Distillation tower baffle

A distillation tower comprising:

• a feed zone,
• a flash zone,
• a lower stripping zone located below the flash zone,
• a rectification zone above the flash zone, and
• a de-entrainment baffle located below the flash zone and above the stripping zone.

A vacuum distillation tower comprising:

• a stripping zone having stripping trays,
• a flash zone located above the stripping zone,
• a feed zone located above the flash zone,
• a feed director located in the feed zone for introducing an incoming feed into the feed zone with a rotating vector,
• a rectification zone above the feed zone,
• a radially-louvered liquid de-entrainment baffle located above the top of the stripping zone and below the feed zone, comprising a central circular hub, a peripheral collar and a plurality of radial fins extending between the central hub and the peripheral collar, with openings between the fins to permit the upward passage of vapors from the stripping zone of the tower, each fin being angularly inclined with respect to a plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the tower in such a manner that the upper edge of each fin is displaced relative to the lower edge in the direction of rotational movement of the rotating vector of the incoming feed by an angle from 30° to 60°.