Which filling method should be adopted for ceramic random packing?

In people's general impression, it is widely believed that ceramic random packing can be simply poured into the packing tower during installation. However, the actual tower packing is not that simple. If the random packing is poured into the tower casually, the packing density will be uneven; in severe cases, it may cause the ceramic packing to break, thereby leading to uneven gas-liquid distribution and a decrease in separation efficiency.

If conditions permit, wet packing should be adopted for ceramic random packing. First, after installing the support plate, fill the tower with water, and gently pour the packing into the water from above the water surface. The packing floats and falls from the water, and the water surface should be more than 1 meter higher than the packing. This filling method can reduce packing damage and deformation, ensuring the uniformity of the packing. A comparative experiment was conducted on a tower with a diameter of 500mm using 38mm diameter ceramic random Pall ring packing with wet packing and dry packing. The results show that compared with dry packing, wet packing uses 5% less packing, the pressure drop decreases by 10%, and the efficiency is almost equal. Therefore, wet packing should be adopted as much as possible in occasions where the flux is limited.

When dry packing is adopted for ceramic random packing, the packing should always be poured from a certain height above the packing layer. For large-diameter towers using dry packing, it is sometimes necessary for personnel to stand on the packing layer for filling. A wooden board can be laid on the packing to distribute the force; do not stand directly on the packing to prevent the packing from being deformed by pressure and uneven density.

Whether wet packing or dry packing is adopted, the packing should be filled from the tower wall to the center to prevent the packing from bridging at the tower wall. The packing should not be pressed into place to avoid deformation and uneven density. After the installation of each section of packing, check whether the upper end of the packing is level; if there is an uneven phenomenon, it should be leveled.