Packing Efficiency - 40" - 3" Column

[tiramisu]

Pragmatic question.
3"/76mm column
40"/1meter of packing room.

Not anywhere near close to 24xdiameter. Damn ceilings

Will I need to be using SPP for a close to azeotrope spirits run?
Will copper/steel mesh be enough? ( 6 ish plates - i suspect not but worth asking )

I read a very long post on packing materials coke, lava rocks etc from 5 years ago that suggested many different
ways of skinning the cat

How many effective plates do I need to achieve and what is going to be my most cost effective
approach given 40" of packing?

Thanks,
T

[bluefish_dist]

From personal testing chore boy stainless scrubbies. 4” hetp, so about 10 plates. Won’t be azeo, but should be good enough for a clean neutral. While others have had good luck with SPP, the stuff I had didn’t get the job done. It was also super expensive.

With a 3”, I think you could do layers of 3 scrubbies, then rotate the next layer, and repeat. The other option would be to flatten then and just stack on top of each other. How you pack them in does make a difference.

[tiramisu]

Thanks... practical and getting job done is what I'm looking for at the moment.
I need a lot more calculus and physics to really understand the science of this.

What do you mean by "rotate the next layer"? wait... I think I get it.
3 scrubbies in one layer side by side then rotate 90 degree.s.

So about 30 scrubbies to pack.

[bluefish_dist]

Since there are 3 per layer, the next layer should be rotated 60 deg so the gaps between scrubbies don’t line up. It makes for a more compact filling. It will make sense when you start putting them in.

[shadylane]

Pragmatic question.
3"/76mm column
40"/1meter of packing room.

what is going to be my most cost effective
approach given 40" of packing?

Most cost effective would be 1 run and done.
The cleanest neutral would be to dilute the first run and run it again.
A reflux still is only a tool. It doesn't have to be a perfect tool.
It's the hand and mind that count.

[The Baker]

tiramisu said, '...Damn ceilings'...

I am looking at the same situation. Setting up a distillation system on electricity...
Any columns that are high will be close together...
I have a roofing man coming to put leaf guards on the enclosed box gutter (I won't climb ladders now, next birthday is eightieth).
So I MAY get him (might be expensive) or my son (not expensive) to put a false chimney/ flue there...
Even a foot or so would make a big difference.
And/ or I could set the column almost on the floor instead of on top of the boiler, commonly enough done commercially.
Dunno.
(If you could dig a HOLE?...)
Geoff