Structured Packing

Gauze

AMACS Woven Structured Packing is a high efficiency, corrugated-type packing constructed with a wire gauze material. This product is typically used for fine chemical distillation when fouling is not a concern. Its applications is often vacuum distillations where the liquid rates are extremely low and minimizing pressure drop is critical. The closely woven wires spread the low liquid flow through capillary action. This arrangement of corrugated gauze material provides the best value when measured on the basis of pressure drop per theoretical stage.

Gauze Packing Technical Data Sheet

 

Knitted

AMACS Knitted Structured Packing is constructed by knitting multi-strand “cables” into a high-density mesh. After the mesh is crimped, it can be rolled into 1-piece layers to fit small diameter columns or wrapped back and forth to create rectangular bricks suitable for installation through column manways. Because of the high surface area of the multi-strand wires, the knitted packing also provides high mass transfer efficiency, like the woven gauze, but at a higher pressure drop.

Knitted Packing Technical Data Sheet

 

Sheet Metal

Historically, the Sheet Metal type packing was the economical extension of the gauze structured packing concept. Instead of using the expensive wire gauze materials, surface textured sheet metal was used to create a whole family of corrugated packing with a wide range of corrugation sizes and angles The AMACS family of sheet metal packing can handle a much wider range of vapor and liqui d rates and process services. These process applications ranges from low pressure drop vacuum (and atmospheric) distillation services to medium high-pressure absorbers by removing the surface finish texturing from the sheet metal packing, it can handle a moderate amount of fouling provided there is adequate liquid loading to keep the packing wetted.

The AMACS structured packing technology includes the high-capacity feature of curvatures in the corrugation angles.  On our high-capacity structured packing, the corrugation angle of the packing is ~45˚ for most of the packing layer and it transitions to 90˚ at the top & bottom of the layer.  These curvatures eliminate the high pressure drop created at the interface between 90˚ rotated layers of standard structured packing.  This features increases the column capacity between 20-30% over the standard sheet metal packing.

 

Grid

Whereas the above Structured Packings are intended for relatively cleaner mass transfer applications, AMACS Grid Structured Packing was developed to provide extended operation in fouling services. There are two types of grid structured packing; corrugated sheet metal and stamped blades connected into panels with cross rods. Both styles are highly durable with large open areas to accommodate highly fouling process streams. Unlike the thinner sheet metal packing, the Corrugated Grid Packing has a smooth surface to minimize the possibility of fouling. It is constructed of much thicker material than the normal sheet metal packing. The Bladed Grid Packing achieves its mass and heat transfer capabilities by creating a tortuous path for the vapor and liquid streams. The strength of this packing comes from the 14 or 16 gauge material used for the blades. Both styles of grid packing are used in services with low liquid loadings like crude vacuum column wash sections or in highly fouling services with heat transfer requirements like the FCC Main Fractionator Slurry Pumparound Beds. However, both styles of grid packing are also utilized in high liquid applications such as steel mill quench columns and refinery pumparound zones. Grid Packing can be used to replace structured packing anywhere that fouling is a concern.