The lifespan of the tower
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Hello everyone! May I ask, what is the approximate service life of floating valve towers and packed towers? Is there any way to improve the efficiency of a floating valve column when its efficiency has decreased, without performing any maintenance work?
It depends on the properties of your material and the filler; there is no fixed time frame. To determine why the efficiency of the tower decreases, it is necessary to identify the cause of that decrease. Treat the symptom. There are operational reasons, and there are equipment-related reasons.
The typical service life is over 10 years; of course, this depends greatly on the operating conditions and the materials used.
It’s hard to say; it depends on the tower material and the operating environment
The original poster’s statement is way too general! Analyze this specific issue on a case-by-case basis. 1. It is necessary to check the condition of the material to see if it is corrosive. 2. It is necessary to consider the material of the tower body – whether it is carbon steel or stainless steel, and if it is stainless steel, then whether it is 304, 316, 316L, etc. Generally speaking, the design lifespan of tower structures is over 10 years, and floating valve trays can also function properly for 3 years without any problems. However, in today’s era of rapid economic and technological development, failing to move forward means falling behind! Are you still planning to use a raft-type tray for 5 years? It was time to replace the trays with ones that offer higher efficiency and greater production capacity. Looking at packing materials again, there are many types: Pall rings, Raschig rings, wire mesh, plate corrugated packing, and so on. For example, wire mesh packing can last 5 years without issue in enzyme recovery processes in the pharmaceutical industry, but it may need to be replaced every 2 years in vacuum distillation processes in the oil refining sector.