COLUMN INTERNALS

Distillation , King in separations , will

remain as the workhorse separation
device of the process industries, even
though it is old in the art ,with a relatively
mature technology support base, it
attracts research & professional interest.
Without question distillation will sail into
future with clear skies and a strong
winds. it will remain the key separations
against which alternate methods must be
judged
Why Distillation?
US-Initiative “Vision 2020” (1998) for chemical
industry

 US Department of Energy.

 American Institute of Chemical

Engineers.
 Task of identifying the technical barriers.

 The research needs and the priorities of

the chemical industry regarding
separation processes.
Most Critical Research
Areas Needs for Distillation
 Improved understanding of physical
phenomena;

 Better in situ sampling.

 Analytical and flow-visualization methods.

 Better predictive modeling

Distillation Column
Design
 Primary phase

 Secondary phase
Primary Design
 Column diameter
 Types of tray
 Split of tray area
 Bubbling area
 Downcomer area
 Tray vapor & liquid load
 Tray spacing
 Weir length
Secondary Design
 Detailed layout

 Control configuration
Column Internals
 Packed Bed
 Random or dumped packing
 Structured packing
 Grid
 Liquid & Vapor distributor
 Bed supports & limiter

 Tray type
 Bubble cap tray
 Sieve tray
 Valve Tray
 High Capacity trays
Packing Objective
Objectives for maximizing efficiency
 To maximize the specific surface area
 To spread surface area uniformly.
 To promote uniform distribution of vapor &
liquid throughout the bed
 To freely drain any liquid so that stagnant
liquid pockets are minimized
 To maximize the wetting of packing surface
Objectives for Maximizing
Capacity
 To maximize The void space per unit
column volume.
 To minimize friction (good Aerodynamic
characteristics).
 To ensure uniform resistance to vapor &
liquid flow throughout the bed.
 To permit easy disengagement of vapor
from liquid.
 Other Objectives

 To maximize resistance to mechanical

deformation /deformation under the
weight of bed.

 To minimize cost.

 To maximize the fouling resistance.

 To minimize the liquid holdup.

 To minimize damage during abnormal

Types of Random Packing
 First generation packing (Raschig rings,
Lessing Rings, Berl saddles)
 Second generation packing(intalox saddles,
pall rings, Hy-pak )
 Third generation packing(CMR, Chempak,
Nutter rings, Hckp, fleximax, hiflow rings,
Lanpac, Impac etc)
 Other miscellaneous random packing
(Dinapac, super Torus VSP, Interpack,
Raschig Ring
 First generation
random packing.
 made from metals
like carbon steel or
very high alloys such
as Monel 400 or
Hastelloy C276.
 Special Carbon or
Graphite made are
used in specific
applications
 Resistant to most
acids, alkalis and
solvents at
temperatures as high
as 1500 C 
Pall Rings
 Second-generation,
random packing.
 Primarily made of
304SS and 316L SS
metal alloys for quick
replacement in kind
from stock materials. 
 Carbon Steel and
specialty alloys, such
as Monel 400 and
Hastelloy C276, made
are used for specific
applications
 Pall Rings are
available in various
Saddle Rings
 Saddle Rings were originally
introduced to the industry
under the product name
IMTP® Intalox Metal Tower
Packing, a registered
trademark of Koch-Glitsch, LP. 
 In terms of performance, i.e.,
low-pressure drop and high
efficiency.
 Used in both high pressure as
well as vacuum towers.
 Large effective interfacial
area,
 High mechanical strength
 And lower cost due to less
metal than previous
generations of random
packing.
INTALOX® 
ULTRA™ Random Packing
 Lowest pressure drop
and highest capacity

 Highest distillation,
absorption, and
stripping efficiency

 High strength to weight

ratio
IMTP® 
High Performance Random
Packing
 High void fraction
&well distributed
surface area.
 More open shape
improves liquid
spreading.
 Low pressure drop
and high capacity
 High specific heat
transfer coefficient.
 High strength to
weight ratio.
 BETA RING™
High Performance Random
Packing
High vapor capacity and
low pressure drop

 High efficiency

 High liquid handling

capacity

 Fouling resistant
CASCADE MINI-RINGS®
(CMRTM)
High Performance Random
 L/D=1/3

 Open side facing vapor

flow, reduces friction.

