CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND DESIGN 86 ( 2008) 427-434

ELSEVIER
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Tray-to-tray method for estimation of the number of trays in
gas-liquid columns in case of intensive entrainment
Branislav M. jacimovic*, Srhislav B. Genie
Faculty 0/Mechanical Engineering, Uniuersity 0/Belgrade, Kraljice Marije 16,11000 Belgrade, Serbia
A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:
Received 6 February 2007
Accepted 1 December 2007
Keywords:
Entrainment
TYay efficiency
Number of trays
A B S T R A C T
The paper deals with the tray-to-tray method for determining t he required number of trays
in gas-liquid columns in case of intensive entrainment. The equations for estimation of
the tray efficiency are derived for top, bottom and intermediate trays, and they incorpo-
rate the number of gas and liquid phases transfer units, stripping factor. Peclet number of
mixing and fractional entrainment. These equations can be simplified to the well-known
one-parametric diffusion model explained in Bubble TYay Design Manual (1958) [Bubble Tray
Design Manual, 1958. AIChE, New York] for case of negligible entrainment. The algorithm
of tray-to-tray method is based on tray efficiency calculated for each tray separately and
it enables the calculation of the number of required trays, starting from t he bottom tray.
Given example shows bow the excessive entrainment decreases of the driving force of the
process.
2007 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Ther e is an i nt er est i ng phe n ome n on in gas-li qui d tray
columns name d as "excessive e n t r ai n me n t regime" (Kister.
1992) or "blowing regi me" (Ludwig. 1999). !t ari ses whe n t he
flow rat e of liquid across t he tray is relatively smalt com-
pared to t he flow r at e of gas. Such regi mes with i nt ensi ve
e n t r ai n me n t ar e. for example, often in the columns used for
dehydr at i on of t he nat ur al gas with t r i et hylene glycol (TEG).
By reviewing available li t er at ur e sources deali ng wi t h t hi s
problem, it can be concluded t hat t he influence of i nt ensi ve
e n t r ai n me n t on t he mass transfer is ei t her neglected or t aken
i nt o account i nappr opr i at ely as it is done by O i (2003), Manni ng
and Thompson (2006). Bryan Res. & Eng. (2006), and Campbell
(1972).
In Jacimovic and Genie (2007), t he case of mass t ransfer
in t he trayed column accompani ed by i nt ensi ve e nt r ai nme nt ,
whe n equi li bri um and "dry worki ng regi me" oper at i ng li nes
are st rai ght and t he tray efficiencies of all t he trays are equal is
consi der ed. The integral procedure of de t er mi ni n g t he numbe r
of act ual trays in t he column, based on t he known i nlet /out let
phase concent r at i ons, has been defined. !n t hi s paper, we will
focus on t he case of mass t ransfer in t he trayed column accom-
pani ed by i nt ensi ve e n t r ai n me n t . whe n t he oper at i ng line of
t he "dry worki ng regi me" is st rai ght (Jacimovic and Genie.
2007) and t he equi li bri um line wi t h variable slope acr oss t he
column. The t er m "dry worki ng regi me" refers to t he case
of mass t ransfer wi t hout e n t r ai n me n t for given gas-li qui d
syst em in t he trayed c olumn as it is explai ned in Jacimovic
(2000).
Based on one -par ame t r i c diffusion model Mostafa (1974)
tried to de t e r mi ne t he n umbe r of t rays calculat i ng t he change
of concent r at i on in heavy fluid along t he tray, but aut hor did
not develop e quat i ons for tray and appar e n t efficiency. It must
be not ed t hat t he model from Mostafa (1974) does not i nclude
t he tray inlet (boundary) condi t i on (this condi t i on is integral
par t of t he one -par ame t r i c diffusion model).
2. Development of the model
Unlike t he model pr oposed i n Jacimovic (2000) and Jacimovic
and Genie (2007), wher e it has been pr e sume d t hat Murphree
efficiencies of all trays are equal, t hi s paper i ncor por at es a
mi xi ng model whi ch enables individual tray efficiencies to be
evaluat ed. Thi s account i ng oft he local condi t i ons on each tray
is i mpor t ant especially for t he t op and t he bot t om tray, whe r e
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +38111 3302360; fax: +38111 3370364.
E-mail address: bjacimovic@mas.bg.ac.yu (B.M. Jacimovic).
