Chemical Engineering April 2019 - 21

GTC Technologies
tomer's targeted objective for their
specific process improvement. "
Meanwhile, AMACS has adFIGURE
5. Towers that have a side cut, but are
thermally inefficient, may be good candidates for
dividing-wall column technology
tributor with splash plates that combines
low liquid rates with a higher
operating range and a robust, fouling-resistant
design.
Similarly, GTC Technology US,
LLC (Houston; www.gtctech.com)
is developing new products to assist
processors with improving the
performance of distillation columns
based on their specific needs. One of
the latest developments includes GTOPTIM
high-performance trays, says
Brad Fleming, general manager for
GTC's Process Equipment Technology
division. Hundreds of industrial
installations plus testing at Fractionation
Research Inc. (FRI; Stillwater,
Okla.; www.fri.org)
have demonstrated
that the high-performance
tray achieves significant efficiency
and capacity improvement over conventional
trays. The cross-flow trays
are customized to the end user's
needs to achieve high efficiency via a
combination of patented and proprietary
devices that make up each tray
design. " We can provide a collection
of technologies and features that
can be employed in order to address
specific objectives, " notes Fleming.
" One processor's objective might be
to increase efficiency, while another
wants to increase capacity and still
another wants to minimize pressure
drop, mitigate fouling or extend runtime.
We have many different weapons
in our equipment design arsenal,
so we are able to focus on the cusdressed
another common distillation
challenge faced by petroleum
refineries, petrochemical plants, gas
plants and similar facilities. Often, a
vertical knockout drum or separator
with mist-elimination equipment
installed fails to remove free liquid
from a process gas stream. " Instead
of trying to address or repair symptoms,
we look for the root cause,
which usually involves the mist-elimination
equipment in the knockout
drum, " says AMACS's Garcia. To
address the problem, the company
developed the Maxswirl Cyclone, a
high-capacity, high-efficiency mistelimination
device that uses centrifugal
forces to provide state-of-the-art
separation performance.
The Maxswirl Cyclone tubes consist
of a fixed swirl element, which
applies centrifugal
force on mistladen
vapor to separate entrained
liquid from gas flow. In this axial-flow
cyclone, the resulting centrifugal
force pushes liquid droplets outwards,
where they create a liquid film
on the cyclone inner wall. The liquid
passes through slits in the tube wall
and gets collected at the bottom of
the cyclone box and drained by gravity.
The dry gas concentrates in the
center of the cyclone tube and exits
through the cyclone.
Meanwhile, DeDietrich (Mainz,
Germany; www.dedietrich.com) is
focusing effort on providing columns
and internals for highly corrosive processes
at temperatures up to 390°F,
says Edgar Steffin, head of marketing
with DeDietrich. " Columns up
to DN1000 are made of QVF borosilicate
glass 3.3 or DeDietrich
glass-lined steel. Bigger columns up
to DN2400 are made of DeDietrich
glass-lined steel only. The corrosionresistant
materials are made of borosilicate
glass 3.3, SiC, PTFE or Tantalum "
(Figure 4).
He adds that most processes at
elevated temperatures above 300°F
require the avoidance of PTFE. SiC
has a higher temperature resistance
and permits the design of bigger
distributors and collectors that are
less sensitive for feeds containing
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Chemical Engineering April 2019

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