Tray Selection

Chapter from the Fractionation Design Guide.

Tray Selection Criteria

Tray Type	Application	Capacity	Efficiency (%)
Sieve Tray	General distillation, broad range of services	Moderate-High	65
Valve Tray	High capacity, foaming services	High	70
Bubble Cap	Low capacity, vacuum services, specialty	Low	60
Turbo Tray	Retrofit, low liquid loads	Low-Moderate	68

Selection Parameters

Max Vapor Velocity (ft/s)	Sieve: 6-8, Valve: 8-10, Bubble Cap: 2-4
Min Liquid Flow Rate	0.1 gpm/ft² column diameter to prevent weeping
Operating Pressure Range	0.5 atm (vacuum) to 20+ atm (high pressure)
Turndown Ratio	Sieve: 3:1, Valve: 4:1, Bubble Cap: 6:1

Source: Fractionation_Design_Guide_v1.xlsx · sheet “Tray_Selection”

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