0263-8762/$ - see front matter 2007 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cherd.2007.12.006
'ChemL
428 CHEMI CAL E NGI NE E RI NG RESEARCH AND DESI GN 8 6 ( 2 O O 8 ) 4 2 7 - 4 3 4
Nomenclature
a,b,c
Cs
DAM
EMG
EpG
e
G
L
Le
M
m
N
A
NTUG
NTUL
parameters in (35) and (56)
correction factor for the slope of operating line
due to entrainment
coefficient of axial (back) mixing (m^/s)
Murphree tray efficiency in gas terms
point efficiency in gas terms
fractional entrainment (kmol L/kmol G)
gas flowrate (kmol G/h)
liquid flow rate (kmol L/h)
liquid flow rate with accounted entrainment
(kmol L/h)
molecular weight (kg^kmol)
slope of equilibrium line
number of real stages (trays in column)
rate of mass transfer (kmol A/h)
number of gas phase transfer units
number of liquid phase transfer units
NTUc.tot number of overall gas phase transfer units
Pe
Re,i
SL
y
z
X
Xei
Y
Peclet number of mixing
characteristic parameter in Eq. (65) (kmol
A/kmol G)
tray cross section (m^)
mole fraction of water (A) in gas (kmol A/kmol
G)
mole fraction of water (A) in liquid (kmol
A/kmol L)
concentration A in liquid (general) (kmol
A/kmol L)
concentration of entrained liquid from i-th tray
(kmol AAmol L)
concentration A in gas (general) (kmol A/kmol
n\
y*(x) = mx + n equilibrium line (curve)
2
ZL
AXi
AY|
/>
<
"
coordinate (m)
length of liquid path over the tray (distance
between weirs) (m)
concentration change in liquid (general) across
i-th tray (kmol A/kmol L)
concentration change in gas (general) across i-
th tray (kmol A/kmol G)
density (kg/m^)
dimensionless coordinate
stripping factor k = (mG/L)
parameter in (25), (36) and (57)
Subscripts
A
av
est
G
L
in
meas
mod
out
i . 1,2..
component Asolute (water, water vapor)
average
estimated ?' "'
gas
liquid
inlet
measured
modified
outlet
N number of tray in column
Superscripts
*
e
equilibrium state (condition)
entrainment (indicates the presence of entrain-
ment)
mass-transfer conditions can be significantly different from
the ones at the intermediate trays. In further text trays are
indexed from the top to the bottom using i, so the top tray
is indexed with i = l, bottom tray with i = N, and intermediate
tray with 1 < i < N.
The one-parametric diffusion model corrected for entrain-
ment is derived upon the following assumptions;
Equilibrium line does not have to be straight over the diapa-
son of the concentration change through the whole column.
It has to be approximated with a straight line along the
gas and liquid concentration diapason of each tray (method
described in Bubble TVay Design Manual, 1958, page 66);
Mass transfer is neglected in the settling zone (between the
bubbling zone and the adjacent higher tray);
Entrained liquid is ideally mixed at the top of the settling
zone before entering the tray (Lewis case 1);
The amount of liquid entrained from any tray of the column
is e G;
At the top tray (I = 1) the flow rate of liquid changes from I
at the inlet to Lg = L.(l + e G/L) at the outlet, meaning that the
entire amount of the entrained liquid e Gis thrown down to
the tray (Jacimovic, 2000). In that case the flow rate of liquid
across the tray changes according to the following equation
(1)
At the bottom tray (i = N) the amount of liquid changes from
Le = L (1 + e-G/l) at the inlet to L at the outlet, because there
is no entrained liquid beneath this tray. In this case the
flow rate of liquid along the tray changes according to the
equation
(2)
The flow rate of liquid flowing across any intermediate
tray (l<i<N), accompanied by intensive entrainment is
Le = L(l + e G/L), and the amount of liquid entrained from i-th
tray to the adjacent higher tray is e G, with composition X^j
defined by the following expression from Jacimovic (2000),
baring in mind that the liquid composition at the tray inlet
is X| _ 1 - X(z = 0), and at the tray outlet X; = X(z = ZL)
- - X(z)dz
(3)
Equation for the point efficiency given in Bubble TYay
Design Manual (1958), is corrected for the entrainment as
in Jacimovic (2000).
The mathematical model proposed in further text does not
take into consideration the (additional) mass transferbetween
the entrained liquid and gas in the settling zone. The mass
transfer model for this case is discussed in Jacimovic (2000).
