BITS Pilani

K K Birla Goa Campus

Distillation and Absorption

Tower/Columns
 Introduction Distillation and
Absorption units
Most commonly used mass transfer unit operations
Distillation
Performed at higher than ambient temperatures; wide range of pressures
Associated with auxiliary equipments such as reboilers/condensers/etc
Absorption
Involve cryogenic conditions and super atmospheric pressures
Associated with auxiliary equipments as feed coolers/interstage coolers
Mass transfer contacting devices in both cases are same
(Tray columns or packed tower)
Both may be considered together from the mechanical
design point of view 2

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 Basic features of towers/columns
Internals
Trays/plates or variety of packings

Ladder and platform

Self-supported or supporting
structure is provided

18/04/2017 Amol Deshpande

BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus
 Type of columns
Tray/Plate column
Liquid is a continuous phase
Gas is dispersed phase
System is generally in counter-current mode of operation
Pressure drop being higher, these columns are not recommended for vacuum
operation

Packed column
Packing Structured or random
Packing provides intimate contact between gas/vapor and liquid facilitating
mass transfer
Gas/vapor is the continuous phase
Liquid is the dispersed phase
Physical separation or reversible reactions Counter current
For systems with irreversible reactions Co-current
Low pressure drop device and can be used for vaccum operation. 4

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 Tower diameter and height
Column diameter
In counter current mode of operations - Hydrodynamic conditions decide the
column diameter
In co-current mode of operation flow regime or pressure drop will decide the
column diameter

Height of the column

Governed by the mass transfer considerations
Plate/tray column
Equilibrium stages need to be obtained
Total no of plates calculated from plate/tray efficiency
Plate spacing will then decide the tower height
Packed column
Height of packing = No of theoretical plates x HETP
Total height = Height of mass transfer device + Internals 5

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 Process engineering data

Table 11.1

Mechanical data
Max operating pressure
Temperature
Deck, downcomer, packing materials
Valve, cap material
Corrosion allowance, mm
Deck thickness
Drain holes and location

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 Tower / Column Internals Plate
type columns
Mass transfer between phases takes place in series of
plates/trays

Minimum tray spacing (recommended) = 300 mm

For 1500 mm internal diameter 450 600 mm

Typical tray specifications Table 11.2

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 Plates without downcomers

Flat circular plates (with diameter less than internal

diameter of the column)
Large no of holes/slots
Turbogrid
With rectangular slots
Dual flow tray, Ripple tray, Kittel tray based on the
design of plates
Plates are assembled with slots of one plate at right
angles to those at the adjacent plates
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Plate with downcomers

Flat plate with provision of passages known as down-comers

for the downward flow of liquid
Downcomer area 10% of total plate area
Various designs are adopted
Downcomers and weirs
Inlet weir
To distribute the liquid as it enters tray from downcomer
Circular or pipe type downcomers (Fig. 11.4) are used for small liquid
Exit weir
Segmental shape (Fig. 11.3)
Chord type downcomer (Fig. 11.6)
Singe pass cross flow

Amol Deshpande BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

 Plate with downcomers

Single pass flow

Reverse flow
Created by a system shown in Fig. 11.6 (a)
When liquid flow becomes small in comparison to vapor flow
Radial flow (Fig. 11.6 (b))

Multipass flow
Fig. 11.7
Narrow rectangular troughs spaced across the tray to act as downcomers

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 Plates with downcomers
Contacting devices
Bubble caps
Trays are provided with cylindrical riser or chimneys
Caps in the form of inverted cups are located over the risers
Flow of vapor
For caps (Fig. 11.9 (a) and (b))
Size of bubble caps (Table 11.3)
Round bell caps with diameter 75 to 150 mm are most common
Special cases
Rectangular risers or chimneys with tunnel shaped cups are used
Skirt clearance between plate and cap 12 to 40 mm (to provent plugging fo
the slots due to the residual build up)
Riser
Diameter 60 to 70% of cap diameter
Total riser area 10-20 % of total tower cross sectional area
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 Contacting devices

Valves
Poppet type valves which are lifted by vapors and act as variable orifices
Permits effective mixing of vapor and liquid over wide range of loading
With domed or flat caps
Circular liftable caps
Caps with double lift systems
Flexi trays (Fig. 11.10 (a) and (b))
Ballast trays
Valves with flat caps or discs
Sieve plates

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 Plates with downcomers

Distribution baffles

Tray drainage

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 Feed systems

Sized for a feed velocity of 1 m/s.