 High capacity and low

pressure drop

 High efficiency

 Fouling resistant
 HY-PAK® 
Random Packing
 More internal tongues
helps in spread in
surface area
 Higher capacity and
lower pressure drop
than Pall rings
 Higher efficiency
compared to Pall rings
for the same capacity.
 Higher mechanical
strength than Pall
 FLEXIRING®
Random Packing
 Good capacity and
low pressure drop

 Higher liquid hold-up

and residence time

 Versatile standard
packing
 Nutter Ring
 Efficiency enhanced by
lateral liquid spreading
and surface film renewal
 Superior surface utilization
in mass and heat transfer,
allowing shorter packed
bed heights
 A high performance
random packing verified
by tests conducted at
Fractionation Research
Institute
 Mechanical structure
provides maximum
Tellerette Random
Packing
 Performance Comparison
of Three Packing
 Generations
Improvement in
efficiency or capacity
from generation to
generation

 Second & Third

generation packing
intelligently designed
 Packing Material
 Metals/Alloys

 Ceramics

 Plastics/polymers
 Structured Packing
Wire Gauze Packing Corrugated Structured
 Sulzer wire gauze Packing
packing  Mellapak
 Goodloe  Flexipak
 Hyperfil  Gempak
 Montz  Intalox High
Performance Structured
Packing
 Max-Pac
 Flexiramic
 Sulzer Gauze Packing BX
and CY
 Employed in industry
since 40 years for
gentle distillation

 High separation
efficiency with low
pressure drop for low
liquid loads/vacuum
applications

 Available made of
wide pallet of
stainless steel, alloys
GOODLOE™
(structured wire gauze
packing)  Multifilament of fine
diameter wire,
knitted together to
form tube type
structure.
 Specific surface
area585-1000ft2 /ft3.
 Available in
metal,plastic,alloyes
with teflon coating
 Hyperfil (Structured
Packing)
 Made of
multifilament of
fine diameter wire.
Rolling the knitted
wire structure in
parallel vertical
layer.
 Made of stainless
Montz
 Katapak™-SP
 Corrugated sheet
spreads in a series of
parallel planes.
 Packing for reactive
distillation and trickle-
bed reactors
 High separation
efficiency and high
 Mellapak™
 Universal packing
type with surface area
of 250m2 /m3

 Suitable for a wide

range of applications
for low to very high
liquid loads/ vacuum
to gauge pressure.

 Available made of
wide pallet of
stainless steel, alloys
 FLEXIPAC®
 Enhanced Structured
Packing Systems for
Mass Transfer
Applications Lower
Pressure Drop and up
to 40% Higher
Capacity than
Structured Packing Vs.
Random Packing
 Specific surface area vs. packing factor

 HETP vs. sp.Surface area

 Liquid holdup vs. liquid flow rate

 Pressure drop per theoretical stage

 Wetting & minimum liquid rate

Specific Surface Area Vs.
Packing Factor
HETP vs. Sp. Surface
Area
Pressure Drop Per
Theoretical Stage
Liquid Holdup Vs. Liquid
Flow Rate
Types of Grids
 Glitsch C-grid

 Koch Flexigrid

 Nutter Snap Grid

 Perform Grid
 FLEXIGRID® Structured
Packing
 Koch-Glitsch FLEXIGRID® structured packing is
developed primarily for severe services which are
susceptible to fouling, erosion, coking and high solids
content. FLEXIGRID® packing is installed in rigid
modules stacked in successive layers with a fixed
orientation, which minimizes the overall pressure drop
while simultaneously increasing tower capacity and/or
efficiency. 
Applications
 Crude Atmospheric Towers
 Lube Vacuum Towers
 Crude Vacuum Towers
 Fluid or Thermal Cracking Fractionators
 Coker or Visbreaker Fractionators
 Coker Scrubbers
 Reactor Off-Gas Scrubber
 Gas Quench Towers
 Grids vs. Packing
 Capacity and efficiency
Roughly grids have high capacity
and low efficiency(similar to 2nd & 3rd
generation packing)
 Pressure drop
3-5times lower then 2in pall ring
 Wetting
Grid can achieve high turndown and
perform well at low liquid rate
Grids vs. Packing
 Solids handling
Most suitable for solid containing stream
& fouling services
 Corrosion
Due to thin sheet metal low tendency of
oxidation
 Maintenance & troubleshooting
Easy to install/remove/maintain
 Cost (cost is less then structured packing/
same order as of random packing)
Packing Hydraulics
 Pressure drop flow regimes
 Flooding prediction
i. By interpolation( literature supplied
by manufacturer)
ii. Through empirical/ semi-empirical
equations (Kister&Gill
correlation, Billet& Schulets
correlation,mersamann correlations)
iii. Graphs (GPDC curve, modified GPDC
curve)
Flooding Curve
Pressure drop
 Pressure drop is also affected by tower
diameter, smaller the diameter lower the
pressure drop.(e.g. literature reports 10-20%
lower pressure drop in 3ft column diameter
then in a 1ft column for same capacity)
 Dry packed bed have higher pressure drop
then wet bed(5-10% capacity reduction due to
this wetting phenomenon)
 Difference in size, shape, geometry of packing
supplied by different manufacturer also have
effect on pressure drop.
 Pressure drop for foaming system are higher
Factors Favoring Packed
Column
 Vacuum system
 Low pressure drop applications

