Experimental study of liquid renewal on the sheet of structured corrugation SiC foam packing and its dispersion coefficients

Abstract

Developing efficient catalytic packing for reactive distillation can push its application greatly forward. Structured Corrugation SiC Foam Packing is considered an attractive candidate with the rapid development of the coating method. However, liquid flow behavior on the packing and its radial and axial dispersion coefficients remain unclear. We studied herein liquid renewal on the structured corrugation SiC foam packing sheet by photography. The images revealed that the liquid could be constantly refreshed on most of the wetted area and the process can be categorized into two stages by the renewal rate. Effects of liquid flow rate, viscosity, and surface tension on the renewal process were investigated. The renewal results highlight the applicability of the foam packing at low liquid load. Furthermore, axial and radial dispersion coefficients of two foam packing sheets with different pore sizes were characterized, and comparisons with KATAPAK-S showed that the foam packing has better liquid dispersion ability.