Experimental investigation of liquid distribution in a packed column with structured packing under permanent tilt and roll motions using electrical resistance tomography

- Liquid distributions in a packed column under including permanent tilts and roll motions, gas factor, and liquid properties were measured using ERT-EIDORS method.
- Resulting liquid maldistributions were quantified and compared using the maldistribution factor.

Liquid distribution in a pilot-scale packed column under offshore conditions was experimentally measured and investigated. An experimental column with an inner diameter of 0.4 m and a packed height of 4 m was built on a sloshing machine that can simulate offshore conditions. A method of electrical resistance tomography combined with electrical impedance and diffuse optical tomography reconstruction software (ERT-EIDORS) was proposed and used to simultaneously measure the liquid distribution at multiple axial positions in the packed column. Validation experiments for the reliability of the ERT-EIDORS method were conducted first. Then the effects of the liquid load, gas factor, and liquid properties on the liquid distribution were investigated under various offshore conditions using the proposed method. For offshore conditions, three permanent tilt angles and four roll motions were considered. The results are presented in terms of the maldistribution factor in most cases and also the 3D plot for selected demonstration cases.