If the influence of the mass transfer in the settling zone were
to be taken into account it would increase point efficiency as
well as the tray efficiency and the slope of opera ting line of the
column would change. Even in this case point efficiency has
to be E^j, < 1, as it is explained in Jacimovic (2000). Nowadays,
we are not able to estimate the influence of mass transfer in
the settling zone on the Murphree tray efficiency, because the
mass transfer conditions (surface of gas-liquid contact and
mass transfer coefficients in gas and liquid) are not investi-
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH ANDDESIGN 86 ( 2OO8) 427-434 429
gated. Therefore, since the additional effect of mass transfer
is here neglected, the proposed model remains conservative
and it can be recommended for practical purposes,
2.1. E^cicncy of the bottom tray (i = N)
Murphree tray efficiency is by definition (Teybal, 1980)
YN- YN+1 AYN
EMG.N = (4)
Apparent tray efficiency is dened by the expression
(Jacimovic, 2000)
(5)
- - " Y' ( XN ) - YN ^ I
Equation of mass balance for the transferring component
LeXN-i + GYN+1 = LXN + cGXeN -I- GYjg (6)
where
Liquid flow rate at the liquid inlet of the tray is
(7)
Concentration change in gas across the tray is
A YN = YN YN+ 1 (8)
Concentration change in liquid across the tray
\F \f /f-l\
" N- 1 ~ AN (yj
The relationship between the point and tray efficiencies
given in Jacimovic (2000), is
(10)
Froni here the composition of liquid entrained to the adja-
cent tray N - 1 can be determined
Considering that the flow rate of liquid at the inlet of the N-
th tray is Le, flow rate of the entrained liquid is c G and that
at the outlet of the tray (and the column) the flow rate of
liquid is L, it can be shown that the liquid flow rate linearly
changes with the coordinate z (Fig. 1)
L(z) - Le eG
^ L
(12)
The local mass balance equation for component A in the
froth (according to Fig. 1) is
"X
ML ;'
IX
> z
(13)
e-G^X
ZL
L Xs
Fig. 1 - Phase flows on the bottom (N-th) tray.
after rearranging Eq. (13) and considering that
;>L(z) _ eG
> Z ~ ZL
next equation derives
(14)
(15)
By introducing the point efficiency, Peclet number and strip-
ping factor (>.)
Y - Y N + 1 Y - Y N + 1
Y-(X)-YN+I
and
z =
(16)
(17)
(18)
the following equation is obtained
(11) ^ ' - ^
1 + e(G/L)
? T - -
l-i-e(G/L)
(19)
Boundary conditions of Eq. (19) are:
at the tray inlet
ML V dz / 2=0
or in the non-dimensional form
at the tray outlet
dX
(20)
(21)
(22)
430
C H E M I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G R E S E A R C H A N D D E S I G N 8 6 ( 2 O O 8 ) 4 2 7 - 4 3 4
In the Eq. (19) the parameter next to {nK/ng) is not constant,
because the flow rate of liquid changes from Le ( = 0) to L ( = 1),
so the following value will be used in further development
of the model ^ = av = 0-5. This is consistent with the usage of
average flow rate of liquid across the tray Lgv = (I^ + L)/2.
The final form of the tray efficiency is
(23)
(24)
where the modified Peclet number is
- PeM 1 i av
and the parameter j ; is
1 + e(G/L)
e(G/L)
'pG,N
1 + e(G/L)
(25)
!f the mass transfer is accompanied with negligible entrain-
ment (csO) then in the Eq. (24) becomes Pe^ . = Pe^ and the
Eq, (23) is transformed into well-known one-para metric diffu-
sion model (Bubble Ttay Design Manual, 1958).
2. 2. Efficiency o/ the i-th tray ,
Murphree tray efficiency is
- MG. i
and the apparent tray efficiency is
(L/G)AXi
*=0 _ ve=O
' i - H
where according to Jacimovic (2000)
(27)
(28)
From Jacimovic (2000), the equation of mass balance for the
component A is
LX,.
Fig. 2 - Phase flows on the intermediate (I'-th) tray.
mine the change of gas and liquid concentrations across the
tray.
