Ranging in size from a quarter to a sixteenth of an inch – that is, from the diameter of a pencil to the diameter of the lead within it – Dixon Rings can be packed in their millions into distillation columns, producing a significantly increased surface area for filtration.
Dixon Rings have traditionally been used in difficult applications, such as removing tritium from water, but specialist filter manufacturer, Croft Filters, has carried out extensive research, uncovering further uses for them, such as counter-current absorption (also known as scrubbing columns), which scrubs CO2 from the air or flue gases.
Thanks to advances in technology and automation of many manufacturing processes, Dixon Rings are now widely regarded as being superior to other packing options as they offer an extremely low pressure drop, low height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) and a large surface area, making them ideal for use in a wide range of applications.
Other uses include extracting Galantamine from daffodils, which is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease; removing particles or gases from renewable energy production, industrial processes and chemical, medical and hazardous waste processing; and stripping, a physical separation process where harmful contaminants from industrial processes are removed from waste.
