Evaporation of waste chemicals and liquids is an integral component of wastewater treatment, and various processes – such as chemical separation, distillation and adsorption – may be employed in its pursuit. If not employed correctly however, such methods can become ineffective or even dangerous; in this article we’ll look at one popular way this process is performed: Raschig rings.
Metal or glass rings with roughly equal length and diameter are used to increase surface area within a column for interaction between liquids and gas vapors during distillation, as well as other chemical processing activities. Friedrich Raschig of Germany invented them during the early 20th century due to his realization of needing high void fraction for mass transfer efficiency; this drove his development of the ring packing design.
Chemical, petrochemical and oil refining equipment often utilize this form of packing to increase heat transference. The irregular attachments allow material that is hard to evaporate to move downward through the ring while easily evaporateable liquid moves upward; making this form of evaporation more efficient than others such as fractal patterns.
Wisconsin Stamping & Manufacturing’s metal Raschig rings can be found in numerous chemical processing applications, offering long service lives, resistance to fouling and stagnation as well as tolerance for physical shock. Furthermore, they help prevent entrainment with high capacities and separation efficiency.