About the course

Distillation is still the most widely used means of separating chemical species in the petroleum and chemical industries and is the first unit operation in an oil refinery. This course covers the key areas of assessing the design of the internals through to their eventual installation but with the emphasis placed on aspects seldom taught. It is not a Chemical Engineering ‘refresher’ course, but rather seeks to cover topics from a practical viewpoint that can be obtained only by hard won experience. Various aspects relating to the initial design of column internals are covered. Current internals are reviewed including critical design aspects of trays, packings and ancillary equipment. The occurrence and avoidance of pyrophoric fires in columns, and the in-situ inspection requirements of all internals, are included. The philosophy and approach to troubleshooting is discussed leading on to a review of numerous first hand troubleshooting examples, each demonstrating a significant problem area. The course is designed to open the mind to the wider issues of column internals and to the maintenance of the design performance over the cycle life of the unit.The course is designed to complement and supplement material presented in other ERTC courses and conferences.