The present disclosure relates to a packing element, in particular for mass and/or heat exchange columns, through which at least one gas and/or at least one liquid flow flows, comprising a plurality of neighbouring strips curved inwards and/or outwards, wherein each strip is connected to the neighbouring strips at at least one end thereof. It is the object of the present invention to provide a packing element that is improved relative to the state of the art. According to the disclosure, this object is achieved in that at least one of the strips has an irregular shape.

The invention relates to the development of a carrier material providing high surface area for biofilm formation in wastewater treatment plants and a carrier material surface modification method for accelerating and enriching biofilm formation.

An annular divided wall column for the cryogenic rectification of air or constituents of air is provided. The annular divided wall column includes a first annular column wall and a second annular column wall disposed within the first annular column wall to define an annulus column region and an interior core column region. The present annular divided wall column further includes structured packing elements disposed within at least the annulus column region as well as a ring-shaped cantilevered collector; and a ring-shaped distributor disposed in the annulus column region above or below the plurality of structured packing elements. The thermal expansion and contraction of the second annular column wall in a radial direction and in an axial direction is independent of the thermal expansion and contraction of the first annular column wall in the radial and axial directions.

An annular divided wall column is provided. The annular divided wall column includes a first annular column wall and a second annular column wall disposed within the first annular column wall and radially spaced therefrom to define an annulus column region as the space between the first annular column wall and the second annular column wall. An interior core column region is also defined by the interior space of the second annular column wall. The present annular divided wall column further includes a plurality of packing elements, disposed within the interior core column region within the annulus column region having different surface area densities and optionally, also have different geometries.

An annular divided wall column for the cryogenic rectification of air or constituents of air is provided. The annular divided wall column includes a first annular column wall and a second annular column wall disposed within the first annular column wall to define an annulus column region and an interior core column region. The present annular divided wall column further includes structured packing elements disposed within at least the annulus column region as well as a ring-shaped cantilevered collector; and a ring-shaped distributor disposed in the annulus column region above or below the plurality of structured packing elements. The thermal expansion and contraction of the second annular column wall in a radial direction and in an axial direction is independent of the thermal expansion and contraction of the first annular column wall in the radial and axial directions.

A catalyst pellet has the shape of a column and has a cross-section having the shape of an ellipse in a direction perpendicular to an axis.

The invention relates to a catalyst and catalyst layer and process for preparing dimethyl ether from synthesis gas or methanol as well as the use of the catalyst or catalyst layer in this process.

The present invention discloses an efficient mass-transfer separation bulk filler structure, which includes a bulk filler body with closely-fit multilayer structures, wherein an annular wall surface of the bulk, filler body has a corrugated angle group. A lower portion of the bulk filler body is of a bell-mouth shape. Three passages with a same sectional area are formed inside the bulk filler body. The present invention has the characteristics of small pressure drop, large specific surface area, low liquid holdup and large void ratio. The annular wall surface is provided with the corrugated angle group to increase the disturbance and reduce a double-membrane thickness of vapor and liquid phase mass-transfer resistance, thereby improving the mass-transfer coefficient and separation efficiency. Meanwhile, by adopting the bell-mouth shape, the stability and natural stacking regularity of the bulk filler can be improved.

An annular divided wall column is provided. The annular divided wall column includes a first annular column wall and a second annular column wall disposed within the first annular column wall and radially spaced therefrom to define an annulus column region as the space between the first annular column wall and the second annular column wall. An interior core column region is also defined by the interior space of the second annular column wall. The present annular divided wall column further includes a plurality of packing elements, disposed within the interior core column region within the annulus column region having different surface area densities and optionally, also have different geometries.

A method for removing contaminants from a process stream that includes the use of reticulated material to filter the process stream. The reticulated material also facilitate process stream flow distribution in process units. The reticulated material can be packed with a void space between a substantial number of the reticulated material that can be varied to enhance filtration and flow distribution. The method of filtering also provides a method of removing contaminants leaving process equipment. The methods can be used on a variety of process streams and process equipment. The reticulated material can include ceramics, metallic materials, and chemical vapor deposition elements. The reticulated material can be of various shapes and sizes, and can also be catalytically active.