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