used in application with liquid rates of 30 m3/m2-h and above, and/or those where solids are

present or fouling is a concern

used in lower liquid rate applications (less than 30 m3/m2-h), especially where
minimizing column pressure drop is important

Pressure drop per theoretical stage. Packed towers usually yield lower pressure
drop per theoretical stage than do their trayed counterparts. For example, the
actual pressure drop generated by trays is usually 3 to 8 mmHg per theoretical
stage; this compares with about 1 to 2 mm for random; sackings and 0.01 to 0.8
mm for structured ones [5]. For high-pressure systems, a reduction in pressure
drop may yield little process advantage, whereas an order-of-magnitude
decrease in pressure is critical in atmospheric and sub-atmospheric phasecontacting operation.
Liquid holdup. During normal operation, trays retain about 8 to 12% of tower
volume compared with 1 to 6% for a packed column. This is important where
polymerization or thermal degradation of process liquids occurs at high
temperature, and short liquid residence time is desirable. Moreover, the
operating liquid holdup should be kept to a minimum for a sharp separation
between two substances [6].
Liquid/vapor ratios. Trays are designed for low values of liquid/vapor ratio. On the
other hand, packed columns can be operated from low to high liquid/vapor ratios
frequently found in absorbers and scrubbers. Low liquid/vapor ratios are usually
associated with distillation. Less than 10 gal of process liquid/(min)(ft 2 of tower
cross-section area) is typical is distillation.
Liquid cooling. Cooling coils (e.g., for coping with heat given off in reactive
distillation) are more readily incorporated in tray towers than in packed ones. In
addition, it is easier to draw off liquid from the trays, to be passed through heat
exchangers and returned, than from packed towers.
Foaming systems. Packings usually generate thin films instead of fine droplets for
effective mass and heat transfer. So, packed columns arc more resistant to
entrainment than trays when foaming agents are present in the liquid.
Corrosion. When dealing with corrosivesfor example, in the separation of nitric
and sulphuric acids or chlorohydrocarbonsit usually is easier to use packings in
ceramics or engineering plastics than to fabricate trays from suitably resistant
materials.
Solids or slurry present. Trays are better than packings in handling high-solids or
slurry contents in reactive systems, e.g., lime slurry for SO: scrubbing.
Cost. If there is no overriding consideration due to process factors, such as slurry
present or reaction in situ, small-diameter columns, say, 18 in. or less, can be
made less expensively as packed towers than as trayed ones. This is because for

columns of such sizes, cartridge trays are required and these trays generally
have a high unit cost.