 Revamps

 Foaming/emulsion

 Corrosive systems

 Low liquid hold up

Random Packing Support
Grid
 These grid-type plates are used in
columns with short bed depths, and where
efficient space utilization is essential,
since they take up less tower height than
a Model 101R.The Model 104 is frequently
used in the short packed beds of crude
atmospheric and vacuum towers
 Random Packing Bed
Limiter
 Attached to support rings or
bolting clips above the packed
bed, a bed limiter prevents the
loss of packing if high pressure
drop or surge conditions cause
sudden bed expansions.
Lightweight mesh is
attached to the bed limiter to
prevent carryover of smaller-
sized packing. Integral bed
limiters may be used with most
Koch-Glitsch gravity
distributors, thereby eliminating
the need for a separate bed
limiter. This reduces cost by
eliminating one device and its
support ring, and minimizing
the risk of maldistribution
caused by liquid splashing on a
 Ceramic Packing Hold
Down
 Koch-Glitsch Hold Down
Plates rest directly on top of
the packed bed and are used
exclusively to hold ceramic or
tower packing in place. They
are not recommended for
metal or plastic packing.

The plates inhibit

fluidization of the top layer of
packing during tower
operation. Like the bed
limiters, they deliver at least
as much throughput capacity
as the packing at low
pressure drops.

The overall height of

 Flashing Feed Distributor
 The 300 Flashing Feed Distributor is used
to disengage the vapor phase from a two-
phase feed. The 300 consists of two
plates: an upper gallery, which is 50%
open for vapor disengagement, and a
lower plate for liquid distribution which is
similar to a Model 301A. Each plate
requires a separate support ring.
The two-phase feed is fed to the
upper gallery where the vapor disengages
from the liquid. A 350 Inlet Deflector
Baffle is typically used in front of the feed
nozzle to deflect the feed around the
tower wall. Holes in the bottom of the
upper gallery transfer the liquid to the
lower plate where the liquid is distributed
over the packing. The upper gallery
height is typically 12 inches, and the
A Narrow Trough Liquid
Distributor Equipped with
Drip Tubes.
Lateral Type Liquid
Distributor/Spray Type Liquid
Distributor
 Orifice Riser Distributor
 These are commonly
used in column
diameters up to 48
inches.  The number
and size of orifices
and risers will vary
according to the gas
and liquid flow rates.
This style of design
is limited to a 4to1
turn down ratio. 
Other liquid
distributor types
 Trough Distributor
 Traditional Weir V- trough
distributors are used in
column 36 inch and larger.
 They offer a limited range
of liquid and gas flow turn
down at 4to1 ratio.
 The liquid is delivered by
feed pipes over the parting
boxes. The parting boxes
feed knotched weirs which
distribute the liquid
evenly over the packing
bed below.
 The units are not subject
to fouling and can handle
 ACS High Performance
Distributors

 Low liquid flow

rates, high liquid
viscosity and high
turn down.
Type R Distributors
 Their type R is a channel type distributor with 
the liquid over flowing through tubes welded
into the channel. Solids do not interfere with this
design. Turn down is 1:3, with one stage and
1:10 with a two stage design.
 ACS/ Montz Liquid
Distributors
 The patented Type S
design is similar to
type R except that
at the bottom of the
overflow tube the
flow is directed to a
number of metal
fingers which split
the liquid flow into a
number of smaller
streams.  This
provides excellent
 AccuFlow™ Inlet
Diffusers

 When a simple inlet

diffuser is not
sufficient to provide
primary removal
of entrained liquids.
When the Force of
Inertia is less than
2,500 lb/ft2s , then
simple diffusers are
 Bed Supports and Limiters
 ACS designs it bed
supports for tower
packing to allow
for maximum open area
with high liquid and
vapor flow.

 Bed limiters and

supports are made in
bolt together sections to
easily pass through
tower man ways. Exact
screen, holes, and
 Redistributor Type
 Liquid collector trays are
arranged between two
packing bed sections in
a tower. The liquid
trickling down is
collected by the liquid
collector tray and from
here it can be returned
to a liquid distributor or
in the area of the liquid
collector tray it is
also possible to install
liquid/vapor feeds or
Thank You