The equation of mass balance for the component A, accord-
ing to Fig. 2, based on Jacimovic (2000), is
;.X
e(G/L)
^ ' " ' l + e( G / L ) ^ ' ^ "
Eq. (31) is to be solved using boundary conditions:
at the tray inlet
(31)
that is
at the tray outlet
/ d X
The solution is obtained in the form
'pCi
(32)
m
(34)
(35)
where
AY| - ^ (l + 4
and
"MG.i
(29)
(30)
(
(36)
e(G/L)
If the point efficiency and the efficiency of the i-th tray are
known, then based on Eqs. (26)-(30) it is possible to deter-
+ e(G/L)
1 -
(37)
CHEMI CAL ENGI NEERI NG RESEARCH AND DESI GN 8 6 ( 2 0 0 S ) 4 2 7 - 4 3 4 431
X*(Y, e(G/L)
+ e(G/L)
1 +
c f =
(38)
(39)
Quadratic Eq. (35) has only one real root (E?,^ /E^^ ), since
^MG i ^ ^ ^^^ ^ i ^ ^' ^^' (^MC r/'^G i) ^ '^^ '^ i^ necessary to
stress that b^ and c^ depend on the average composition
of liquid entrained from the adjacent lower tray (Xe,i*i), as
well as on the composition of gas which comes from the
adjacent lower tray to the observed tray (Y, ^. i).
The required solution depends on liquid and gas com-
position beneath the i-th tray (Xj,Yj.i), as well as the
composition of liquid entrained from the adjacent lower
(i + l)-th plate (Xe,j.^i). If the process unfolds with negligi-
ble entrainment (e = 0) then the Eq. (35) is transformed into
well-known one-parametric diffusion model (Bubble TYay
Design Manual, 1958).
2.3. EJJiciency of the top tray fi = 1)
Murphree tray efficiency is
Yi - Y2 AYi
Apparent tray efficiency is
Yi - YfO (L/G)(Xo-
Y*(Xi
(L/G)AXi
Y' (Xi) - YV
(40)
(41)
(42)
(43)
e(Xi - Xe2) (44)
If both point efficiency and first tray efficiency are known, then
based on Eqs. (40)-(44) it is possible to determine the change
of gas and liquid concentrations across the top tray.
Considering that the flow rate of liquid at the inlet of the
top tray is L (inlet of the column), that the entrained liquid flow
rate from the adjacent lower tray is e G, and that at the out-
let of the tray the flow rate of liquid is Le, it can be shown
that the flow of liquid linearly changes with coordinate z
(Fig. 3)
L( z) - Le- eG l - - ^^ (45)
The equation of mass balance for the component A (Fig. 3) is
SO
Y^-Yi--,
Equation of mass balance for the component A is
LXo + GY2 + eGXe2 =
From here derives
I
LL + G Y +
ML iiz ZL
- d z
:iz
(46)
L-X,,
Fig. 3 - Phase flows on the top tray.
after rearranging Eq. (46) and considering that
;(L(z) eG
(47)
the following equation is obtained
- G(Y - Y3) - eGX - -eGXe.3
By introducing
Y-Y2
re
Y-Y2
Y'(X) - Y2 m(X
stripping factor and
Z = ZL
the following derives
e(G/L)
(48)
(49)
(50)
(51)
\
+ e(G/L)
e(G/L) ^ >-^IGA
1,,x
-t- e(G/L)
+ e(G/L)
(52)
Boundary conditions are:
at the inlet of the tray
that is
at the tray outlet
~ \ = K- =0
(53)
(54)
(55)
432 CHEMI CAL ENGI NEERI NG RESEARCH AND DESI GN 8 6 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 4 2 7 - 4 3 4
Since parameter next to (;iX/;i) in the Eq. (52) is not con-
stant (the flow rate of liquid changes from L at = 0 to Le at
= 'i), it will be calculated for ir=iav^0-5, which is consis-
tent with the averaging of liquid flow rate across the tray
Lav = (Le + i-)/2.
Finally the top tray efficiency is
The procedure begins with the bottom tray of the column
(i = N) and ends with the top tray, and therefore
(62)
i-('' + + ('' + + ^1 + ^ + ^f
I) ^
1 + e(G/L)
(l-?av) +4
e(G/L)
'
P^Lod =
1 + c(G/L)
(57)
(58)
c(G/L) Pe
mod
+ exp()j) (59)
(56)
(63)
According to the proposed model, there is no entrained liq-
uid in gas beneath the bottom tray, and therefore the value
Xe,N +1 formally does not exist.
1. The following values are known
Xj, composition of liquid which leaves the i-th tray (for
i = N- l , . . . 2, l )
Yj + i, composition of gas which enters the i-th tray i.e.
gas which leaves tray i + l (for i ^ N- 1,.. .2,1)
-^e, I 1. composition of liquid entrained from the adja-
cent lower tray (for i = N - 1 , . . .2,1)
Determine Ep^.j using input data, and then E^ci (for
i = N - 1,.. ,2,1) according to the Eqs. (23), (35) and (56).
