Whilst the FM3 experiment was not designed to analyse the effect of particular packing types on column characteristics a comparison between the packing used in columns A and B does show some noticeable trends. Comparison between figures 3.1 and 3.2 suggests that for an air and water system ½" Ceramic Interlox saddles tolerate higher liquid and air flow rates before flooding than 9.5mm Acrylic balls; they also produce a slightly higher pressure drop than acrylic balls at similar gas and liquid flow rates.
Although in general packing with a low pressure drop is often desirable there are many process variables that must be considered. Of the two packing types used in this experiment 9.5mm Acrylic balls are best suited to applications which do not involve high superficial gas velocities or require high surface are per unit volume as they produce a lower pressure drop, ½" Ceramic Interlox saddles are best suited to processes requiring large surface area per unit volume or that must operate at high superficial gas velocity.
The number of variables and types of packing available provide ample ground for further experimentation in this area.