World Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2023, 11, 476-492 https://www.scirp.org/journal/wjet ISSN Online: 2331-4249 ISSN Print: 2331-4222 DOI: 10.4236/wjet.2023.113034 Jul. 13, 2023 476 World Journal of Engineering and Technology Gamma Photon Column Scanning of Prototype and Industrial Distillation Columns Witness Chirume 1* , Joseph Simpson Dongo 1 , Caven Dzingai 1 , Robin Tinavo Mashingaidze 1 , Stanford Mudono 2 , Rachad Alami 3 , Peter Baricholo 1 1 Applied Physics Department, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 2 Chemical Engineering Department, National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 3 Instrumentation and Industrial Applications, National Centre of Nuclear Energy, Sciences and Techniques (CNESTEN), Rabat, Morocco Abstract Monte Carlo simulation of gamma photon transport and interaction with the distillation column and its contents was performed in order to predict the ef- fects of gamma photons when they interact with matter. The results of the interaction and transport of gamma photons are presented as energy deposi- tion on the distillation column and its contents. Energy attenuation was more pronounced on the column walls and trays as compared to the region be- tween the trays, where there is mostly vapour space. Gamma column scan- ning was then used to verify the Monte Carlo simulation results by scanning and investigating the integrity of two laboratory prototype distillation and industrial distillation columns. One of the prototype distillation columns was 1 m tall with four trays and the other one was 1.8 m tall consisting of six trays and a packed bed. Commonly encountered distillation column malfunctions such as collapsed tray, weeping, flooding and foaming were simulated in the two prototype distillation columns and scanned. The industrial distillation column was a 26 m tall benzole prefractionator column, consisting of 60 sin- gle pass trays and a diameter of 0.8 m. A 10 mCi 60 Co gamma radiation source and NaI(Tl) scintillation detector were used to scan the distillation columns. The results from the two prototypes showed that all the simulated malfunctions were clearly detected except for foaming. The results from in- dustrial distillation column showed that all the trays were in their correct po- sition although tray number 32 could be partially damaged and just below tray 41, the scan revealed that there was a loss of column wall thickness. The obtained density profile for the industrial distillation column showed some small variations from the expected density profile and this was attributed to external features on the distillation column and wind bursts that shifted the source and detector from the chosen scan line orientation. How to cite this paper: Chirume, W., Dongo, J.S., Dzingai, C., Mashingaidze, R.T., Mudono, S., Alami, R. and Baricholo, P. (2023) Gamma Photon Column Scan- ning of Prototype and Industrial Distilla- tion Columns. World Journal of Engineer- ing and Technology, 11, 476-492. https://doi.org/10.4236/wjet.2023.113034 Received: March 31, 2023 Accepted: July 10, 2023 Published: July 13, 2023 Copyright © 2023 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access