Advanced tray support system using orthogonal grillage

A method of providing support to a tray of a column of a contacting apparatus, the tray comprised of one or more tray panels, said method comprising providing each said tray panel with equidistantly spaced stiffeners located perpendicular to and connected to the bottom surface of said tray panel and positioned in a manner that said stiffeners cooperate to form a continuous and orthogonal grill under said tray, wherein said contacting apparatus does not include support beams for said tray.

A method of revamping a process column comprising a plurality of support beams for supporting tray panels of a tray, said method comprising:

• removing at least one of said support beams and employing at least one tray comprising one or more tray panels, providing each said tray panel with equidistantly spaced stiffeners located perpendicular to and connected to the bottom surface of said tray panel and positioned in a manner that said stiffeners cooperate to form a continuous and orthogonal grill under said tray.
• 5.A method as defined in claim 4 wherein said process is selected from the group consisting of a distillation column, a flashing column, a rectification column, an absorption column, a stripping column, an evaporation column, a humidification column, a dehumidification column, a dephlegmation column, and a heat transfer column.