Tip of the Week
Stop by each week for a useful tip from the engineers at Koch-Glitsch.
Tip of the Week graphic

July 2010
Be careful not to overspecify liquid distributors
by Lisa Cox
 
Often process engineers may want liquid distributors for packed columns to have certain mechanical design limits.
Of the properties many people consider important are the metering orifice size, distribution point density, and liquid head on the distributor.
 
 
 
 
Vapor in liquid feed streams 
by John Einwich
 
Feeds normally considered to be all liquid frequently contain vapor as a result of pressure and/or temperature change before entering the column. When determining internal feed pipe size, location, and orientation, intermediate feed streams should also be checked carefully for an estimate of possible vaporization.
 
 
 
 
Packed column liquid distribution
near a column wall
by Ken Graf
 
A traditional fault of old-fashioned liquid distributors was their failure to irrigate the packing near a column wall. In past years, it was not uncommon for the inner 75% of the column area to receive 90% of the liquid flow, and the outer 25% of the column area would receive 10% of the liquid.
 
 
 
 
Accuracy of plant data (part II)
by Neil Sandford
 
Obtaining a good set of data is a very important part of evaluating the operation of a distillation column.
 
The following list ranks, in order of preference, three additional items of plant data:
  • Reflux flow rates
  • Steam and steam flow meters
  • Pressure data
 
The full article contains comments on using the data.
 
 
Select Accuracy of plant data (part I) to read Part I of this article.
 
 

 
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