2. Determine Y*(Xi)- Y^i for i = N- 1 , . .,2,1
3. Determine Xg,, defined by the equation
I , G\ e(G/L)
ij 1 + C(G/L)av
1 +
Pe
mod
e _ Xi - X*( Y2) e
^ " X X ' ( Y ) P
(60)
(61)
Quadratic Eq. (56) has one real root (Ef.^ ,/E^ .,), since the
following is always fulfilled (Ef.^ , /E^r i ) > 0.
It is necessary to notice that the required solution depends
on compositions of liquid and gas beneath the first tray
(Xi; Y21), as well as on the liquid composition entrained from
the adjacent lower tray (Xe,2)- If the process is accompanied
by negligible entrainment (e = 0) then the Eq. (56) is trans-
formed into well-known one-parametric diffusion model
(Bubble TYay Design Manual, 1958).
2.4. Algorithm qf tray-to-tray method usage/or
calculating gas and liquid compositions/or i = N;
The application ofthe proposed method requires that the fol-
lowing data has to be known:
Gas and liquid phase flow rates (G and L);
Stripping factor (>.) or the slope of the equilibrium line;
Fractional entrainment (e);
Peclet number of mixing (Pe) or axial (back) mixing coeffi-
cient;
Geometrical parameters of tray.
(for i - N. N - 1. . . . 3. 2) (64)
Value Xe j is not determined for the first tray (i = 1) because,
according to the proposed model, this value holds no sig-
nificance for the procedure. Rema ri;: if concentrations in
gas and liquid beneath the i-th tray are known, then the
mean composition of liquid entrained from the i-th tray
is known as well.
4. Determine Re_i defined by
c(Xe,N - Xfj) for i N
= { e(Xe.i - Xe.i+i) for i = N - 1. N - 2 3. 2 (65)
e(Xi - Xe.2) for i - 1
5. Determine AY, according to the equation
AYi = EMG.(Y'(XJ) - Yi+i) (for i = N. N - 1. . . . 2. 1) (66)
6. Determine AX according to the
(AY|-I-Re,i)/(L/G)/[1 -I- e(G/L)] for i=N. N- 1 . . . . 3. 2
*^\(AYi+Re.i)/(L/G) for i=l
m
7. Determine Cgj according to the equation
C H E M I C A L E N G I N E E R I N G R E S E A R C H A N D D E S I G N 8 6 ( 2 O O 8 ) 4 2 7 - 4 3 4 433
Table 1 - Basic results of the design according to the tray-to-tray procedure
Ttay number (i) S lope coefficient (Cj Tray efficiency (EM G,I) A pparent tray efficiency (Ea
2 .3 7 93
1-4916
1.4 7 7 1
1.4155
1.1868
0.62 53
0.880
0,863
0,862
0.858
0.842
0.805
0.94 6
0.583
0.582
0.S 7 9
0.S 66
0.503
8. Determine Yf~ according to the equation
' ^ t : ? =
- e(Xi -
for i = N
for i - N - 1.
for i = 1
3. 2
9. Determine Eg,, according to the equation
for i ^ N
for i - N - 1 2 , 1
(70)
10. Determine concentrations of transferring component in
gas and liquid above i- th tray ( that is beneath the i - 1 tray)
Y, =Yi, , + AY, (71)
X|_a=Xi- H A Xi (72)
11. Go back to the first step of this algorithm.
3 . A plication of the proposed procedure
using experimental data
The proposed procedure will be applied on data for G ullfaks
column from Oi (2003). C olumn has N = 6 trays and the oper-
ating line of the "dry working regime" will be considered as
straight (Jacimovic and G enie, 2007) like in the case of equimo-
lar counter diffusion. This calculation procedure begins with
the known concentrations in liquid and gas beneath the sixth
I nput values are taken from Jacimovic and G enie (2007):
X6 = Xout = 0.62 53 kmol H 2 O /kmol L, mole fraction of water in
liquid at the column outlet ( bottom of the column, the case
of equimolar counter diffusion)
y7 =yin = 53 8 X 10"^ kmol H 2 O /kmolG , mole fraction of water
in gas at the column inlet ( bottom of the column)
m = 0.0003 4 , slope of equilibrium tine
G = 8500 kmol G /h. gas flow rate
L= 7.3 kmol L /h, liquid flow rate
S tripping factor
k =
mG _ 0.00034 x 8500
7 3
^ 0.3 959
e (G/L) = 0.8182 , fractional entrainment
The number of transfer units is calculated by the procedure
AIChE (Bubble Tray Design M anual, 1958) and the coefficient
of axial mixing is calculated according to the G ilbert (1959)
0.0006
0.0004 -
0.0003
0.0002
0.0001 -
0.0000
-
y
^ ^ ^ ^ ^

-
0.1) 0 2 03 0 4 0.5
r, kmoIA /kmolL
O.ft,. 0 7
Fig. 4 - Operating and equilibrium lines for the example of
absorption accompanied by intensive entrainment.