Liquid feed

Top tray (With weir and baffles) Single

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and Multi pass
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 Feed systems

Liquid feed (Intermediate tray feeds: Locations A, B, C, D)

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 Feed systems

Vapor feed
Located below the bottom tray
Introduced parallel to bottom downcomer (at a spacing of 500-600 mm)
Sparge pipe is also provided for a mixed vapor/liquid feed

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 Other important sections of tray
column
Draw offs
Drawing off liquid from the bottom of the column
Using either Chimney tray and Draw pan

Manholes and handholes

Manholes : Generally after every 15 20 trays
Manhole sizes: 450 mm internal diameter or 300 x 400 mm opening
Flanged section or handholes at the bottom of each bed section 17

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 Packed columns

Columns are filled with suitable packing materials

Liquid flows downward as a film over the surface of
particles, while vapor rises
Liquid feed At the top using distributor
Vapor feed At the bottom of the packing support
Mass transfer contact between liquid and vapor on the
surface of the packings
Desirable to keep pressure drop as the minimum.

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 Packed columns

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 Type of packings

Random
Raschig rings
Intallox saddles
Berl saddles
Pall rings

Structured
Sulzer Mellapack, Kerapack
Grid trays
Everpack (Sheet metal or wire mesh)

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 Liquid distributors

Required to effect a proper wetting of the packings

Distributors: Piping arrangement, flat perforated plates,
notched troughs or weir type distributors
For columns with diameter less than 600 mm
Single pipe nozzle with a splash plate
Distance between nozzle and the splash plate should be 150 250 mm
Sprays should cover 50% of the cross-section
For columns with larger diameters
Cross pipes
Spider pipe with multiple arms
Pipe bent to a circular form
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 Liquid redistribution and wall
wipers
Liquid has a tendency to drift towards the wall
Liquid concentration in the inner cross section falls
considerable after a certain height
Liquid redistribution is done to avoid drifting of liquid
Arrangements of packing
3 column diameters for raschig rings
5 10 column diameters for saddle packing
Between packings, liquid redistributors and wall wipers are provided

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 Support plates and hold down
plates
Support plates
Located at the bottom of the column and support packing
Conventional plates
Perforated plates or screens and grid bar
Free area is limited to 20 30 % (perforated) and 30 40 % (grid bar)

Gas-injection-weir-type support plates

Free area of 50% which helps in achieving a better performance

Hold-down plates
Top of the packing and restrain the bed under conditions of high gas rates
or fluctuating gas flows
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 Stresses in column shell

For self-supporting structure

Circumferential and axial stresses due to internal pressure or vacuum
Compressive stresses due to dead loads (weight of column, insulation,
contents)
Stresses due to bending moment caused by wind loads
Stresses due to eccentricity as a result of irregular load distribution
Stresses due to seismic (earthquake) forces

Stresses due to pressure circumferential and axial

Other stresses axial
Stresses in axial direction are not same over entire
height and will increase towards the bottom
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 Combined stresses in axial direction

Stresses at a height X from the top of the shell

(Excluding stresses due to eccentricity)
Internal pressure and upwind side Eq. (11.1)
External pressure and upwind side Eq. (11.2)
Internal pressure and downwind side Eq.(11.3)
External pressure and downwind side Eq. (11.4)

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 Stress and thickness calculations

Determination of shell thickness at any distance X (Eq.

11.5)

Axial stress due to pressure

Stresses due to dead loads (at height X)

Compressive stress due to weight of shell
Compressive stress due to weight of insulation
Compressive stress due to liquid in the column upto X
Compressive stress due to attachments
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 Stress and thickness calculations

Stress due to wind load at a distance X (Eq. 11.12

11.14)
Wind pressure is related to wind velocity
Max value of 125 kg/m2 on a flat surface may be satisfactory
Round vessels shape factor is 0.7

Stress due to eccentricity of loads (Eq. 11.15)

Stress due to seismic load (Eq. 11.16- 11.17)

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 Determination of height X

All axial stresses need to be added and equated to the allowable

tensile stress
Wind load or seismic load taken into consideration (most adverse
among them)
Determine X by solving the quadratic equation (Eq. 11.19)
Adjust thickness so that X is multiple of plate width
Repeat calculations using increased thickness to determine
subsequent column height (below X)
Repeat these calculations until entire height of the column is
covered
Column shells are formed using single plate with longitudinal
welds (preferably staggered and clear of bracket, support, etc.)
Columns under operating conditions vs column under other
limiting conditions 28

