Simple and Effective Vapor Feed Distribution In A Bottom Stripping Section of a Crude Oil Column

Because of the relatively low vapor flow, the bottom stripping section of a crude oil column is usually designed with a smaller cross-sectional area than the flash zone's, either by using a smaller diameter or by installing an internal shell (shroud) inside the main column.

Injecting vapor in the region between the inner and the outer shell of a bottom stripping packing section of a crude oil distillation column has been found an easy, inexpensive and convenient way to achieve good vapor distribution.

Different vapor distributors were evaluated using a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis. A single-phase, fluid-porous domain approach was considered in all simulations. At the bottom of the simulated domain, a symmetry boundary condition was adopted to account for the shear effect on reduced crude below.

Results show that a direct radial injection of vapor against the inner shell requires no additional column height and provides a better vapor distribution when compared to the perforated pipe sparger classical solution.