Choose suitable column packing material for improved processes
If you have opted to line the internal area of your distilling, cooling, stripping, drying, or absorption tower or column with packing then you should simply choose suitable column packing material for improved processes. Choosing the wrong material or shape of your packing could severely affect your yield as well as hike up energy costs or could simply result in crashed packing within your column.
It is extremely important to stack your column with adequate amount of packing since this move will increase the contact area within the column and result in optimized liquid vapor distribution. The right type of packing will also lower incidents of pressure drops within the column, which in turn will ensure that you need not raise energy levels during the distilling, stripping, cooling, absorption, or scrubbing process, among others and will certainly save a neat packet of money from the very first day you include them in your process. However, there are a wide range of packing options that include different shapes, sizes, and materials that will truly affect the outcome of your process in a positive manner if stacked in the best possible manner within your tower or column.
You can choose from different column packing such as berl saddles, cascade mini rings, pall rings, raschig rings, intalox saddles, and other types of designs that each possess specific characteristics to improve your chosen process in a noticeable manner. These forms of packing are also available in various materials and you should choose your column packing material after studying the size of your column, the chemicals that need to be processed and the cost of the packing, before you make an informed decision. You should choose a material that allows you to remain within your budgetary constraints while still enhancing your desired process to deliver a purer and larger yield while lowering your energy costs at the same time.
You can choose from various column packing material such as plastics that include PVC, HDPE, RPP, and various other variants that offer a cost effective solution to most processes. On the other hand, you can also opt for metal as your material of choice and these could include stainless steel, titanium, zirconium, and various types of aluminum alloys as well as other alloys based on your specific requirements. However, one material that has extremely high heat resistant properties and can also resist attacks from most acids except hydrofluoric acid is ceramic. You can easily locate different types of saddles and rings made out of ceramic and in raschig rings ceramic is the obvious choice since it can be easily stacked even in deep beds without fear of breakage. Ceramic is also very cheap to produce and can thus take care of your packing costs on a long term basis while optimizing your column efficiency at the same time. Your column internals can now be stacked with cost effective raschig rings constructed out of ceramic so as to offer increased strength as well as provide high contact area between various vapors and liquids within your column.
It is vital to provide adequate packing within your column so as to ensure that your stripping, cooling, distilling, or absorption process does not suffer from sudden pressure drops that might require high energy to offset the problem. While your column should be stacked with packing that is of the right size and shape, you should also ensure that you choose the right column packing material for improved processes.