Experimental Characterization of 3D Printed Structured Metal Packing with an Enclosed Column Wall.

Additive manufacturing is a promising tool for tailored solutions in chemical engineering. This applies in particular to the design of lab‐scale packed bed columns. We present experimental results to characterize a lab‐scale 3D printed structured metal packing and compare it to a conventional counterpart. The results indicate that necessary adjustments for the manufacturing process of the metal material have an influence on important operating parameters, resulting in higher specific pressure drop, slightly higher liquid holdup and lower mass transfer efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]