Tower Packing
MACH Engineering offers a variety of tower packings and column internals. With MACH’s random packing, capacity increases can be achieved without sacrificing efficiency at competitive prices. To provide the most efficient packing, we design our products around a set of interrelated performance goals. Our process engineers can help you optimize performance in new or existing towers by assisting in the selection of the most efficient scrubber packing media and internals for your specific application.
With a history of designing and engineering tower packing media, MACH Engineering is a longstanding partner to demanding clients across the country. Random tower packing is one of our largest product verticals, and we offer an extensive selection of custom and semi-custom products.
Wastewater Packing Media
Tri-Packs® is a sphere-shaped column packing with intricate group of ribs and struts. It was introduced in 1980’s and is since recognized by its geometrical shape. Its spherical shape offers good surface area to void space ratio. There is virtually no nesting or settling since there are no obtruding edges. Due to circular and consistent design of each packing, high mass transfer rates are achieved.
MACH Mini Rings (MMR) have cylindrical surface and linear internal braces, which provides low height to diameter or aspect ratio compared to standard cylindrical ring type packing. The low aspect ratio design ensures even liquid flow, which leads to substantially better gas and liquid contact. Its shape allows higher bed heights with little deformation and low-pressure drop across the bed. MMR was developed and commercialized in 1971. Since its introduction, MMR random packing has been utilized in a wide variety of distillation, absorption and stripping columns around the world. The superior performance of MMR random packing has been shown in thousands of successful installations by MACH Engineering, LLC.
Pall Rings are conventional shaped packing that offers low price compared to other modern packing at a cost of performance. Pall Rings represent the oldest and most common type of plastic packing used over the past 40 years.
Maspac was initially developed by Dow Chemical Company after a long period of testing. This high performance packing was designed specifically for handling very high liquid and gas flows with low pressure drop. Maspac is most often specified because of its shape and physical properties. Its overall shape provides high flooding limits and low pressure drop to high liquid and gas flow, enabling minimum blower requirements. The shape has an extra large surface area confined in a small space to provide high gas-liquid contact efficiency.
Pall Rings are conventional shaped packing that offers low price compared to other modern packing at a cost of performance. Pall Rings represent the oldest and most common type of plastic packing used over the past 40 years.
Super saddles are similar to Intalox saddles in shape but has higher surface area compared to Intalox saddles. High surface area increases the efficiency and improves mass transfer between liquid and gas. These saddles still offers low price compared to other modern packing.
MACH CORRUGATED Structured Packing is the one of the most economical structured packing in the industry. It is ideal for separations requiring a large number of theoretical stages in low liquid rate absorption/stripping systems, also for applications that require a wide operating range. This is due to very low pressure drop across the bed and superior liquid spreading characteristics over the packing surface. Specially designed vertical sheets maximize gas/liquid contacting, mixing and renewable liquid film formation. These sheets include pressure drop reducing and liquid diversion openings that are strategically located where they are needed resulting in a higher capacity with no dead space. The shapes of the openings are specially designed for guiding and directing gas and liquid flows for full integration of gas/liquid contacting. The unique design of these openings provides maximum area and distribution. In a typical application, the fluid flowing down the column drips off the downward facing tabs and spreads on the surface of the sheets. In high liquid loading applications where the liquid might have a tendency to bridge the opening, an upward bent tab directs the liquid to the underside of the corresponding sheet. Some of the benefits are:
MACH Knitted Wire Structured Packing (KWSP) is the Goodloe® equivalent. KWSP is based on metal or polymer fabric which is knitted instead of woven. Knitting is a more economical process, with results which are superior in many respects. The packing is made from four to twelve strands, each typically 0.0045 inch diameter with appropriate loop spacing and corrugation depth. Tubular knitting, followed by flattening and corrugation, yields a flexible ribbon about six inches wide with two integral layers. This results in high-efficiency structured packing which is ideally suited for applications that demand high separation efficiency with a lower pressure drop. Its low HETP requirements result in smaller column heights. The multiple strand wire provides a high surface area and a tube effect on the downward liquid to promote close vapor-liquid contact, uniform liquid distribution and a thin layer of liquid film. This results in higher mass transfer efficiencies, lower pressure drop, and high turndown ratios, up to 20:1. Typical HETP values range from 3″ to 12″. For high vacuum services, 4″ to 6″ HETP is typical. Some of the benefits are:
VSP®, also known as Arch Ring, has arch slotted from one sheet of metal. Its spherical shape offers good surface area to void space ratio. The sizes of Arch Ring are proportional in all dimensions for accurate scale-up. Heavily ribbed main element provides high strength-to-weight ratio sufficient for high bed heights. This type of design helps the liquid to form tiny droplets as it trickle down the packing, assuring good liquid-gas mixing and distribution. Its shape allows virtually no nesting and large void space produces low-pressure drop across the bed.
