INTRODUCTION TO COLUMN INTERNALS

The pressure vessels are designed to various national and international codes since the design aspect are well established.
In the separation process, column internals are installed on adjusted or on existing column attachments. The requirements
are carefully verified and specified for each situation.
`have been provided for many columns.
Types of Column internals
1. Trays - Trays of various designs are used to hold up the liquid to provide better contact between vapour and liquid, hence
better separation. A tray essentially acts as a mini-column, each accomplishing a fraction of the separation task. From this
we can conclude that the more trays there are, the better the degree of separation and that overall separation efficiency will
depend significantly on the design of the tray. Trays are designed to maximize vapour-liquid contact by considering the
Liquid distribution and
Vapour distribution on the tray.
This is because better vapour-liquid contact means better separation at each tray, translating to better column
performance. Lesser number of trays will be required to achieve the same degree of separation leads to less energy
usage and lower construction costs.
2. Packings - Instead of trays, 'packings' are used to enhance contact between vapour and liquid. There is a clear trend to
improve separations by additions of packings. Packings are passive devices that are designed to increase the interfacial
area for vapour-liquid contact. The strangely shaped packing pieces are supposed to impart good vapour-liquid contact
when a particular type is placed together in numbers, without causing excessive pressure-drop across a packed section.
This is important because a high pressure drop would mean that more energy is required to drive the vapour up the
distillation column.
3. Packings versus Trays
A tray column that is facing throughput problems may be de-bottlenecked by replacing a section of trays with packings.
This is because: -
a. Packings provide extra inter-facial area for liquid-vapour contact
b. Efficiency of separation is increased for the same column height
c. Packed columns are shorter than tray columns
d. Low liquid hold up compared to trays
4. Packed columns are called continuous-contact columns while tray columns are called staged-contact columns
because of the manner in which vapour and liquid are contacted.
5. A mass transfer tower also requires other internal equipments besides the packing or trays.
6. Feed plates, dispenser plates, distributors and redistributors to spread the liquid and vapour evenly within the tower.
7. Packing support plates and bed limiters are used to physically support and retain inside the tower. Collector plates
capture liquid withdrawal from the tower.
8. Tray support rings, tray decks, manhole in tray decks, bolting bars, down comers, seal pans, inlet and exit weir, support
grids and multi beam support are used in tray columns.
9. Different types of trays are Sieve trays, Bubble cap trays, Valve trays, Chimney trays specialty trays.

10. Tray design parameters, which impact on column operation are active area, downcomer area, tray spacing,
downcomer clearance, outlet weir height, flow path length, tray open area, and number of flow path etc.
11. The contents of packed column vary based on application and performance requirements. Most packed columns are
custom designed and column is characteristically operated with counter flow of the phases. The packed column design
parameters are selection of packing material, surface availability, interface regeneration, pressure drop, weight,
corrosion resistance and cost.
Packings are essentially of 2 types namely -
Random packing Pall rings, Raschig rings, Intalox saddles, and cascade mini rings Berl saddles etc.
Structured packing sheet based / wire mesh structured, mist eliminators, Coalescers

Typical columns with various internals

Structured Packed column Typical Tray column Random Packed column

Typical column tray arrangement Typical column tray Support

Various types of Trays

Sieve trays
- Simply metal plates with holes in them.
- A perforated tray with typically 8% to 15% open
area
- Vapour passes straight upward through the liquid
on the plate.
- The arrangement, no. & holes size are design
parameters
- Good anti fouling and pressure drop characteristics

Bubble Cap trays Riser cap

- Riser or chimney fitted over each hole
- The cap is mounted so that there is a space between
riser & cap to allow the passage of vapour.
- Vapour rises through the chimney and is directed
downward by the cap.
- Finally discharging through slots in the cap, &
finally bubbling through the liquid on the tray.

Valve trays
- Perforations are covered by lift able caps.
- Vapour flows lifts the caps, thus self creating a
flow area for the passage of vapour.
- The lifting cap directs the vapour to flow
horizontally into the liquid, thus providing better
mixing than is possible in sieve trays

Chimney trays
- Function as a collector device either for feeding to
a liquid distributor (particularly flashing feeds) or
for a liquid draw off.
- Used to mix liquids before distribution to packed
bed.
- This is especially important where high vapour
rates are encountered due to the low pressure drop
across most packed beds.
- Hats are used to prevent direct impingement of
vapour on to the device above

Specialty trays
- Tray hydraulics plays important role in efficient
functioning and process performance.
- Excellent fouling resistance.
- Prototype design
- Smaller valve provide more capacity due to
reduced pressure drop.
- Lower front height, less entrainment due to lateral
vapour release.
- Standard sizes are SVG, MVG, MMVG

Typical Random Packings

Pall rings Characteristics
- Design provides higher capacity and lower pressure drop than trays and other
random Packings
- The interior and exterior contacting surfaces of the ring provide an effective
distribution of liquids & gasses and resist plugging, fouling & nesting.
Applications
- Absorption, Aeration, Degassing, Desorption, Distillation, Stripping, Heat
Recovery and Extraction

Raschig Ring Characteristics

- Raschig Ring structure provides one of the largest surface areas among tower
packing options
- Handles heavy loading, process upsets and temperature shocks.
Applications
- Petrochemical distillation and extraction applications
- Absorption in gas processing and combustion plants
- Desorption in water treatment

Intalox Saddles Characteristics

- Good Capacity and Low Pressure Drop
- Higher Liquid Hold-up and Residence Time
- Versatile Standard Packing
Applications
Absorption, scrubbing, and stripping services
Pulp and paper service, such as bleach plant absorbers
Versatile alternative to ceramic saddles

