Koch-Glitsch

 

Increasing the number of trays in a column will increase the number of theoretical stages.  This generally means that the vapor and liquid loadings in the column, as well as the reflux ratio, will be less; however, it does not guarantee that the column will have more capacity.  The tray jet flood and downcomer backup are both functions of the tray space.  The additional trays also mean that the tray spacing will be less.  So which is the dominant factor, the beneficial reduction in loads or the detrimental shorter tray space?

 

You need to process simulate the separation to quantify the reduction in vapor and liquid loads.  If the current column is understaged, adding additional theoretical stages can lead to a significant reduction in internal loads and the quantity of feed that can be processed may increase.  However, if the column is already well staged, adding additional stages may make very little difference to the internal loads, and the overall capacity of the column will be reduced due to the shorter tray space.

 

Koch-Glitsch has experience evaluating such revamps.  Contact your representative from Koch-Glitsch, and we will help you determine if increasing the number of trays in your application will help you to achieve feed rate increases.

 

 

 

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