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Types of Plate and Their Application

This document discusses different types of distillation column plates, including bubble cap trays, sieve/perforated trays, and valve trays. Bubble cap trays were commonly used but are being replaced due to high costs and pressure drops. Sieve trays are simpler and cheaper but require a minimum vapor velocity. Valve trays combine features of bubble caps and sieve plates, functioning as variable orifices that adjust to vapor flow changes. They offer operation similar to sieve trays at a cost only 20% higher.

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Huda Shah
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57 views

Types of Plate and Their Application

This document discusses different types of distillation column plates, including bubble cap trays, sieve/perforated trays, and valve trays. Bubble cap trays were commonly used but are being replaced due to high costs and pressure drops. Sieve trays are simpler and cheaper but require a minimum vapor velocity. Valve trays combine features of bubble caps and sieve plates, functioning as variable orifices that adjust to vapor flow changes. They offer operation similar to sieve trays at a cost only 20% higher.

Uploaded by

Huda Shah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PCSIR Internship

Pilot department

Types of distillation column plates and their


application

Submitted by: Huda shah


Chemical engineering
Intern, U.E.T

Submitted to: Sir Fayaz


Junior Engineer
Types of trays
The main requirement of a tray is that it should provide intimate mixing between the liquid and
vapour streams, that it should be suitable for handling the desired rates of vapour and liquid
without excessive entrainment or flooding, that it should be stable in operation, and that it should
be reasonably easy to erect and maintain. In many cases, particularly with vacuum distillation, it
is essential that the drop in pressure over the tray should be a minimum. The arrangements for
the liquid flow over the tray depend largely on the ratio of liquid to vapour flow. Three layouts
are shown in Figure 11.50, of which the cross-flow arrangement is much the most frequently
used. Considering these in turn:

(a) Cross-flow. Normal, with a good length of liquid path giving a good opportunity for mass
transfer.
(b) Reverse. Downcomers are much reduced in area, and there is a very long liquid path. This
design is suitable for low liquid–vapour ratios.
(c) Double-pass. As the liquid flow splits into two directions, this system will handle high
liquid–vapour ratios.

The liquid reflux flows across each tray and enters the downcomer by way of a weir, the height
of which largely determines the amount of liquid on the tray. The downcomer extends beneath
the liquid surface on the tray below, thus forming a vapour seal. The vapour flows upwards
through risers into caps, or through simple perforations in the tray.

The bubble-cap tray


This is the most widely used tray because of its range of operation, although it is being
superseded by newer types, such as the valve tray discussed later. The general construction is
shown . The individual caps are mounted on risers and have rectangular or triangular slots cut
around their sides. The caps are held in position by some form of spider, and the areas of the
riser and the annular space around the riser should be about equal. With small trays, the reflux
passes to the tray below over two or three circular weirs, and with the larger trays through
segmental downcomers

Bubble-cap trays are rarely used for new installations on account of their high cost and their high
pressure drop. In addition, difficulties arise in large columns because of the large hydraulic
gradients which are set up across the trays. Bubble cap trays are capable of dealing with very low
liquid rates and are therefore useful for operation at low reflux ratios.
Sieve or perforated trays
These are much simpler in construction, with small holes in the tray. The liquid flows across the
tray and down the segmental down comer. Figure indicates the general form of tray layout.

Sieve trays offer several advantages over bubble-cap trays, and their simpler and cheaper
construction has led to their increasing use. The general form of the flow on a sieve tray is
typical of a cross-flow system with perforations in the tray taking the place of the more complex
bubble caps. The hydraulic flow conditions for such a tray are discussed in Volume 6 in the same
manner as for the bubble-cap tray, by considering entrainment, flooding, pressure loss, and so
on. The key differences in operation between these two types of tray should be noted. With the
sieve tray the vapour passes vertically through the holes into the liquid on the tray, whereas with
the bubble cap the vapour issues in an approximately horizontal direction from the slots. With
the sieve plate the vapour velocity through the perforations must be greater than a certain
minimum value in order to prevent the weeping of the liquid stream down through the holes.

Valve trays
These may be regarded as a cross between a bubble-cap and a sieve tray. The construction is
similar to that of cap types, although there are no risers and no slots. It may be noted that with
most types of valve tray the opening may be varied by the vapour flow, so that the trays can
operate over a wide range of flowrates. Because of their flexibility and price, valve trays are
tending to replace bubble-cap trays. Figure shows a typical tray
The valve tray, which may be regarded as intermediate between the bubble cap and the sieve
tray, offers advantages over both. The important feature of the tray is that liftable
caps act as variable orifices which adjust themselves to changes in vapour flow. The valves are
either metal discs of up to about 38 mm diameter, or metal strips which are raised above the
openings in the tray deck as vapour passes through the trays. The caps are restrained by legs or
spiders which limit the vertical movement and some types are capable of forming a total liquid
seal when the vapour flow is insufficient to lift the cap.

Advantages claimed for valve trays include:


(a) Operation at the same capacity and efficiency as sieve trays.
(b) A low pressure drop which is fairly constant over a large portion of the operating range.
(c) A high turndown ratio, that is it can be operated at a small fraction of design capacity.
(d) A relatively simple construction which leads to a cost of only 20 per cent higher than that of a
comparable sieve tray

These three types of trays have a common feature in that they all have separate downcomers for
the passage of liquid from each tray to the one below. There is another class of tray which has no
separate downcomers and yet it still employs a tray type of construction giving a hydrodynamic
performance between that of a packed and a plate column

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