The effect of the outlet weir height on sieve tray performance is described in this paper. The studies in this paper were made to investigate the effect of the outlet weir height on sieve tray mass transfer efficiency and hydraulic performance. Tests were conducted in the 1.22 m diameter section of the Fractionation Research, Inc. (FRI) low-pressure column. Three sieve trays with nominal open areas of 8%, 10%, and 14% and hole diameters of 12.7 mm were used. The weir heights used were 0, 25, 50, and 100 mm, with operating pressures ranging from deep vacuum with ortho/para xylene at 20 mm Hg absolute to 11.38 bar with iso-butane/n-butane (iC4/n-C4). A third system, cyclo-hexane/n-heptane (C6/C7) at 0.27 bar and 1.65 bar was also used. Experimental results, including tray capacity, mass transfer efficiency, pressure drop, blowing and entrainment are presented and discussed. The results indicate that the effect of weir height very much depends on the system properties and open area.

Key Words: Distillation, sieve tray, open area, weir height, capacity, efficiency, entrainment, pressure drop, blowing

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