Does top tray feed demand special care?
For columns fed onto the top tray, and when the feed stream contains vapor, special design features are desirable. Eg, parts of the tray subjected to abnormally high forces should be strengthened. Also, the feed pipe should be anchored to the tower wall. Columns such as amine regenerators frequently flow vapor and liquid in slugs to the top or feed tray. Severe hydraulic pounding and tray damage can occur if the feed tray has not been properly designed to withstand this force. For normal fractionators, it is sufficient to deposit the reflux behind a 4-6″ high inlet weir or to use a false downcomer. No other precautions are usually necesssary.
