Source: A Working Guide to Process Equipment

CHAPTER 4
How Trays Work:
Dumping
Weeping through Tray Decks

A
distillation tray works efficiently when the vapor and liquid
come into intimate contact on the tray deck. To this end, the
liquid should flow evenly across the tray deck. The vapor should
bubble up evenly through the perforations on the tray deck. The purpose
of the outlet weir is to accomplish both these objectives, as follows:

1. Uneven liquid flow across the tray deck is particularly

detrimental to good vapor-liquid mixing. For example, if half
of the tray deck has stagnant liquid, then the vapor bubbling
through the stagnant liquid cannot alter its composition.
Let me explain. A tray deck is a flat plate with holes.
Liquid runs across the plate. Vapor bubbles up through the
holes. If liquid only runs across part of this plate, vapor will
still bubble up through the holes in the whole plate.
The vapor bubbling up through that portion of the tray
deck where the liquid flow is active will mix with the flowing
liquid. The flowing liquid will wash out the heavier
components from the rising vapors.
On the other hand, the vapor bubbling up through that
portion of the tray deck where the liquid flow is zero will also
mix with the stagnant liquid. But its like trying to wash dirty
clothes in dirty water. The stagnant liquid cannot wash out
the heavier components from the vapors, because it is already
saturated with these heavier components.
Uneven liquid flow is promoted by the outlet weir being
out of level. Liquid will tend to flow across that portion of
the tray with a lower than average weir height. The
portion of the tray upstream of the high part of the outlet
weir will contain stagnant liquid. However, if the crest
height (i.e., the height of liquid over the weir) is large,

37
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 How Trays Work: Dumping

38 A Working Guide to Process Equipment

Picket
weir

r
come
wn
Do

r
pou
o wn a
D
are

FIGURE 4.1 Picket weir promotes even liquid cross-flow at low flows.

compared to the out-of-levelness of the tray, then an even

liquid flow across the tray will result. To achieve a
reasonable crest height above the outlet weir, a weir loading
of at least 2 GPM per inch of weir length is needed. When
liquid flows are small, the tray designer employs a picket
weir, as shown in Fig. 4.1.
2. Uneven vapor flow bubbling up through the tray deck will
promote vapor-liquid channeling. This sort of channeling
accounts for many trays that fail to fractionate up to
expectations. To understand the cause of this channeling, we
will have to quantify total tray pressure drop.

4.1 Tray Pressure Drop

4.1.1 Total Tray P
Figure 4.2 shows a simple sieve tray with a single hole. Why is it that
the liquid flows over the 3-in outlet weir, rather than simply draining
down through the sieve hole? It is the force of the vapor (or better,
the velocity of the vapor) passing through the sieve hole which
prevents the liquid from draining down the sieve hole. This is true
whether we are dealing with a valve cap, extruded perforation, or a
sieve hole. The valve cap does not act as a check valve to keep liquid
on the tray. The authors industrial experience has proved this
unpleasant fact on numerous occasions.

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

Chapter 4: H o w Tr a y s W o r k : D u m p i n g 39

FIGURE 4.2
A simplified sieve
tray.

Weir
3"

Sieve hole

Downcomer

On the other hand, bubble caps (or even the more ancient tunnel
cap trays) are different, in that they do not depend on the vapor flow
to retain the liquid level on the tray deck. More on this later. For now,
just recall that we are dealing only with perforated tray decks.

4.1.2 Dry-Tray Pressure Drop

For the force of the upflowing vapor to stop the liquid from leaking
through the sieve hole shown in Fig. 4.2, the pressure drop of the
vapor flowing through the hole has to equal the weight of liquid on
the tray deck. The weight of liquid trying to force its way through
the sieve hole is proportional to the depth of liquid on the tray deck.
The pressure drop of the vapor as it accelerates through the sieve
hole is

DV
Pdry = K Vg 2
DL

where Pdry  dry tray pressure drop, in inches of clear liquid

DV  density of vapor, lb/ft3
DL  density of liquid, lb/ft3
Vg  velocity of vapor or gas flowing through the sieve hole,
ft/s
K  an orifice coefficient, which can be as low as 0.3 for a
smooth hole in a thick plate and 0.6 to 0.95 for various
valve tray caps

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

40 A Working Guide to Process Equipment

4.1.3 Hydraulic Tray Pressure Drop

The weight of liquid on a tray is created by the weir height plus the
crest height. We have defined the crest height (in inches of clear
liquid) in Chap. 3, as

Crest height  0.4 (GPM/inch outlet weir length)0.67

The actual height of fluid overflowing the weir is quite a bit greater
than we calculate with this formula. The reason is that the fluid
overflowing the weir is not clear liquid, but aerated liquidthat is,
foam. The fluid on the tray deck, below the top of the weir, is also
foam. This reduces the effective weight of the liquid on the tray due
to aeration. To summarize, the weight of liquid on the tray, called the
hydraulic tray pressure drop, is

Phyd  AF  WH  0.4 (GPM/inch outlet weir length)0.67

where Phyd  hydraulic tray pressure drop, in inches of clear liquid

WH  weir height, in
AF  aeration factor
GPM  gallons (U.S.) per minute

The aeration factor AF is the relative density of the foam, to the

density of the clear liquid. It is a combination of complex factors, but
is typically 0.5.

