MECHANISTIC PRESSURE-DROP MODEL FOR COLUMNS CONTAINING STRUCTURED PACKINGS

A mechanistic model was developed to predict pressure drop and floodin g in packed columns equipped with corrugated packing of the regular ty pe. It was developed after considerating the interaction of falling li quid film with the gas phase, based on mass- and momentum-conservation equations. Among the most common structured packings, the behavior of the Mellapak and EX types was analyzed. The aim of this work is to de monstrate how mechanistic models, developed for simple geometry, can a lso be used to compute pressure drops in cases where the geometry is m ore complex, as with a structured packing. This approach, based on the geometric characteristics of the packing and measurable parameters su ch as liquid holdup, enables the development of a basic model by limit ing the number of adjustable parameters, which are numerous in all the available models. Because of its nature, this model is extremely easy to extend to different types of structured packings.