Efficiency of Distillation Columns Containing Packed Sieve Trays

The Murphree efficiency of the fifth tray in a six-sieve tray distillation column, 7.8 cm in diameter and 85 cm high, was increased from 37.5 to 90% when three disks of a wire mesh pad, 9 cm high, were placed on the tray. An acetone-methanol test system was used in this investigation. The pressure drop across the tower corresponding to this packing increased by 33%. Nine disks of Raschig rings of similar height increased the tray efficiency to 75% and the pressure drop by 16%. A model was used for the azeotropic system, and the overall tower efficiency was found to increase by about 20% due to the presence of packing on a single tray.