Influence of packing columns starting modes on effectiveness of processes of water rectification and detritiation of gases by the method of phase isotopic exchange

Abstract

The results of the comparative study of the effect of the method for structured packing pretreatment (CY-type Sulzer packing and rolled ribbon-screw packing) on the effectiveness of mass exchange in the course of hydrogen isotope exchange in water rectification and its phase isotope exchange (PIE) are given. The latter process is used for the removal of tritiated water vapors from gases and its difference from rectification involves that the irrigation density of packing by water is 50–150 times less under other comparable process conditions. This difference leads to the fact that, for the packings prepared from stainless steel, the coefficient of mass transfer ratio for two boundary cases, namely, its preliminary flooding by water or launch of column with dry packing, is nearly 50 for PIE and 2 for rectification. The use of CY-type Sulzer packing for PIE process prepared from oxidized copper yields that this ratio for PIE becomes identical with rectification. Based on the obtained results, the recommendations for the optimization of PIE column startup are given.