Oriented column packing heat and/or mass exchange column and heat and/or mass exchanging process

摘要

The performance of structured packing comprising a plurality of corrugated plates (20) disposed in vertically parallel relation, each plate (20) having at least one aperture (28) and a plurality of regularly spaced and substantially parallel corrugations disposed in crisscrossing relation to the corrugations of an adjacent plate (20) is optimized by having a surface area density in the range of 350 to 800 m<2>/m<3>, preferably 500 to 675 m<2>/m<3>; aperture equivalent diameters of less than 4 millimetres but greater than 2 millimetres; a corrugation angle ( alpha ) relative to horizontal in the range of 35 DEG to 65 DEG , preferably 40 DEG to 60 DEG ; and an included angle ( beta ) defined by two sides of the corrugation in the range of 80 DEG to 110 DEG , preferably 90 DEG to 100 DEG . The structured packing is used in exchange columns for exchanging heat and/or mass between a first phase and a second phase in processes such as cryogenic air separation.