Columns - Used and Surplus Inventory | IPP

Browse pre-owned, used and surplus process columns from IPP – stainless, alloy and glass-lined units ready to ship

Improve throughput and save time and money with IPP’s in-stock distillation and absorption columns

When your process demands efficient separation, purification, or distillation, industrial columns offer scalable, high-performance solutions across a wide range of industries. With over 47 years of process equipment expertise, IPP provides immediate access to high-quality used columns sourced from 20 complete plant sites and included in our inventory of over 15,000 ready-to-ship pieces of equipment. Choosing used columns from IPP helps companies reduce capital investment, shorten project lead times, and maintain efficient separation performance.

Industrial columns are vertical vessels designed to facilitate mass transfer between phases — such as gas-liquid or liquid-liquid — making them essential for distillation, absorption, stripping, and extraction processes. Their design and internal configuration are critical to achieving precise separation efficiency.

Primary uses across industries

• In chemical manufacturing, columns purify intermediates, separate chemical mixtures, and recover solvents.
• In oil and gas refining, they fractionate crude oil into valuable components like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
• In pharmaceutical production, columns separate active ingredients and refine high-purity solvents.
• In food and beverage processing, they concentrate flavors, aromas, and alcohols.
• In environmental and wastewater treatment, they remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from process streams.

Types of materials processed

• Hydrocarbon mixtures, including crude oil and natural gas liquids
• Fine chemical and pharmaceutical intermediates
• Food-grade alcohols, flavors, and essential oils
• Contaminated wastewater streams needing VOC removal

Common materials of construction

Industrial columns are built for corrosion resistance, pressure tolerance, and chemical compatibility:

• Stainless steel for food-grade, pharmaceutical, and chemical separation processes
• Carbon steel for non-corrosive general chemical separations
• Hastelloy, Inconel, or other alloys for highly corrosive or high-temperature services

Key features of industrial columns

• Packed, tray, and structured designs tailored to process requirements
• Configurations for distillation, absorption, stripping, and extraction
• High-efficiency internals for maximizing mass transfer performance
• Options for high-pressure or high-temperature operation
• Customizable sizes and capacities to fit plant specifications