procedure corrected for entrainment as explained in Jacimovic
(2000). The following was obtained:
= 1-46, number of gas phase transfer units
K TU L = 3 3 .2 0, number of liquid phase transfer units
N TUctot = I ' 4 , number of overall gas phase transfer units
E !Q = 0.7 64 , point efficiency
Pe^ = 3.14, Peclet number of mixing
Basic results of the design according to the tray- to- tray pro-
cedure are given in T^ble 1, and composition of streams in
Table 2. O perating and equilibrium lines for this example are
shown in Fig. 4 .
It is obvious that in case of intensive entrainment of liquid,
the actual operating line of the process is positioned closer
to the equilibrium line, reducing the driving force of the pro-
cess and, as consequence, the column efficiency. S ince the
entrainment is accounted separately on each tray, the slope of
operating line will differ from tray to tray, as shown in Table l
and Fig. 4 .
Table 2 - Change of compositions of liquid and gas
according to the tray-to-tray procedure
L iquid X, 1 ( kmol A /kmol L) G as y, ( ppm)
0.03 16
0.07 65
0.1191
0.184 8
0.2 853
0.4 3 4 6
0.62 53
28.2
44.0
68.9
107 .1
168.1
2 7 6.1
53 8.0
434 CHEMI CAL ENGI NEERI NG RESEARCH AND DESI GN 8 6 ( 2 OO8 ) 437- 434
3. 1. A comment on the results 0/ measurement and
the results 0/tray-to-tray calculation
The amount of water (component A) which is transferred from
gas to liquid according to the results of measurement is
4.
Conclusion
NA,G,meas = G(yin - yout)nieas =^ 8500(538 x
= 4,3435 kmolA/h
- 27 x
and according to the results of tray-to-tray method calculation
NA,G.est = G(yin - yout)est ^ 8500 x (538 x 10"^ - 28,2 x 10"^)
= 43333kmolA/h
where
yi,est=yin,est = 28.2 x 10"^ kmol H2O/kmolG, mole fraction of
water (A) in outlet gas streamline according to the results
of tray-to-tray calculation;
yi,meas=yin,meas-27 xlO^^kmol H2O/kmolG, mole fraction
of water (A) in outlet gas streamline according to Jacimovic
and Genie (2007).
Mass balance error
NA. G, : 4,3435 - 4,3333
4.3435
= 0,0023 = 0,23%
NA,G,meas
The results of calculations obtained using the inte-
gra! model (Jacimovic and Genie, 2007) and tray-to-tray
model ean be eompared. For equal mass transfer eon-
ditions (mole fraetion of moisture in liquid and gas at
the bottom of the column X6 = 0.6253kmol H2O/kmolL and
y7 = 538.0 ppm, number of trays N = 6, equal point efficien-
cies E^Q - 0,764, Peclet numbers of mixing Pe^ = 3.14, liquid
flow rates L = 7.3 kmol L/h and gas flow rates G = 8500 kmol G/h
and slope of the equilibrium line m = 0.00034) the follovi/ing
derives:
According to the integral model from Jacimovic
and Genie (2007), x = 0.0324kmol H20/kmolL yi =
28.85 ppm
According to the tray-to-tray model xo = 0.0316 kmol
H2O/kmo]L yi =28.2ppm which leads to the conclu-
sion that both models can be used equally well for this
operation.
In this paper:
The equations for estimation of the tray efficiency are
derived for top, bottom and intermediate trays, for case of
intensive entrainment of liquid. These equations can be
transformed to the well known one-para metric diffusion
model explained in Bubble Tray Design Manual (1958);
It is shown how the excessive entrainment decreases the
driving force of the process;
Algorithm of the application of tray-to-tray method is given
for calculation of the number of required trays, starting from
the bottom tray;
It was shown that Colburn expression for calculating of Eg
for excessive entrainment is tremendously improved.
The advantage of tray-to-tray model over the integral
model presented in Jacimovic and Genie (2007) is that it can
be used for cases when equilibrium line is not straight.
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