4.1.4 Calculated Total Tray Pressure Drop

The sum of the dry tray pressure drop (Pdry) plus the hydraulic tray
pressure drop (Phyd) equals the total tray pressure drop (Ptotal):

Ptotal  Pdry  Phyd

expressed in inches of clear liquid

When the dry tray pressure drop is significantly less than the
hydraulic tray pressure drop, the tray will start to leak or weep and
tray efficiency will be adversely affected.
When the dry tray pressure drop is significantly greater than the
hydraulic tray pressure drop, the liquid on the tray can blow off of
the tray deck and tray efficiency will be adversely affected.
For a tray to function reasonably close to its best efficiency point,
the dry tray pressure drop must be roughly equal (50 percent) to the
hydraulic tray pressure drop:

Pdry  Phyd

This concept is the basis for tray design for perforated tray decks.
While various valve tray vendors maintain that this rule does not
hold for their equipment, it is the authors industrial experience that

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

Chapter 4: H o w Tr a y s W o r k : D u m p i n g 41

valve trays leak just as badly as do sieve trays at low vapor hole
velocities. To summarize:

DV 2
Ptotal = K Vg + AF WH + 0.4 (GPM/inch outlett weir length)0.67
DL

4.2 Other Causes of Tray Inefficiency

4.2.1 Out-of-Level Trays
When trays weep, efficiency may not be significantly reduced. After
all, the dripping liquid will still come into good contact with the
upflowing vapor. But this statement would be valid only if the tray
decks were absolutely level. And in the real world, especially in large
(6-ft)-diameter columns, there is no such thing as a level tray.
Figure 4.3 shows the edge view of a tray that is 2 in out-of-level.
As illustrated, liquid accumulates on the low side of this tray.
Vapor, taking the path of least resistance, preferentially bubbles up
through the high side of the tray deck. To prevent liquid from leaking
through the low side of the tray, the dry tray pressure drop must equal
or exceed the sum of the weight of the aerated liquid retained on the
tray by the weir plus the crest height of liquid over the weir plus the 2-in
out-of-levelness of the tray deck.
Once the weight of liquid on one portionthe lowest areaof a
tray deck exceeds the dry tray pressure drop, the hydraulic balance of
the entire tray is ruined. Vapor flow through the low area of the tray
deck ceases. The aeration of the liquid retained by the weir on the low
area of the tray deck stops, and hence the hydraulic tray pressure drop

Tilted
tray
deck
2"

Vapor

Liquid

FIGURE 4.3 Out-of-level tray causing vapor-liquid channeling.

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

42 A Working Guide to Process Equipment

increases even more. As shown in Fig. 4.3, the liquid now drains
largely through the low area of the tray. The vapor flow bubbles
mainly through the higher area of the tray deck. This phenomenon is
termed vapor-liquid channeling. Channeling is the primary reason for
reduced distillation tray efficiency, because the vapor and liquid no
longer come into good, intimate contact.
The common reason for out-of-levelness of trays is sagging of the
tray decks. Sags are caused by pressure surges and sloppy installation.
Sometimes the tray support rings might not be installed level, or the
tower itself might be out of plumb (meaning the tower itself may not
be truly vertical).

4.2.2 Loss of Downcomer Seal

We stated in Chap. 3 that the top edge of the outlet weir is maintained
about 0.5 in above the bottom edge of the inlet downcomer to prevent
vapor from flowing up the downcomer. This is called a 0.5-in positive
downcomer seal. But for this seal to be effective, the liquid must overflow
the weir. If all the liquid is weeping through the tray deck, there will
be no flow over the weir, and the height of the weir will become
irrelevant. Figure 4.4 shows the result of severe tray deck leakage:

Tray #2

2-1/2"
2"
Tray #1

FIGURE 4.4 Sagging tray ruins downcomer seal.

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

Chapter 4: H o w Tr a y s W o r k : D u m p i n g 43

1. The downcomer seal is lost on tray deck 1.

2. Vapor flows up the downcomer between tray decks 1 and 2.
3. Liquid flow is backed up onto the tray above, i.e., onto tray
deck 2.
4. The dry tray pressure drop through tray 2 decreases due to
low vapor flow through the tray deck.
5. The hydraulic tray pressure drop on tray 2 increases due to
increased liquid level.
6. Tray 2 will now start to weep, with the weeping concentrated
on the low area of the tray.
7. Tray 2 now has most of its vapor feed flowing up through its
outlet downcomer, rather than the tray deck, and most of its
liquid flow is leaking through its tray deck.

The net result of this unpleasant scenario is loss of both vapor-liquid

contacting and tray efficiency. Note how the mechanical problems
(i.e., levelness) of tray 1 ruins the tray efficiency of both trays 1 and 2.

