Liquid holdup and residence time distribution studies in catalytic packing Katapak-SP11
Special Symposium - EPIC-1: European Process Intensification Conference - 1
EPIC-1: Poster Session (EPIC - Poster) - P1
Keywords: catalytic structured packing, liquid holdup, RTD, Katapak-SP
The implementation of heterogeneous catalysis in reactive separation columns, motivated by the possibilities of numerous advantages, has however introduced a complexity in the design and the performance of internals. Catalytic internals have to satisfy the requirements of chemical reaction, separation and capacity. Among the most promising internals are the so called structured catalytic packing, which combine the advantages of a structured packing with the features of a catalyst support. Adequate knowledge and understanding of the complex hydrodynamics occurring in the internals and of their mass- and heat- transfer behaviour are needed as they are key element both for the design and reliable scale-up of reactive separation processes.
This contribution presents the experimental results of the liquid holdup and the residence time distribution in KATAPAK®-SP 11 structured catalytic packing manufactured by Sulzer Chemtech. The packing consists of MellapakPlus type sheets (“separation elements”) and wire-gauze catalyst bags (“reaction elements”) assembled in alternate sequence. Different techniques have been used to determine the various contributions to the overall packed bed liquid hold-up. Besides the liquid holdup experiments, the residence time distribution (RTD) has been investigated and the derived dynamic liquid holdup analysed. The results of this work are useful for supporting on-going efforts to develop fundamental packing design models.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the financial support provided by the European Commission within the 6th Framework Programme, Project “INSERT – Integrating Separation and Reaction Technologies”; Contract-No: NMP2-CT-2003-505862.
See the full pdf manuscript of the abstract.
Presented Wednesday 19, 13:30 to 14:40, in session EPIC-1 Poster Session (EPIC - Poster) - P1.
