downflow
 Liquid Velocities in Downcomer
• The maximum velocity of clear liquid in the
downcomer is governed by the need to prevent
choking, and to achieve satisfactory separation of
the vapor bubbles from the downcomer liquid.

• Recommended downcomer velocities are:

– Minimally foaming liquids: 0.12–0.21 m/s
– Liquids with medium foaming tendency: 0.09–0.18
m/s
– Highly foaming liquids: 0.06–0.09 m/s
 Downcomers Areas
• Smaller downcomers adversely affect the pattern of
the liquid flow as it approaches the weir, increasing
the pressure drop and promoting the formation of
stagnant regions near the edges of the tray.
• Another rule of thumb for single pass trays is to
have the downcomer width not less than 10% of the
column diameter.
• Be sure to specify the downcomer clearance so as to
be less than the outlet weir height; otherwise,
vapor will flow up the downcomer rather than
through the tray deck above.
 Downcomer Sealing
• To achieve a proper downcomer seal, the
bottom edge of the downcomer shouldbe about
10 mm below the top edge of the outlet weir.
• According to another guideline, the downcomer
clearance should be selected such that the liquid
velocity under the downcomer does not exceed
0.45 – 0.50 m/s.
• The best downcomer clearance can only be
specified by the tray vendor.
 Weir
• The purpose of an outlet weir is to keep the liquid level
on the tray at the intended value.

• Outlet weirs should be included in the specification, for

two reasons: an onset of froth-regime operation may
arise if the vapor rate falls off for some reason, and the
presence of the weir will limit spray-regime
entrainment. The preferred weir height for columns
operating in the spray regime is 20–25 mm.

• Weir loadings should fall within the range of 15 to 70

m3/h per meter of weir length.
 Pressure Drops
• The pressure drop across the tray is the sum of
two components
• One is the dry-tray pressure drop, namely, the
loss in pressure of the vapor as it flows upward
through the tray holes.
• The second component, the hydraulic-tray
pressure drop, arises because of the head of
liquid on the tray, which the rising vapor has to
overcome to reach the liquid surface.
 Sealing Pans
• Three principal guidelines for the
seal pans:
– the clearance between the seal pan
floor and the bottom downcomer
should exceed the clearance
normally employed under the tray
downcomers. It should be at least
Seal
50 mm. pan
– The distance that the downcomer
extends downward within the seal
pan should be about the same as
the clearance between downcomer
bottom and pan floor
– The distance between bottom tray
floor and seal pan floor should be
150 mm greater than the normal
tray spacing
 Tray Data Sheet
• For each tray section specify:
– the vapor flow to the tray and the liquid flow from the tray.
– The relevant temperatures,pressures, densities, viscosities
and surface tensions as applicable.

• Systems that foam a lot require appropriate

downcomer design and tray spacing.

• The basic input for filling out the tray data sheet
comes from the results of column simulations based
on one of the widely available, proprietary software
packages, along with mass and energy balances.
 Additional Design Details
• A column data sheet provides the column
vendor (which is not the tray vendor) with
data on the column shell: its height, diameter,
operating and design temperatures and
pressures ,material of construction, corrosion
allowance, nozzle details, provision of
manways, and similar details.
Nozzles
For nozzles that feed liquid
to the top tray, the preferred
arrangement is to orient the
nozzle perpendicular to the
downcomer of the top tray
(Look at Details A and B).

At locations where such feed

arrangements are to be
installed, the space between
the two trays should be at
least 800 mm, to facilitate
the installation
 Column Manway
• Normal practice is to provide access to the column
by specifying manways every 12 to 15 trays.
• At locations where the manways are to be included,
the tray spacings need to be at least 900 mm.
• It is good engineering practice to install manways
above feed trays, where the spacing must in any
case be greater to accommodate the distributor
pipes.
 The Column Bottom
• The inlets for the bottom feed and the reboiler return lines
alike should be above the high liquid level (HLL). The bottom
of either pipe should beat least 300 mm above the HLL .
• The bottom feed and reboiler return should not impinge on
the bottom seal pan, seal pan overflow, or the bottom
downcomer.
• The tops of both pipes should be at least 400 to 450 mm
below the bottom tray.
• Tangential bottom-feed and reboilerreturn nozzles should
be avoided, since they impart a swirl on the sump and
promote vortexing.
THE END