4.3 Bubble-Cap Trays

The first continuous distillation tower built was the patent still
used in Britain to produce Scotch whiskey, in 1835. The patent still is
to this day employed to make apple brandy in southern England.
The original still, and the one I saw in England in 1992, had ordinary
bubble-cap trays (except downpipes instead of downcomers were
used). The major advantage of a bubble-cap tray is that the tray deck
is leakproof. As shown in Fig. 4.5, the riser inside the cap is above the
top of the outlet weir. This creates a mechanical seal on the tray deck,
which prevents liquid weeping, regardless of the vapor flow.
Bubble-cap trays may be operated over a far wider range of vapor
flows, without loss of tray efficiency. It is the authors experience that
bubble-cap trays fractionate better in commercial service than do
perforated (valve or sieve) trays. Why, then, are bubble-cap trays
rarely used in a modern distillation?
There really is no proper answer to this question. It is quite likely
that the archaic, massively thick, bolted-up, cast-iron bubble-cap or
tunnel-cap tray was the best tray ever built. However, compared to a
modern valve tray, bubble-cap trays

Were difficult to install, because of their weight.

Have about 15 percent less capacity because when vapor
escapes from the slots on the bubble cap, it is moving in a
horizontal direction. The vapor flow must turn 90. This change
of direction promotes entrainment and, hence, jet flooding.
Are more expensive to purchase.

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

44 A Working Guide to Process Equipment

D
o
Bubble cap w Bubble cap
n Cap
cap c Riser riser
o Weir
m
e
r
V
a
p Slot
o
r
Vapor Vapor flow
f
l
o
w

FIGURE 4.5 A bubble cap showing vapor pathway in operation.

But in the natural-gas fields, where modern design techniques

have been slow to penetrate, bubble-cap trays are still widely
employed, to dehydrate and sweeten natural gas in remote locations.

4.3.1 Distillation Tower Turndown

The problem we have been discussingloss of tray efficiency due to
low vapor velocityis commonly called turndown. It is the opposite
of flooding, which is indicated by loss of tray efficiency at high vapor
velocity. To discriminate between flooding and weeping trays, we
measure the tower pressure drop. If the pressure drop per tray,
expressed in inches of liquid, is more than three times the weir height,
then the poor fractionation is due to flooding. If the pressure drop per
tray is less than the height of the weir, then poor fractionation is due
to weeping or dumping.
One way to stop trays from leaking or weeping is to increase the
reflux rate. Assuming that the reboiler is on automatic temperature
control, increasing the reflux flow must result in increased reboiler
duty. This will increase the vapor flow through the trays and the dry
tray pressure drop. The higher dry tray pressure drop may then stop
tray deck leakage. The net effect is that the higher reflux rate restores
the tray efficiency.
However, the largest operating cost for many process units is the
energy supplied to the reboilers. We should therefore avoid high
reflux rates, and try to achieve the best efficiency point for distillation
tower trays at a minimum vapor flow. This is best done by designing
and installing the tray decks and outlet weirs as level as possible.

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

Chapter 4: H o w Tr a y s W o r k : D u m p i n g 45

Damaged tray decks should not be reused unless they can be

restored to their proper state of levelness, which is difficult, if not
impossible.

4.4 New High Capacity Trays

All vendors now market a high capacity tray. These trays have a 5 to
15 percent capacity advantage over conventional trays. Basically, the
idea behind these high capacity trays is the same. The area underneath
the downcomer is converted to bubble area. This increase in area
devoted to vapor flow reduces the percent of jet flood.
But what keeps vapor from blowing up the downcomer? What
prevents loss of the downcomer seal? If the downcomer seal is lost,
surely the downcomer will back up and flood the upper trays of the
column.
The design Im most familiar with is the NorPro high capacity tray
shown in Fig. 4.6. The head loss through the orifice holes in the down-
comer seal plate shown is sufficiently high to prevent loss of the
downcomer seal. These trays flood rather easily when their design
downcomer liquid rates are exceeded. However, when operated at

FIGURE 4.6
High capacity tray
with downcomer
seal plate.

Downcomer 24"
seal plate
4"

Downcomer
seal plate

Orifice velocity NLT 0.7 ft/sec

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 How Trays Work: Dumping

46 A Working Guide to Process Equipment

design downcomer liquid rates they perform very well indeed, and
have shown quite a high vapor-handling capacity as compared to
conventional trays.
The downcomer seal plate shown in Fig. 4.6 is an example of a
dynamic downcomer seal. The Koch-Glitsch Nye tray also uses a
dynamic downcomer seal to increase vapor-handling capacity. All
trays with a dynamic downcomer seal suffer from two
disadvantages:

Loss of flexibility in that the liquid rates cannot be varied

over too great a range without either flooding or unsealing
the downcomers.
Tray installation complexity is always increased, sometimes
with terrible consequences.

For these reasons, high capacity trays using dynamic downcomer

seals are best avoided on new columns. They should be reserved for
use on retrofit tower expansion projects.

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