- Home
- Companies
- AMACS Process Tower Internals
- Products
- AMACS - Orifice/Riser Distributors, Pan ...
AMACS - Orifice/Riser Distributors, Pan & Plate Types
As important as the vapor/liquid contacting device is, the proper distribution of the vapor and liquid to the device is just as important. Without the proper distribution of vapor and liquid to the distillation trays or random & structured packing, the maximum capacity and efficiency of the device cannot be achieved. And there are just about as many different distribution devices as there are mass transfer devices. Each one has its advantages and limitations depending on the process conditions and objectives.
Factors that influence the selection of style and features of a liquid distributor are:
- Liquid & vapor rates
- Unit operations, i.e. distillation, absorption, stripping, heat transfer
- Range of operation
- Number of theoretical stages desired
- Cleanliness of the process fluids
The orifice riser distributor is probably the most commonly used liquid distributor for applications with random packing. Its name is derived from the orifices in the distributor floor for the liquid flow and risers for the vapor flow. The liquid is collected either by sealing the distributor to the support ring or by the creation of a “pan” with a peripheral rim, while the vapor is kept separate from the liquid by flowing through riser or the annular area outside the peripheral rim. The orifice riser distributor has various other features to meet specific process service’s needs. For instance, drip tubes with multiple levels of orifices can be installed to replace the normal floor holes in order to increase the distributors range of operation. These drip tubes are also employed in services with solids that might normally plug a floor orifice by allowing zone below the orifices for the solid to settle. The orifice riser distributor is usually associated with higher liquid rate applications such as is encountered in absorption processes.