Distributors in large Scale reactor:

Most of the known designs of vapor−liquid distributors fall into one of the four categories.
1) Perforated plate or sieve tray (a)
2) Chimney tray (b)
3) Bubble cap tray (c)
4) Vapor assist lift tube (d)

(1) Perforated tray/Sieve tray type distributors- These are the earliest type of distribution trays used in
the trickle bed reactors. They consist of a perforated tray or sieve tray with gas chimneys. This tray is
simple to construct and is capable of providing the greatest number of drip points over the cross section of
the catalyst bed.
(2) Chimney type distributors- These designs have chimneys evenly spaced across the distribution tray.
These chimneys allow the vapor to pass through the top opening. The liquid flow is distributed through
weep holes or notches cut into the side of riser. This design eliminates the sensitivity to plugging. This type
of device is essentially equivalent to a perforated tray with elevated liquid ports. A further improvement of
this simple chimney distributor is the multi-port chimney. This distributor design has weep holes spaced
vertically up the axis of the chimney, which provide greater flexibility to changing vapour/liquid ratios.
(3) Bubble-cap type distributors - Bubble-cap design operates on a vapour assisted principle compared to
liquid overflow principle employed in the chimney type distributors. In this design, vapour passing through
slots in the bubble cap aspirate liquid held up on the tray, carrying it over a central down comer. The
bubble cap design is much less sensitive to tray levelness than others because the liquid on tray is carried
by the vapour. It is also less sensitive over a broad range of liquid loading. Another advantage of this type
of distributor is that it acts like an additional quenching device, bringing the liquid and vapour closer to an
equilibrium temperature before they enter the catalyst bed. Also this is less prone to fouling compared to
chimney type distributor.
(4) Vapour-lift Distributor- These distributors incorporate all advantages like vapour-liquid mixing, low
vulnerability to plugging normally associated with vapour assist distributor such as bubble-cap distributor
tray. But this tray has much smaller diameter chimney, which enables the installation of more distribution
points across the tray area. These distributors exhibit very stable, low sensitivity operation over a broad
range of the vapour/liquid ratios.
Advantages:
(1) Better distribution of liquid—the smaller size distributor enables more liquid being placed on
distribution tray to achieve better distribution of liquid without impact liquid vapour flow between each
other; (2) simplicity and less costliness—the simplicity of the vapour-lift tube device makes it easier to use
and less costly to fabricate in the optimal size prescribed by the process conditions; (3) self-controlling,
which ensures it being operated under lower liquid loads.
Disadvantages of different type of distributors:
Perforated tray/sieve tray:

 High sensitivity to tray levelness.

 The perforations can easily be plugged particles carried into the reactor by the feed.
 The flexibility to liquid load is very poor.
 Another disadvantage of this device is that it can be designed to give good performance at either
the design conditions or at turndown conditions, but not at both situations. Therefore, the tray has
a tendency to run dry as vaporization increases towards the end of the cycle. Therefore, this type of
device is not expected to provide good distribution.
Chimney type distributor:

 Sensitive to the tray levelness and changes in liquid loading.

 It offers fewer drip points than the perforated tray.
 To provide the turndown capability, these distributors are designed to maintain a liquid level at
the design conditions above the level of the weep holes or notch bottom. If the feed rate is
increased or a heavier feed is processed, the level on the tray will increase and can flood over the
top of the chimney.
Bubble Cap type distributor:

 It requires large diameter and thus less number of drip points on to the catalyst bed.
Vapour lift distributor:

 Problem of non-uniform secondary distribution.

Trickle bed internals(Distributor sand inlet diffusers):
1) Patent No. -IN201711047022
Gas-liquid inlet diffuser for down flow reactor
having a cylindrical housing comprising a hollow
internal space. The improved down-flow reactor
comprises an inlet pipe being configured with the
housing to define an inlet of the down flow
reactor. An inlet diffuser is located in the hollow
internal space of the housing at the inlet.

