Tri-Packs®
Overview of Tri-Packs®
MACH plastic Tri-Packs® tower packing provides reliable performance in a variety of industrial mass transfer and separation processes. Tri-Packs — introduced in the 1980s and since recognized for their notable sphere shape — are a type of media used in random tower packing, which is a method of purifying gas and liquids. Use them for distillation, scrubbing, degasifying, stripping and more. Random tower packing media come in numerous shapes, though Tri-Packs are highly functional and offer maximum surface contact. Tri-Packs are used to create a larger surface area for contact between vapor and liquid. The contact makes separating chemicals more efficient.
Small packing matter is randomly distributed to help during the separation process. They guide liquids through the packing media into fixed shapes. Tri-Packs are one of the most efficient tower packing media, allowing you to reach high rates of mass transfer. With higher efficiency, Tri-Packs can also help lower operating costs.
Compared to older types of tower packing, Tri-Packs — which were first developed in the late ’70s and came to find broad acceptance throughout the next decade — have multiple advantages. Their unique hollow, spherical shape for random packing prevents nesting and settling, while a network of interior ribs maximizes surface area and helps ensure uniform liquid distribution. This, in turn, improves wetting qualities without impeding gas and liquid contact.
Other benefits to Jaeger Tri-Packs® include their lower pressure drop and high mass transfer rates. Its manufactured from injection-molded plastic and select materials meet NSF® standards for potable water use. For more information, get in touch with MACH Engineering directly.
When choosing a tower packing media, it’s important to consider whether its performing factors will be suitable for your application. For example, the above characteristics make Tri-Packs ideal for strippers, scrubbers and degasifiers.
Benefits of Tri-Packs
- Its spherical shape offers an effective surface area to void space ratio — more than the Pall Ring — resulting in a high active surface area.
- The unique struts, drip rods and ribs allow Tri-Pack scrubber packing to keep uniform liquid distribution across the bed.
- It confers extremely low pressure drops and maximizes the operating capacity.
- Tri-Packs prevent compression interlock and dry spots that cause air and liquid channeling, which are common among more traditional packing methods and decrease efficiency.
- Because Tri-Packs don’t have flat surfaces or small openings for particles to get trapped, there is virtually no nesting or settling, which makes the removal and the installation of this packing easy.
- Additionally, without valleys and corners, puddling is eliminated and wasteful liquid flow is reduced.
- The round Tri-Pack generates predictable performance data which helps to design the column.
- The circular and consistent design of each packing helps achieve high mass transfer and heat transfer rates.
Product Options
MACH Engineering offers Jaeger Tri-Packs tower packing in a wide range of plastic materials — each of which offers different properties suitable to different applications. Current options include:
Material Options
Materials | PP | PE | PVC | CPVC | PVDF | PFA |
Max. Operating Temperature | 180 | 160 | 140 | 230 | 280 | 400 |
Bulk Density Factor | 1.00 | 1.02 | 1.50 | 1.74 | 1.98 | 2.45 |
Product Data
Nominal Size (in) | 1 | 2 | 31/2 |
Void Fraction (%) | 90 | 93.5 | 95 |
Geometric Surface Area (ft2/ft3) | 85 | 48 | 38 |
Weight – (lb/ft3) | 6.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 |
Packing Factor (1/ft) | 28 | 16 | 12 |
Other materials are available upon request. All of the above figures are approximate — performance may be affected in applications that involve solvents, free radicals and other harsh substances. If you’re unsure which option is best for your needs, please get in touch with our team. One of our engineers would be happy to provide guidance.
Tri-Packs Applications and Performance Examples
As an experienced Tri-Packs partner, MACH Engineering has supplied Tri-Packs to serve in the following applications:
- 3.5’’ Tri-Packs for a CO2 Scrubber in Garden City, KS
- 2” Tri-Packs for a Chlorine Stripper Tower in Maple, ON
- 1” Tri-Packs in PVDF for a NOx Scrubber in Henderson, Nevada
- 2” Tri-Packs for a Coffee Scrubber in El Cajon, CA
- 2” Tri-Packs for an Ethanol Plant in Mt. Vernon, IN
- 2’’ Tri-Packs for a Hydrogen Peroxide Scrubber in a pharmaceutical industry
More generally, Tri-Packs tower packing can be used in several applications across many industries. Tri-Packs and other tower packing media are most commonly used in water and air pollution services and applications. For example, scrubbing, distillation, air stripping, biological treatment, mist elimination, gas and liquid separation, and cooling towers are some of the most common mass transfer applications for Tri-Packs.
Tri-Packs packing media are also used with a variety of MACH Engineering products like Fume Scrubbers, Distillation Towers and Air Strippers. Tri-Packs can be used in processes like ammonia stripping, NOX scrubbing, CO2 degassing, steam stripping, oxygen deaerating and more when working with various other air pollution products and services.
Whether you’re trying to optimize performance in an existing tower or designing a new system from the ground up, you’ll save money and get the benefit of working with a dedicated partner by choosing MACH.
MACH Tri-Packs Scrubber Packing
MACH Engineering has more than 25 years of experience in the mass transfer industry. From our headquarters in Houston, TX, we provide dedicated design and engineering services for clients around the world.
Working with molding facilities in the U.S. and overseas, we can turn around custom orders to a high standard of quality. We also keep an extensive selection of ball tower packing products in stock and ready to ship. To learn more or request a quote, contact us today by calling (281) 688-2998, and check out our Tri-Packs video on YouTube!
Tri-Packs® is a registered trademark of Raschig USA Inc.