Method of determining flood points of packed columns

Abstract

A flood point for a packed column is determined by providing a data set of gas pressure drop values as a function of gas flow rate values at several liquid flow rates through a packed column, known flood point value for one liquid flow rate, setting flood point values for higher liquid flow rates at values lower than the known flood point value, and setting flood point values for lower liquid flow rates at values higher than the known flood point value, followed by expressing gas flow rates for liquid flow rates as fractions of the flood point value for each respective liquid flow rate. At a constant gas pressure drop, the method then includes calculating an average fractional flood point value for the liquid flow rates and minimizing the standard deviation between the fractional flood point value at different liquid flow rates and the calculated average fractional flood point value by iteratively resetting fractional flood point values and recalculating the average fractional flood point value for the liquid flow rates, thus resulting in determining a flood point for the packed column at any liquid flow rate, and thereby producing a plot of pressure drop as a function of fraction of flood point at any liquid flow rate, or a mathematical expression thereof that can be used in a computer-implemented column design and process modeling.