Pall Rings are conventional shaped packing that offers low price compared to other modern packing at a cost of performance. Pall Rings represent the oldest and most common type of plastic packing used over the past 40 years.
Interpack®, also known as Metal Conjugate Rings, have characteristics of both sphere and cylindrical shape packing. Sphere shape offers good surface area to void space ratio and cylindrical surface provides low height to diameter ratio. Its shape allows higher bed heights with little deformation and low-pressure drop across the bed.
Metal Saddle Rings has similar shape as IMTP®. Metal Saddle Rings provide better mass transfer efficinecy and lower pressure drops than comparably sized traditional metal packings such as Pall Rings. Metal Saddle Rings offers an excellent choice for high capacity applications that demand high performance packings.
MACH Hi-Rings are equivalent to Hiflow® Ring and improved Pall Ring tower packing. MACH Hi-Rings offer low pressure drop, small specific gravity, large void space, and high mechanical strength. Hi-Rings are widely used in petroleum and chemical, alkali chloride, gas and environmental industries.
Our Products
Our tower packing products support a wide range of industrial processes and applications. Options include:
- Tri-Packs®: One of our most popular products, Tri-Packs are a high-performance random packing material suitable for use in scrubber, degasifier and stripper applications.
- MACH Mini Rings: Cylindrical MACH Mini Rings have linear internal braces and a low height-to-diameter ratio that ensures even flow and better gas/liquid contact.
- Plastic Pall Rings: Plastic Pall Rings have been a mainstay in tower packing for more than 40 years. We offer our products — an improvement on the original Raschig ring design — in a variety of polymers and sizes to support different applications.
- Metal Pall Rings: Metal Pall Rings provide improved corrosion resistance and better performance in high-temperature applications. Various stainless steel, carbon steel, and aluminum options are available.
- Ceramic Pall Rings: Ceramic Pall Rings are thicker than their plastic counterparts and offer better absorbing efficiency.
- Maspac: Maspac is a high-performance packing with a unique shape engineered to reduce pressure drops when handling very high liquid and gas flows. Our product preserves this original design, enabling excellent gas-liquid contact efficiency with minimal blower requirements.
- Ceramic super saddles: Similar to competitors’ products but with a wider surface area, our ceramic saddle tower packing media improves mass transfer and efficiency while still offering a low price point. MACH also offers plastic saddle packing.
- MACH Corrugated structured packing: Corrugated structured packing consists of specially designed metal sheets that promote gas-liquid contact. Our corrugated packing is ideal for separations with a large number of theoretical stages or a wide operating range.
- Knitted wire structured packing: Our knitted wire structured packing has minimal HETP requirements that enable lower tower heights while still delivering high separation efficiency and lower pressure drop.
- VSP®: VSP, or Arch Ring, is a type of random tower packing with a spherical shape and good surface-area-to-void-space ratio. It can provide efficient liquid-gas mixing with no risk of nesting.
- Interpack®: Interpack metal conjugate rings combine the performance characteristics of spherical and cylindrical tower packing media. Use them in towers with higher bed heights that would be subject to deformation and pressure drop with other media.
- Metal saddle rings: Our metal saddle rings offer similar performance in high-capacity applications to comparable competitor alternatives.
- MACH Hi-Rings: Our Hi-Rings are widely used in chemical, oil and gas, alkali chloride and environment applications. They offer low specific gravity, large void space, and high mechanical strength.
- MACH Super Rings: Our version of the Super-Ring, MACH Super Rings feature an open design with many contact points to promote homogenous gas and liquid distribution. Use them in a wide range of mass transfer and heat transfer applications.
- MACH Bio-Media: Our Bio-Media are made of recycled polypropylene and enhance the efficiency of the water treatment process.
- MACH Cascade Bio-Media: These Bio-Media are excellent for partial and total trickline filter processes for wastewater treatment.
We’d be happy to work with you to identify the best tower packing options for your project — whether you’re retrofitting an existing vessel or building something new. Contact us to request a consultation today.