Design of Packed Columns

A packed column is a hollow tube, pipe, or other vessel that is filled with a packing material.
Packed columns are used for distillation, gas absorption and liquid-liquid extraction.
The gas-liquid contact in a packed column is continuous (or say Rate wise approach ), not stage-wise, as in a plate column.
The liquid flows down in the column over a packing surface and the vapor (or the gas) moves counter-currently, up the column.
The packing can be randomly filled with small objects like Raschig rings or else it can be a specifically designed structured packing.

Types of Packing Materials

Packed beds may also contain catalyst particles or adsorbents such as zeolite pellets, granular activated carbon.
Packed column utilize packing to contact between the phases (liquid-vapor) on the surface.
Packed column performs well at low pressure, low liquidand vapor loadingthat make packed column have the most efficient in these terms.
At high flow parameters the capacity and efficiency can significantly reduce, also in heavy fouling applications and corrosive condition.
Packed column has less pressure drop than tray column and it reduce foaming since generates thin films instead of fine droplets for mass and heat transfer.
Packed column is divided by Random, Structured and Grid Packed Columns.