Berl saddles Characteristics

- Improved liquid distribution compared to Raschig rings and Intalox saddle
- Easier to manufacture
- Low pressure drop with higher surface area
Applications
Acid Absorption, Gas drying, Scrubbing and Cleaning

Typical Structured Packings

- A range of specially designed materials for use in absorption and
distillation columns and chemical reactors.
- Typically consist of thin corrugated metal plates or gauzes
arranged in a way that they force fluids to take complicated paths
through the column
- Thereby creating a large surface area for contact between
different phases - vapour passes straight upward through the
liquid on the plate.
- Structured Packings provide high capacity, higher efficiency &
lower pressure drop

Miscellaneous auxiliaries
Hold down grids / Bed limiter
- Placed directly above random packed bed to
limit the packing bed from moving or lifting
and getting packing pieces entrained away
from the bed.
- Either screwed to the column wall or
loosely placed over the packing.
- Made from rods and bars in combination
with screens

Support grid
- Required to support packing.
- Can be easily installed with a minimum of
beams and welding attachments.

Liquid collector tray

- Used to collect all the liquid, which drips
down, from the packed section.
- Basically it is used below packed bed for
the purpose of redistributing the fluids on
the lower bed
- Performs the task of redistributing the liquid
uniformly

Liquid distributors
- Used to distribute the liquid feed depending
upon the service requirements.
- Pan type, spray nozzle are typical types
used
- Crucial for a proper running packed bed.
 Vapour distributors
- Used to distribute the vapour only where flow
energy is excessive
- Used to reduce inlet stream energy by dividing the
inlet stream and then directing it tangentially to each
sidewall.
- Pressure drop is relatively low

Vapour distributor - Schoepentoeter

- Device is used for 2-phase feed inlet.
- Best suited for flashing feeds and reboiler returns.
- It gives excellent distribution, phase separation and
operates at negligible pressure drop.

Conceptual process design guidelines for tower internals

The process design guidelines is intended to provide guidelines for sizing and specifying trayed and packed towers and
their internals for absorption, stripping and distillation applications and they do not address the calculation required to
establish the no. of theoretical stages and vapour/liquid traffic data. The conceptual design variables are
Types of internals used which forms the basis for tower pressure drop allowance
A pressure profile across the tower system including condenser and vent condenser if applicable
The no. of theoretical stages in the tower
The reflux ratio
The feed location
Determination of optimum selection for these variables is an iterative process where tower system installed cost and
operating cost are estimated until the economics of the operation are optimal. The scope of contractual liability for
internals suppliers varies with the internals being used and generally following types of guarantees requested from
suppliers
Mechanical guarantee - Normally for sieve and dual spatiality dual flow trays
Mechanical and hydraulic performance guarantee - typical for valve trays
Full mechanical, hydraulic, and separation performance guarantee - typical for packed towers.
The calculation method for simulating tower operation depends on types of fluid being processed, the level of purity to be
achieved, the operating pressure and temperature range, etc.
Tray efficiency The no. of trays is determined by No. of theoretical stages / tray efficiency. Tray efficiencies vary
from 100% at high vapour density to as low as 15%.Efficiency increases with significantly with increasing vapour
density and with decreased % of flood. The efficiency drops significantly when approaching flood and when weeping
becomes significant.

HETP To determine pressure profile for packed column, the height equivalent per Theoretical plate (HETP) and
estimated pressure drop per height of packing need to be determined.

Downcomers Downcomer can limit the maximum capacity of the tray if the downcomer area results in a high
downward velocity vapour that will cause entrainment. Straight downcomer is the usual choice because the design is
simpler and cost for installing weld-in parts is lower. Slope-sided and step-sided downcomers are used to increase
bubbling area. Generally, downcomer weir length shall not be less than 60% of tower dia. for single pass tray and
50% of tower dia. for multipass trays. In general downcomer area is used in computer programs = 10000 GPH/ft 2.
 Outlet weirs Maintain a minimum head on the tray. Weir height may vary from 1 to 3. If pressure drop criteria
in the system is critical, lowering the weir height reduces tray pressure drop and weepage, and lower weepage allows
one to increase for sieve trays hole area thereby reducing pressure drop further. Lowering the weir heights causes
increase in maldistribution on trays.

Downcomer clearance In general practice, the downcomer clearance (i.e. distance between bottom of downcomer
and the tray below) of less than the overflow weir height to provide static liquid seal. Ex. With 2 outlet weir
height the downcomer clearance is 1 . Sometimes the velocity under the downcomer is used to limit to 1.3 ft/sec.

Inlet weirs An inlet weir can be provided when a positive seal cant be provided by downcomer. This is most likely
to occur when low pressure drop and low outlet weir heights are used. When inlet weirs are used to provide a positive
liquid seal, the inlet weir height shall be higher than the downcomer clearance in order to maintain appositive
liquid seal at the bottom of the downcomer.

Turndown ratio It is the ratio of Maximum allowable vapor rate at or near flooding condition to the minimum
vapor rate when weeping or liquid leakage becomes significant. Turndown can be applied to all types of trays,
however it is more relevant to sieve and valve trays.
1. For sieve trays, turndown ratio is ~ 2-3 : 1
2. For valve trays, turndown ratio is ~ 4-5 : 1
3. For bubble cap trays, turndown ratio is ~ 10 : 1

Tray spacing - Typically use 18 tray spacing. Greater tray spacing may be used based on economic considerations
or based on providing access under beams in larger diameter towers. Increase tray spacing in 6 increments. In
general, have maximum 20 trays between manways.

12. Design of Internal support Beds

Internal beds must be supported by vessel shell. Sand filters, packed columns, and reactors with catalyst beds are often
supported by combination of beam(s), grating and circumferential ring which supports the periphery of the grating. The
beams are attached to the shell wall by either clips or beam seats.