We present a novel approach to the determination of the distillation packed bed height utilizing procedure involving new mass-transfer and hydrodynamics models for structured packings. Our approach is based on: a) advanced analyses of the distillation data utilizing composition profiles (instead of HETP); b) measurement and separation of the non-ideal hydrodynamics influence on the packed bed efficiency; c) utilization of the data acquired with proven absorption test methods with non-air (kG) and non-aqueous (kL) systems. The parameters of the here presented model are derived from the experimental data acquired with i.d. 150 mm distillation & absorption column and might be modified and supplemented when industrial scale experimental data and data for more packing types are available.
