CFD-assisted Characterization and Optimization of the Structured Mass Transfer Packing QVF DURAPACK

The glass packing QVF DURAPACK® was developed to use the advantages of structured mass transfer packings, especially when handling corrosive media. To match up with the latest developments for sheet metal packings, further optimization for liquid‐liquid separation processes was performed for the QVF DURAPACK®. The complex geometry of structured packings and the wall thickness of glass sheets complicate the numerical investigations. The modeling strategy is presented, and the limitations of CFD tools are given. The experimental and numerical results show similar trends as known for perforated metal structures. The extraction efficiency of the packing prototype could also be reproduced with the column design tool LLECMOD. To optimize the glass packing QVF DURAPACK® with regard to extraction efficiency, a detailed understanding of the hydrodynamic behavior is crucial. Therefore, computa‐tional fluid dynamics is used and the challenges in modeling are discussed. The extraction column design tool LLECMOD was used to compare calculated mass transfer results of the developed prototype to the experimental data.