Comparison of the Operating Range of a Wetted‐Wall Column with a Packed Column for Distillation

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>In this paper, a newly designed distillation column consisting of a wetted wall with a rectangular cross section is analyzed and compared with a conventional packed column with regard to the operating range of both apparatuses. As expected, the pressure drop is considerably lower in the wetted‐wall column and, therefore, it offers a higher range of operation. However, in the wetted‐wall column, the separation efficiency decreases rapidly with increasing <jats:italic>F</jats:italic> factors. This effect can be overcome by the serial connection of two wetted‐wall columns.</jats:p>