Th
e plurality of sieve plates is configured to
uniformly distribute the fluids exiting the annular
chamber.
A distributor tray is configured below the inlet
diffuser in a region above a catalyst bed of the
down flow reactor.
The inlet diffuser comprises an annular chamber
having a fluid inlet formed upwardly towards the
inlet of the down flow reactor and a fluid outlet
formed downwardly. A plurality of vertical baffles
to impart uniform discharge to a fluid exiting the
annular chamber thereby minimizing flow
asymmetry and breaking fluid momentum in a
vertically downward direction. The inlet diffuser
further comprises a plurality of sieve plates
disposed downwardly of the fluid outlet.
100- Improved Down-Flow Reactor
101- Inlet of-the Improved Down-Flow
Reactor
1- Housing
2) Patent No.: CN205235933U 1a-Hollow Internal Space of Housing
2- Inlet Pipe
Prior distribution technology has a problem of uneven gas- 3- Inlet Diffuser
liquid distribution, and a new trickle bed reaction assembly is 3a- Annular Chamber of-the Inlet Diffuser
provided. The trickle bed reaction assembly has the 3b- Plurality of Sieve Plates of-the Inlet
Diffuser
characteristics of uniform gas-liquid distribution.
4- Distributor Tray
Gas-liquid distributor includes a distribution plate, a gas 5- Catalyst Bed
passage tube, and a liquid passage tube. The gas passage tube A- Fluid Inlet of the Annular Chamber
includes a cone top cover and an upright short tube; a gap B- Fluid Outlet of the Annular Chamber
between the conical top cover and the upper end of the
upright short tube for gas in and out; and a lower end of the upright short tube is disposed on the
distribution plate. The liquid passage tube is a vertical short tube, and the vertical short tube penetrates
the distribution plate; the vertical short tube portion located under the distribution plate is evenly
interlaced with small holes in a cross section at different positions along the axial direction. Wherein the
vertical short tube is located at the end of the portion below the distribution plate and is connected to the
flow plate.
The flow plate includes a circular hole at the center and a divergent slit uniformly distributed along the
circumference. The divergent slits are rectangular or triangular. There are 3 to 6 divergent slits. The slit
ratio of the divergent slit is 10 to 40%.

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a trickle bed reaction assembly of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the gas-liquid distributor in the trickle bed reaction assembly.
Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of flow plate with a gas-liquid distributor, a gas passage tube of a gas-
liquid distributor, a liquid passage tube of a gas-liquid distributor.

Fig.1 Fig.2

Fig.3600742B2

3) Patent no.: US7600742B2

The distribution device comprises a horizontal tray being perforated with holes. Each perforation being
fitted with a vapour lift tube consisting of at least one elongated up-flow leg and one down-flow leg and
creating at least one up-flow zone and a down-flow zone between the up-flow zone and down-flow zone a
transition zone. In order to improve distribution performance of the device a bluff body is arranged within
the transition zone of the vapour lift tube and/or in a region of the up-flow or down-flow zone adjacent to
the transition zone of the vapour lift tube.  The bluff shaped body directing a moving fluid form the up-flow
zone to the down-flow zone without creating considerable flow resistance. Useful shapes of the bluff body
are guide vanes curving towards the legs of the vapour lift and/or fairings as shown in the attached
drawings.
FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C show the side elevation, the front elevation and a top view, respectively, of a first
embodiment of the vapour lift tube of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C show the side elevation, the front elevation and a top view, respectively, of a further
embodiment of the vapour lift tube of the invention.
FIGS. 3 a, 3 b, 4 and 5 show a sectional view of different shapes of a bluff body according to specific
embodiments of the invention.
4) Modification of Vapor-liquid distributor
A typical vapour-lift tube device is shown in Figure 1. The inner (down-flow) tube fits through a perforation
in the support tray. The outer (up-flow) tube, with a vertical slot, is elevated above the tray. The device
thereby provides a flow path across the tray, with vapour and liquid inlet through the end of the outer
tube, then flows vertically through it. The flow direction changed at the top of the device between two
tubes, and vapour and liquid flowed downward through the inner tube and discharged to the lower space
through the open end of the inner tube. During the operation, the liquid level on the vapour-lift tube is
above the bottom of the outer tube but below the top of the opening slot. Vapour passes through the slot,
creating a pressure drop between the inside and outside of the vapour-lift tube. Since pressure inside the
vapour-lift tube is lower, the liquid level is higher inside than that of outside the vapour-lift tube. The
vapour and liquid will mix in the outer tube as the vapour lifting the liquid to flow up and over the
connecting wall between two tubes. Liquid will partially disengage while flowing over the connecting wall
and down the inner tube. At the opening under the tray, the liquid and vapour will further disengage with
the liquid draining off the drip edge.
However, there are still some disadvantages for this type of distributor to overcome. As can be seen, the
flow path in the device will lead to a deflection of vapour liquid flow. More liquid will accumulate near the
centre wall; therefore, liquid mal-distribution still exists. Thus, the main purpose of this research is to
improve the performance of the device by reducing this effect.

