(121b) Advanced Modeling for Structured Packing Development - B: Mass Transfer

Vapor-liquid contactors are ubiquitous in the chemical separations field and are commonly used for distillation, absorption, and stripping processes. Structured packings are the most advanced column internals due to their low pressure drops, good chemical separations, and high throughputs. However, the transport phenomena occurring inside these structured packings is not fully understood, limiting efforts to optimize the packings. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are a promising method to reveal the physics occurring within the packings and support packing innovation. In particular, CFD can predict the microscale mass transfer occurring within the structured packings, allowing for prediction of the overall chemical separation. These simulations are often challenged by the presence of turbulence in the system, primarily within the gas phase. This presentation will discuss predictions of turbulent effects on mass transfer for single-phase pipe flow and mass transfer results for a wetted-wall column. The results from this study have direct application to structured packing CFD simulations.