[en] We developed a simple practical methodology to face common problems encountered in the analysis of tomographic images to get quantitative information on phase distributions in gas liquid contacting columns packed with complex metallic packings. In particular, the procedure (thresholding and normalisation) was developed and validated on images of geometrically well known Mellapak Plus 752 Y packings. The methodology was extended to images of Katapak-SP modular packings which are made of an alternation of Mellapak Plus 752 Y sheets and catalytic baskets. Global liquid hold-up, obtained by averaging tomographic results over the column height, were found in agreement with bed scale data measured on the same Mellapak Plus 752 Y and Katapak-SP (11 and 12) packings at a given liquid load. Moreover, gas-liquid interfacial area were calculated and reported to the installed geometric area.
Communauté française de Belgique - CfB
Action de Recherche Concertée : Advanced Experimental Techniques and Cellular Automaton Modelling of Multiphase Systems - Application to distillation and reactive distillation columns