Department of Chemical Engineering: COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore Campus

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore
Campus
Defence Roads Off Raiwind Road Lahore
Department of Chemical Engineering
Mass Transfer operation lab
Submitted To:
Engr. Ayesha saddiqa
Submitted By:
Muhammad Salman
CIIT/SP15-CHE-036/LHR
Section-B
ABSORPTION
In absorption (also called gas absorption, gas scrubbing, or gas washing), there is a
transfer of one or more species from the gas phase to a liquid solvent. The species
transferred to the liquid phase are referred to as solutes or absorbate. Absorption
involves no change in the chemical species present in the system. Absorption is
used to separate gas mixtures, remove impurities, or recover valuable chemicals.
The operation of removing the absorbed solute from the solvent is called stripping.
Absorbers are normally used with strippers to permit regeneration (or recovery)
and recycling of the absorbent. Since stripping is not perfect, absorbent recycled to
the absorber contains species present in the vapor entering the absorber. When
water is used as the absorbent, it is normally separated from the solute by
distillation rather than stripping.
Operations:
Most absorption or stripping operations are carried out in counter current flow
processes, in which the gas flow is introduced in the bottom of the column and the
liquid solvent is introduced in the top of the column. The mathematical analysis for
both the packed and plated columns is very similar.
The driving force for mass transfer becomes zero whenever the operating line
intersects or touches the equilibrium curve. This limiting condition represents the
minimum solvent rate to recover a specified quantity of solute or the solvent rate
required to remove the maximum amount of solute. In Figure 5.2-2A, the
intersection of the equilibrium and operating lines occurs at the bottom of the
absorber. This condition defines the minimum solvent rate to recover a specified
quantity of solute. This minimum solvent rate can be calculated from the following
expression:
Types of column:
Absorption and stripping are conducted mainly in:
1. Packed columns
2. Plate columns (trayed tower)

Types of Packing used in Absorption:
A common apparatus used in gas absorption and certain other options is the packed
tower . The device consists of a cylindrical column , or tower, equipped with a gas
inlet and distributing space at the bottom ; a liquid inlet and distributor at the top;
gas and liquid outlets at the top and bottom, respectively ; and a solid supported
mass of inert solid shapes , called tower packing. The packing support is typically
a screen , corrugated to give it strength , with large open area so that flooding does
not occur at the support, The inlet liquid , which may be pure solvent or a dilute
solution of solute in the solvent is usually a weak liquor distributed over the top of
the packing by the distributor , uniformly wets the surfaces of packing. The
packing provides a large surface area of contact between the liquid and the gas and
encourages intimate contact between the phases. Various types of packings made
of different types of materials of construction are available, and both random and
structured packings are commonly used. Examples of random packings as shown
in the Figures below- left and right - are Raschig rings, Pall rings, Berl saddles, etc.
Random vs. Stacked
Random packings, as the name implied, are dumped into a column during
installation and allowed to fall in random. Small packings poured randomly into a
vessel is certainly the more popular and commonly employed form of packed-
tower design. However, in certain instances where exceptionally low pressure drop
and very high flow rates are involved, stacked or oriented packings have also been
used.
Dry packing
avoids high hydrostatic liquid head, and prevents the introduction of water into a
dry process. It is also quicker and less expensive than wet packing, and it
minimizes rusting of metal packings. In any case, it is not suitable for plastic
packings, as plastic typically floats on water.
Wet packing
applications are preferred when the packings are constructed of breakage-prone

materials, such as ceramic or carbon. The column is first filled with water and the
packings are gently poured down the column. The water cushions the fall and
promotes randomness of settling. This tends to increase column capacity and
improve the column pressure drop characteristics. Wet packing also minimizes
compression and mechanical damage to packing materials. The main disadvantage
is the need to remove the water after loading and dry the packings.

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Department of Chemical Engineering: COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore Campus

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COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore

Defence Roads Off Raiwind Road Lahore

Department of Chemical Engineering

Mass Transfer operation lab

Engr. Ayesha saddiqa

2. Plate columns (trayed tower)

Random vs. Stacked

applications are preferred when the packings are constructed of breakage-prone

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