Column Packing (Idea for a Copper Packing different then the common Mesh Packing)

chevelle496

I have been doing some thinking about column packing and was searching for copper raschig rings, but they seem hard to find and fairly pricey if you can find them. So I got to wondering about using copper couplings something like these. Has any one ever tried them or have any reason to why they would not work? Any thoughts or comments weather it would be better or worse then copper mesh? My initial thoughts are they would maybe last longer then mesh. Just dump them in like ceramic raschig rings, the tube structure should provide flow through for vapor. While it would cost some money to put a fair amount inside the column I don't think it would be a horrible amount. thanks

punkin

Pretty common to get pipe and cut it into small pieces. Definately wouldn't want to buy fittings to do the same thing mate, you'd want to be as rich as Trump a rich guy.

chevelle496

Ah yeah good point, I was not thinking in terms of cutting up pipe for some reason, Just came across a couple rather large lots of new fittings on ebay for cheap and was thinking in terms of just buying those. But buying some stick pipe would be just as easy.

FloridaCracker

I read somewhere that they should be 1/10 the diameter of your column for optimal results. Don't know if that is what you are looking at or not.

DistilliTraK

I have used this for the past few years in my column still. Not in my Dragon, of course, but it works really well for the Brewhaus column(the first unit I got before I came to know the dragon);

Mesh Roll from Amazon - Now many vendors sell this online for more or less coin. It's meant to put in weep holes, exterior dryer vents (I question that one), or any opening around the home you need to block from rodent ingress. it's 13 USD a roll on Amazon, but I have seen it cheaper (just can't find it now).

I bought four rolls three years ago and I still have most of two rolls left. When it get's dingy to the point a citric acid bath doesn't help, I toss it and unroll some more and bungle it up and away we go..

Anro

@FloridaCracker I think the 1/10 of the column diameter is to ensure efficient contact between the vapor and the liquid. If the packing is too big, you wil get bypassing/short-circuiting in the column.

I have used copper tubing in an older still. It works well, but requires a taller column or more reflux to obtain the same amount of separation than a copper mesh. My rough calculations showed that you need approximately 10 cm of copper mesh in a 2 inch column for the same separation as one tray in a 2 inch column.

Everything hinges on the surface area available for separation. The mesh has more area for the same volume. Any packing that does not influence the taste of your product will work, it is just a question of how much packing is required to get the purity that you want.