Contactor

A distillation column, extraction column or gas scrubber comprising a contactor for contacting at least two fluid flows, comprising a structure with pores and/or capillaries having a mean diameter of 200 μm to 1 mm for conducting a first fluid, whereby the structure comprises a contact zone not comprising pores and/or capillaries having a mean diameter of 200 μm to 1 mm, which contact zone is designed to conduct a second fluid, and whereby in the contact zone the first fluid can be brought into contact with the second fluid, wherein in the contact zone at least one flow breaker (120.0) is provided for interrupting a flow of the second fluid, wherein the flow breaker (120.0) comprises at least two ledges (120.0) each having a proximal end disposed toward the structure and a distal end disposed toward the contact zone, wherein the distal end of each ledge is spaced away from the structure by a height dimension, and the two ledges are spaced away from each other by a spacing dimension, wherein a ratio of the spacing dimension to the height dimension is in a range of 1 to 10, wherein a distributor for distributing the first fluid in the structure is provided at a first end of the contactor and a collector for collecting the first fluid from the structure is provided at a second end of the contactor opposed to the first end, wherein the structure comprises several step bar elements arranged cross-wise.