A study of liquid spreading in laboratory scale random packing column with an optical method supplemented with liquid holdup characteristics

Abstract

The paper introduces an alternative optical-based methodology allowing to investigate a liquid spreading process inside packed beds. In particular it allows determining the boundary between the wetted and the dry region inside the packing section. Due to optical nature of the approach it can be applied only when both column and its internals are made of transparent materials. The proposed experimental procedure has been used to investigate the liquid distribution inside the packed bed composed of 6 mm Raschig rings made of glass. Distilled water was adopted as a flowing medium and was injected into the column from a source point. The obtained results allowed performing qualitative assessment of the process and allowed determining both the contact distance (required for the liquid to reach the column wall) and the wetted volume of the column as a function of the liquid Reynolds number. The experiment has been also supplemented with measurements of a liquid holdup performed with the use of two different methods.