Metal Intalox Saddle Imtp

A metal intalox saddle is a random packing shaped like an open saddle — a curved, semicircular arc of thin metal, quite unlike a closed ring. It is usually sold under the name IMTP, for intalox metal tower packing. The saddle shape is what makes it work. Its open, curved surfaces let gas and liquid pass through with very little resistance and spread the liquid well, so the packing moves a large flow and transfers mass efficiently; at the same time, because it is stamped from metal and shaped as an arc, it is stiff and strong and does not nest or clog the way flat pieces can. In effect the saddle borrows the low resistance and open flow of a good ring and adds the spreading and strength of a saddle, which is why it has become one of the most widely used modern packings. Its void fraction reaches nearly 99 percent.

The intalox saddle is often set directly against the Pall ring, because it improves on it in several ways at once. It offers lower resistance to the gas, so the pressure drop is smaller; it passes a larger flux for a given tower; and it gives higher mass-transfer efficiency, so a shorter bed does the same separation. On top of that, the stamped saddle is stronger and more rigid than a Pall ring, so it holds its shape under load and deep beds. The one thing a Pall ring keeps is a slightly simpler, cheaper shape. For most modern columns, though, the saddle's mix of higher capacity, lower pressure drop and greater strength is why it is chosen over the ring. Tell us your current packing and we will show the gain.

The saddle is stamped from stainless steel, and the grade is chosen for the chemistry. The workhorse grades are 304 and 304L for general corrosion; stepping up to 316 or 316L, which contain molybdenum, adds resistance to chlorides and stronger acids; and 410 is a harder grade where wear matters. All of them bring what plastic cannot: they hold up to high heat and to aggressive acids, so the packing keeps its performance in hot, corrosive, demanding towers rather than softening or degrading. That heat and acid resistance, with the metal's strength, is what lets the saddle work in harsh industrial service for the long term. Give us the fluid and the working temperature and we will settle the grade.

The metal intalox saddle is a general-purpose packing for towers across heavy industry — chemical processing, metallurgy, gas treatment and environmental plants. Inside those plants it fills drying towers, absorption towers, cooling towers, washing (scrubbing) towers and recovery towers. The appeal in each is the combination the saddle offers: a large flux and low pressure drop from the open shape, high mass-transfer efficiency, and a corrosion- and heat-resistant metal body that stays stable where conditions are rough. Because it is strong and does not clog easily, it also copes with dirty or demanding streams that would foul a more delicate packing. Send us the tower and the duty and we will confirm the saddle size and the grade.