CERAMIC PACKING WITH CHANNELS FOR THERMAL AND CATALYTIC BEDS

摘要

A ceramic packing element (500) is formed from a stack of ceramic plates (502) having parallel ribs (504) forming parallel grooves therebetween. The grooves are formed into channels by being contacted with the surface of an opposed plate. The ribs (504) may engage the end surfaces of ribs on an adjacent plate or may be interleaved with the ribs (504) of an opposed plate to form smaller channels. The plates (502) are adhered to each other by firing a stack of plates (502) in the green state or by adhering cured plates (502) by means of an inorganic adhesive such as sodium silicate. Pressure drop and cracking may be reduced, mass transfer and heat efficiencies increased by enlarging the inlets (542) to the channels and by providing perforations through the plates between the ribs (504). Elements may be preassembled into larger units before placement in a column by wrapping metal bands around an assembly of elements.