New ceramic packing may contain limited transport dust without being defective, but oil, excessive fines or foreign material can affect initial wetting and process cleanliness. Inspect the shipment and use a compatible flushing or cleaning procedure where the process requires it.

Ceramic packing is commonly unglazed because mass-transfer service benefits from a naturally wettable ceramic surface. Surface finish affects liquid spreading, but wettability must still be considered together with packing geometry, liquid distribution and operating load.

Ceramic hardness helps resist wear, but abrasion can become important in towers handling solids, crystals or high-velocity particles. Evaluate particle loading, bed movement and local velocity rather than assuming ceramic packing is immune to mechanical erosion.

Compressive strength is generally a stress-based material property, while crushing strength often describes the force required to break a finished ceramic piece. Because ceramic packing geometry strongly affects failure, mechanical test values must be compared using similar specimens and test methods.

Ceramic packing shrinks during drying and firing, so nominal size is not an exact piece-by-piece dimension. Controlled tolerance, wall thickness and consistent firing matter more than expecting zero variation. Replacement projects should compare several actual samples rather than relying on one measurement.