Design of Gas-Liquid Equipment

(Packed Tower)
Industrial Column Architecture

"Mass transfer equipment is typically custom-built, designed and fabricated to specific client
requirements for process temperature, pressure, and corrosiveness."

• Vertical cylindrical shells reaching up to 10m in diameter.

• External ladders, platforms, and manways for maintenance.
• Insulated walls to maintain thermal equilibrium.
Primary Equipment Objectives

Intimate Contact Dispersion Interfacial Area

Ensuring phases are thoroughly Creating high degree of Generating massive surface area
mixed to maximize mass transfer turbulence to properly disperse (perforations in trays or
rates between the solute and one phase into the other spreading on packing) for
solvent. (bubbles or droplets). diffusion.
Random Packing
Evolution of Random Packings

1st & 2nd Generation 3rd Generation

Raschig Rings (Oldest) followed by saddles and Pall Modern types like IMTP and Cascade Mini-Rings.
Rings. Pall Rings improved upon Raschig by adding Designed for maximum surface accessibility and
windows to allow through-flow. minimum form friction.
Grid Packing
Random vs. Structured Packing

Structured Packing

Fabricated from corrugated metal sheets or wire mesh (Grid

Packing). Advantages include:

• Extremely low gas pressure drop.

• Very high void volume (>95%).
• High mass transfer efficiency (Low HETP).
Key Performance Metrics (Provided by
Manufacturers)

Voidage (ε) Surface Area (ap) Packing Fraction(Fp)

The fraction of tower volume Total surface area available per A specific ratio (ap/ε³) used in
not occupied by packing. High unit volume (m²/m³). Essential pressure drop correlations to
voidage allows for higher vapor for establishing a large quantify resistance to gas flow.
velocities and lower pressure liquid-gas interface.
drops.
Use of Fp and ap in Ergun Equation to calculate Pressure Drop
across a dry packed bed
 Comparative Data: 25mm Packing

Packing Type Voidage (ε) Surface Area (m²/m³) Packing Fraction (m⁻¹)

Raschig Rings 0.73 190 490

Pall Rings 0.94 205 247

Berl Saddles 0.68 250 794

Intalox Saddles 0.77 255 558

*Note: Data based on ceramic materials; values may vary by manufacturer.

 Comparative Data: 50mm Packing

Packing Type Voidage (ε) Surface Area (m²/m³) Packing Fraction (m⁻¹)

Raschig Rings 0.74 92 227

Pall Rings 0.95 102 119

Intalox Saddles 0.79 118 239

*Nominal 50mm size packings significantly reduce flow resistance (packing fraction) at the expense of surface area.
Packing Support plate-cum gas distributor
Summary: Primary Column Hardware Components

Liquid Distributor Packing Bed Packing Support Liquid Redistributor

Ensures uniform spread of feed liquid The core material (Random or High-open-area grid designed to carry Installed at intervals to collect and
to maximize wetting and prevent Structured) providing high surface bed weight with minimal vapor re-center liquid, correcting
channeling. area for mass transfer. resistance. maldistributions.

Bed Limiter Gas Distributor Demister Shell

Retaining plate on top of the bed to Entry manifold ensures uniform vapor Removes liquid droplets from exiting The pressure vessel that contains all
prevent displacement during vapor velocity profile at the bottom of the gas to prevent entrainment and internals and maintains the process
surges. bed. product loss. environment.
 Industrial Integration
Each component must be meticulously engineered to work within the Shell to
ensure the column meets the required hydraulic and separation performance
metrics.
(1) Width of the packed tower
Stepwise Guide
Y = 0.035 (Approximately)
(2) Height of the Column
 The Design Equation

Total Height = (Height of a Transfer Unit) × (Number of Transfer

Units)
The "Walking" Analogy

Think of the separation process as walking

towards a destination.

HG is your Stride Length. It represents how efficient your

equipment is. A better packing gives a smaller, more
effective step.

NG is the Total Distance. It represents how difficult the

task is. Higher purity or lower driving force means a longer
road.
HG: The Kinetic Factor

Height of a Transfer Unit (Efficiency)

This term depends on the fluid mechanics and the physical properties of the
packing material. It tells us the height of packing required to achieve one
standard unit of separation.

Where G' = Gas molar Flux, kya = Volumetric Mass Transfer Coefficient
NG: The Thermodynamic Factor

Number of Transfer Units (Difficulty)

This term represents the magnitude of the separation task. It is a pure

number derived from how far the operating concentrations are from
equilibrium.

The integral of the inverse driving force.

Comparison Summary

Feature Height of Transfer Unit (HG) Number of Transfer Units (NG)

Meaning Equipment Efficiency Separation Difficulty

Type Kinetic / Mechanical Thermodynamic

Analogy "Stride Length" "Total Distance"

Drivers Packing Area, Flow Rate Purity Specs, Equilibrium

Key Design Drivers

Flow Rate Surface Area Purity Specs

Higher gas velocity reduces residence Smaller packing pieces increase the area High purity requirements increase the
time, often increasing HG (lowering (a), which lowers HG and reduces tower integration range, drastically increasing NG.
efficiency). height.
Variations
1. The Differential Mass Balance (Liquid Side)

Total Material Balance The High Flux Problem

In concentrated solutions, the total liquid flow L is NOT
For a differential element dz, the rate of solute gained by
constant. We must use the inert solvent flow Ls.
the liquid equals the flux across the interface.
Other Variations
Design Table

Coefficient Type Driving Force Height Formula Best Used For

Fundamental research,
Individual (ky) (y - yi) HG = G' / kya
complex kinetics

Gas-film controlled
Overall Gas (Ky) (y - y*) HOG = G' / Kya processes (e.g., Ammonia
absorption)

Liquid-film controlled
Overall Liquid (Kx) (x* - x) HOL = L' / Kxa processes (e.g., CO2 in
water)
The Master Design Equation

For any packed tower, the total height Z is calculated as:

H (Height of Transfer Unit) N (Number of Transfer Units)

Represents Efficiency. Represents Difficulty.

Depends on flow rates (G', L') and mass transfer coefficients (k, Calculated by integrating the driving force over the
a). concentration range.
Key Corrections for Concentrated Solutions
1. Flow Correction (1-y) 2. Drift Factor (1-y)iM
In concentrated systems, the total molar flux G' changes as Accounting for the "bulk motion" or Stefan flow towards the
solute is absorbed. interface.

Why it matters?
We assume inert flux (G's) is constant.
Since G' = G's / (1-y), the term (1-y) appears in the denominator.

Log-mean of inert concentration between bulk (y) and interface (yi).