Does a packed column need to be vertical?

[Steve Broady]

If I have a 2” column packed with something, does it have to be vertical to work? I would assume the answer would be yes, but you probably know a lot more than I do.

The reason I ask is that I’m thinking of starting off a column with a nearly horizontal section in order to get it into a better location for my space. Is there any benefit to packing that section? And would it matter if the packing was something like copper mesh which could conduct heat to the column walls rather than something like lava rocks? My guess is that liquid would just run down the bottom of the tube and do virtually nothing useful on its way back to the boiler. But I figured I’d at least ask.