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 Elastic stability under compressive
stresses and allowable deflection
Compressive stress produced on downwind side must be
checked to ensure elastic stability
Wrinkling conditions must be checked (eq. 11.21, 11.22)

Allowable deflection
Column deflection at the top is important when height to diameter ratio is high
Generally max deflection = (5 x column height in m) mm
Vibration analysis need to be done for columns with height more than 30 m or
with height to diameter ratio of 18 30
Total deflection Eq. 11.23
If total deflection is more than permissible then shell thickness has to be
increased.
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 Design and construction features of
column internals Plate and tray
Factors affecting design of plates and trays
Load on the tray due to dead weight, liq weight and impact due to downcoming
liquid
Expansion due to rise in temperature
Ease of installation and fabrication
Ease of access and maintenance
Method of support
Material of construction
Safety
Constructed as one piece (2 6 mm thickness) or sectional
trays
Holes 4 6 mm dia with equilateral triangular spacing
varying from 2.5 5 times the diameter of the hole
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 Plate and tray construction

Sectional trays
Floor plates cut from sheets, laid on supporting beam.
Clamping devices are used for fixing
Ability to cope with thermal expansion
Can have problem of leakage if joints are not satisfactorily made

One piece cast iron/ wrought trays

Can withstand compressive stresses due to expansion within a reasonable
limit
Packing seal between edge of tray and column wall helps to relieve these
streses

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 Loading conditions for trays and
plates
Plates should be sufficiently thick and adequate
supporting system needs to be provided to avoid
deflections
Loads causing deflection
1. Weight of the tray
2. Weight of the liquid
3. Impact load of downcoming liquid (Eq 11.24)
4. Expansion due to rise in temperatures
5. Weight of maintenance personnel and tools

Working conditions loads 1 3

Cleaning assembly, inspection operations 1 5
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 Guidelines for tray loading

Fractional trays Designed for uniform live load of 60

N/m2 or the weight of the liquid at corresponding height
Maximum deviation from horizontal during normal tray
loading should not exceed 1/900th of the span
Areas under downcomer Designed for 3200 N/m2
Pans Designed for live load of 800 N/m2
Baffles Designed for live load of 800 N/m2
Trays, baffles, pans Total design load is 1500 N at any
point
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 Deflection and stresses

Depends on the methods used for supporting structure

Methods
Support on a peripheral ring
Adopted for small diameter columns
Support on a truss and support ring
Truss made of angles, channels of trapezoidal sections
Purlins of the truss are supported by column wall (welding) or by a
support ring
Vertical supports
Round or hexagonal bars extended between trays and evenly spaced
across the areas

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 Deflection and stresses

Trays supported on a peripheral ring

Deflection (Eq. 11.25 and 11.26)
Eq. 11.25/11.26 can be modified if the assumptions considered fails

Stress in the tray (normal load) (f1) Eq. 11.27

Stress in the tray (due to concentrated load) (f2) Eq. 11.28

Total stress is f1 + f2

Applications are strictly limited to small diameter columns

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 Deflection and stresses

Trays supported on a truss (with purlins)

Size of each purlin or beam of truss determined by span and load shared
Deflection in each purlin Eq 11.29
Stress in purlin Eq. 11.30 and Eq. 11.31

Support rings sizes Table 11.5

Purlins and beams

Support beam should be normal to liquid flow
Beam depth should not exceed 20% of tray spacing
Tray area blanked by beams should be 5 10 % of tray area
Minimum overlap of 25 mm between OD of tray and support beams
Hold down bolts should be of 10 mm dia
Bolt spacing should be < 100 mm (trays) and < 75 mm (downcomers) 36

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 Deflection and stresses

Vertical supports
Load on vertical supports is total weight of trays, liquid and impact load
No of vertical bars are used
Using sufficient numbers of bars can help reduce the deflection to the
desired range
Round or hexagonal and made of carbon steel
Recommended sizes Table 11.6

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 Support plates in packed columns

Load to be carried by support plate

Weight of packing
Weight of liquid
Force due to pressure surges
Weight of intermediate supports and redistributors

In general packing height per support plate should be 8 10 m

Support plate may be designed as tray with a peripheral ring

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