Two major modifications were made to reduce the deflection effect. Since fewer slots may lead to
channelling the vapour in the annulus and less efficient contacting with the liquid phase, the first
modification is to increase the slot number from one to three to enable more gas to enter the outer tube
from different directions. The other modification is to cut two side pores at the top of inner tube as new
gas paths. Gas entering from these pores can drive liquid away from the tube wall. This new design also
can decrease the pressure drop due to gas partially passed from these pores. [1]
5) Patent No.: IN2007DE00006
The details of a distributor unit are shown in Figure-2. The distributor unit (7) consists o f a gas tube (9), a liquid tube
(10) and a secondary distribution attachment (11). The gas tube (9) passes through the primary distribution point (8)
and welded to the lower surface of the distributor tray (1). The secondary distribution attachment (11) is welded to 6
the bottom part of the gas tube (9). The liquid tube (10) is concentric and placed outside the gas tube (9). The liquid
tube is welded on the upper surface of the distributor tray. The details of the vapour/gas tube (9) are shown in
Figure-3. It consists of a pipe (12), closed from top and open from bottom. Specified number of rectangular slots (13)
are there at the top part of pipe for entry of vapour or gas. Specified number of rectangular slots (14) are also
present at the bottom edge of the pipe (12) for vapor or gas exit. Specified numbers of circular holes (15) are there
just above the distributor tray (1) location for entry of liquid from liquid tube (10) to gas tube (9). A circular cover
plate (16) is welded to the pipe (12) just below the top slots (13), which acts as cover for the liquid tube (10).
The details of liquid tube (10) are shown in Figure-4. It consists of a pipe (17) placed concentrically around the gas
tube (9) and the annular gap between them is maintained by specified numbers of stoppers (18). The pipe (17) has
specified numbers of circular holes (19) at two levels above the location of the distributor tray (1). Liquid from the
distributor tray (1) enters into the pipe (17) through these holes (19).

The secondary distribution attachment (11) provides further distribution of liquid. The details of secondary
distribution attachment (11) are shown in Figure-5. It consists of a slotted plate (20). Two concentric rings (21 & 22)
with serrated bottom are welded to the bottom surface of the slotted plate (20). Specified numbers of vertical
baffles (23) are welded to the top surface of the slotted plate (20). The slotted plate (20) has a circular hole (24) at
the center. The vertical baffles (23) are so oriented that on welding the secondary distribution attachment (11) to the
bottom end of the gas tube (9), the baffles (23) are located at the center of the bottom slots (14).

Fig.1

Fig.2 Fig.3

Fig.4 Fig.5
The main advantages of the present invention are:

1. The distributor tray of the present invention has large number of distribution points which improves
performance of the catalyst bed due to better wetting of catalyst particles.
2. In the present invention the liquid is first distributed through the primary distribution points and then
further distribution of liquid is achieved through the secondary distribution attachments. The secondary
distribution attachments provide further distribution of liquid with or without the aid of vapour or gas
velocity.
3. At high vapour or gas velocity, the vapour or gas assists secondary distribution of liquid and the
secondary distribution attachment helps in achieving uniformity of the distribution, which otherwise quite
non-uniform.
4. At low vapour or gas velocity, when the vapour or gas hardly provides any assistance to liquid
distribution, the attachment provides excellent secondary distribution of liquid.
5. The distributor tray of the present invention is resistant to fouling and reduces maintenance
requirements.
6. The novel distributor tray of the present invention ensures uniform distribution of vapor or gas and
liquid even under turndown conditions.
7. At very high liquid load, the liquid overflows into the annular space between the gas tube and the liquid
tube without disturbing the gas flow pattern.
6) Patent No.:- CN208894181U (2019-05-24)

The utility model provides a tubular gas-liquid distributor, comprising: a main body 100, a top cap 200 and
a cone-shaped flow board 300; the main body 100 is provided with an overflow hole 110 and an overflow
hole 120. And an overflow hole 130, the overflow hole 110, the overflow hole 120 and the lower overflow
hole 130 are spaced apart along the extending direction of the main body 100; the upper end of the main
body 100 and the top cap 200 is connected, the lower end of the main body 100 is connected to the
tapered flow plate 300, and the tapered flow plate 300 is capable of dispersing the gas-liquid mixture in a
fan shape.

The working principle of the utility model: the gas-liquid mixture flow is from the upper part of the reactor.
During normal operation, the liquid mainly enters the main body 100 through the overflow hole 120 and
the lower overflow hole 130. When the liquid volume is large, part of the liquid will The gas enters the
main body 100 from the overflow hole 110, and the gas is directly diverted from the upper portion of the
main body 100 through the top cap 200, and then directly enters the main body 100. The gas-liquid
mixture flows under the impinging mixed flow inside the main body 100, and passes through the lower
portion of the main body 100. After the orifice plate 140 is mixed, it collides with the cone-shaped flow-
plate 300, and the solid-shaped cone-shaped flow-plate 300 forms a large umbrella surface, and the
umbrella surfaces under the plurality of gas-liquid distributors are superimposed on each other and
uniformly distributed to the catalyst bed. Thus improving the existing large-area dispersion of the liquid,
and the overall technical problem that the gas-liquid distribution is not uniform enough.

Reference
[1] A NOVEL MODIFICATION OF VAPOUR-LIFT LIQUID DISTRIBUTOR Wei Du,1,2 Wenming Liu,2 Jian Xu2 and
Weisheng Wei2* 1. State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, P.
R. China, https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.21808