Performance of combined mesh packing and sieve tray in distillation

Abstract

AbstractThe hydraulic and mass transfer performance of a combined knitted mesh packing and sieve tray has been measured for the distillation of methanol‐water mixtures. It was found that by adding a shallow bed of packing, the Murphree tray efficiency increased by 40–50% over a wide range of concentrations and flow rates. This increase in tray efficiency can be attributed to a much smaller and more uniform bubble formation on the packed tray. Hydraulic measurements have shown that the packed trays have lower weeping and entrainment, as well as slightly higher froth heights and pressure drops.