AIChE Equipment Testing Procedure - Trayed and Packed Columns (PDF)

AIChE manual updates and consolidates procedures for testing
performance of distillation columns

From classic distillation operations to air stripping to other
separations processes, selecting the correct column for appropriate
efficient, safe, and environmentally-sound operations can be an
important step. The newest updated volume in AIChE's
long-running Equipment Testing Procedures series, Trayed and
Packed Columns: A Guide to Performance Evaluation, Third
Edition provides chemical engineers, plant managers, and other
professionals with helpful advice to assess and measure performance
of a variety of distillation columns, including those that utilize
bubble cap, sieve, valve trays, or packing material.

The new book combines and updates into one user-friendly volume
the best available field knowledge from previous publications on
both types of distillation columns. Designed not as a single set of
compulsory steps, but as a compilation of techniques, it will allow
the user to select the procedure that best applies to its operating
parameters. The testing steps presented can be used to assess
reliable performance data on mass transfer efficiency, capacity,
energy consumption, and pressure drop--information essential
to effective troubleshooting of performance problems, identifying
capacity bottlenecks, determining operating ranges, and a number of
other routine maintenance and optimization processes.

Opening with an extensive definition section, organized by
topical area, the book then goes on to address:

* Selection of instrumentation and identification of elements to
be measured

* Pre-test planning procedures

* Strategies for data collection and evaluation, including
sampling procedures

* Pre-test, in-test, and post-test considerations (equipment,
safety, process, environmental)

* Computation and interpretation of results, including individual
breakdowns for trayed and packed columns in terms of hydraulic and
efficiency performance

* Test troubleshooting analysis in twelve key areas

The book concludes with appendices for relevant symbols and
nomenclature, plus sample caculations generated from performance
tests.

With its engineer-tested procedures and thorough explanations,
Trayed and Packed Columns: A Guide to Performance Evaluation,
Third Edition is an essential text for anyone engaged in
implementing new technology in equipment design, identifying
process problems, and optimizing equipment performance.