Experimental study of liquid distribution in a column with a structured packing

Reflective fiber optic sensors are used to measure the thickness of a liquid film on geometrically complex surfaces inside a distillation column with a structured packing and countercurrent flow of gas and liquid. Distributions of the liquid-film thickness as a function of flow-rate parameters for an elementary region (cell) of a geometrically repeated pattern in a structured packing consisted of Koch 1Y corrugated plates and for the column cross section are presented. It is shown that the flow conditions characterized by the detachment of liquid films from the plate by air flow (until the complete column “flooding”) is accompanied by a sharp increase in the pressure drop in the column. Inside the cell, the liquid forms menisci in the zone of plate contact points. The countercurrent air flow reduces the fluctuations of the film thickness by 1.5 to 2 times on the edge and side downslopes of the corrugation.