Abstract
Structured packings are widely used in oil & gas industries, as they can provide substantial surface area and high void fraction, thus enabling high mass transfer efficiency at a low pressure drop. This study investigates the hydrodynamic performance of two structured packings, namely, Mellapak 250Y and Montzpak B1−500. The pressure drop and liquid distribution are reported for a column of 200 mm diameter and 400 mm packing height. Wire-mesh sensor (WMS) is used to monitor the liquid distribution at the location of packing transitions. Packing replicas manufactured using a Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D printer is compared with commercial packings in terms of pressure drop and liquid distribution. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is initially validated using experimental data and then is used to investigate the effects of packing features, such as plate thickness, packing corrugation angles, holes, and packing transitions. The 3D-printed replicas show consistent performance compared to the commercial packings but can provide more information when measuring liquid distribution. The methodology and results discussed in this study can provide in-depth insights into the performance of structured packings, which is of critical importance when optimising packing parameters and testing new designs.
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