(179b) Understanding Tray Flooding Phenomena

Tray capacity and efficiency limitations are problematic for companies operating distillation towers. When troubleshooting a distillation tower the expectation is normally that the mechanism causing the limitation would be identified and that it could be addressed in a revamp. For this to happen it is important that the troubleshooter be able to distinguish between the mechanisms that cause these limitations. In this paper it will be shown how plant data and tower scans can be used to identify the mechanism causing the tower limitation