Absorption packing mass-transfer coefficients

For purely physical absorption, the mass transfer coefficients depend on the hydrodynamics and the physical properties of the phases. Many correlations exist, for example that of Dwivedi Upadhyay (IEC Proc Des Dev 16 157, 1977) for packed towers,... 

When it is known that Hqg varies appreciably within the tower, this term must be placed inside the integr in Eqs. (5-277) and (5-278) for accurate calculations of hf. For example, the packed-tower design equation in terms of the overall gas-phase mass-transfer coefficient for absorption would be expressed as follows ... 

To determine the mass-transfer rate, one needs the interfacial area in addition to the mass-transfer coefficient. For the simpler geometries, determining the interfacial area is straightforward. For packed beds of particles a, the interfacial area per volume can be estimated as shown in Table 5-27-A. For packed beds in distillation, absorption, and so on in Table 5-28, the interfacial area per volume is included with the mass-transfer coefficient in the correlations for HTU. For agitated liquid-liquid systems, the interfacial area can be estimated... 

Traditional Design Method The traditionally employed conventional procedure for designing packed-tower gas-absorption systems involving chemical reactions makes use of overall volumetric mass-transfer coefficients as defined by the equation... 

In 1966, in a paper that now is considered a classic, Danckwerts and Gillham [Tmns. Inst. Chem. Eng., 44, T42 (1966)] showed that data taken in a small stirred-ceU laboratoiy apparatus could be used in the design of a packed-tower absorber when chemical reactions are involved. They showed that if the packed-tower mass-transfer coefficient in the absence of reaction (/cf) can be reproduced in the laboratory unit, then the rate of absorption in the l oratoiy apparatus will respond to chemical reactions in the same way as in the packed column even though the means of agitating the hquid in the two systems might be quite different. 

The other major type is gas absorption of inorganic components in aqueous solutions. For this type design one uses mass transfer coefficients. Packed towers are used so often for this type that its discussion is often included under sections on packed towers. However, in this book it is included here. 

Their correlations were based on a large amount of data on gas absorption and distillation with a variety of packings, which included Pall rings and Berl saddles. Their method for estimating the effective area of packing can also be used with experimentally determined values of the mass-transfer coefficients, and values predicted using other correlations. 

Reaction between an absorbed solute and a reagent lowers the equilibrium partial pressure of the solute and thus increases the rate of mass transfer. The mass transfer coefficient likewise may be enhanced which contributes further to increased absorption rate. Three modes of contacting gas and liquid phases are possible The gas is dispersed as bubbles in the liquid, the liquid is dispersed as droplets, the two phases are contacted on a thin liquid film deposited over a packing or wall. The choice between these modes is an important practical problem. 

The point of view based on a physical model started with the 1935 paper of Higbie [30], While the main problem treated by Higbie was that of the mass transfer from a bubble to a liquid, it appears that he had recognized the utility of his representation for both packed beds and turbulent motion. The basic idea is that an element of liquid remains in contact with the other phase for a time A and during this time, absorption takes place in that element as in the unsteady diffusion in a semiinfinite solid. The mass transfer coefficient k should therefore depend on the diffusion coefficient D and on the time A. Dimensional analysis leads in this case to the expression... 

The mass transfer coefficients considered so far - namely, kQ,kj, KQ,andKj - are defined with respect to known interfacial areas. However, the interfacial areas in equipment such as the packed column and bubble column are indefinite, and vary with operating conditions such as fluid velocities. It is for this reason that the volumetric coefficients defined with respect to the unit volume of the equipment are used, or more strictly, the unit packed volume in the packed column or the unit volume of liquid containing bubbles in the bubble column. Corresponding to /cg, Kq, and we define k a, k, a, K, /i, and K a, all of which have units of (kmol h m )/(kmol m ) - that is, (h ). Although the volumetric coefficients are often regarded as single coefficients, it is more reasonable to consider a separately from the Ar-terms, because the effective interfacial area per unit packed volume or unit volume of liquid-gas mixture a (m m ) varies not only with operating conditions such as fluid velocities but also with the types of operation, such as physical absorption, chemical absorption, and vaporization. 

The influence of pressure on the mass transfer in a countercurrent packed column has been scarcely investigated to date. The only systematic experimental work has been made by the Research Group of the INSA Lyon (F) with Professor M. Otterbein el al. These authors [8, 9] studied the influence of the total pressure (up to 15 bar) on the gas-liquid interfacial area, a, and on the volumetric mass-transfer coefficient in the liquid phase, kia, in a countercurrent packed column. The method of gas-liquid absorption with chemical reaction was applied with different chemical systems. The results showed the increase of the interfacial area with increasing pressure, at constant gas-and liquid velocities. The same trend was observed for the variation of the volumetric liquid mass-transfer coefficient. The effect of pressure on kia was probably due to the influence of pressure on the interfacial area, a. In fact, by observing the ratio, kia/a, it can be seen that the liquid-side mass-transfer coefficient, kL, is independent of pressure. 

In another study of gas-side mass transfer-limited absorption involving S02 absorption into a sodium hydroxide solution using a wire screen packing, the overall mass transfer coefficient was found to be lower than reported data for packed towers (16). Replacing the wire screen packing with two parallel rotating plates significantly enhanced the mass transfer performance. 

The correlations of Billet (66) and Onda et al. (187) are valid for various mixtures and packings and cover both absorption and distillation processes. The correlation of Kolev (133) is obtained for RA and certain random packings. In general, the mass transfer coefficient correlations need to be compared to one another and validated using experimental data. This shows, in particular, the way the mass transfer correlations influence the concentration prohles of the components and other relevant process characteristics. 

The height of an absorption column depends on the feed conditions, the product purity specifications, the solvent used and the extent of separation through the absorption equilibrium relationship, but also on the rate of separation. If the rate of mass transfer of the gaseous component from the gas phase into the liquid phase is slow, then the column needs to be longer to ensure that the required amount is removed. The rate of mass transfer depends on the mass-transfer coefficient, normally denoted kG or k. The value of the mass-transfer coefficient depends on the components in the gas feed and on the solvent used and is often determined experimentally. The type of packing used in the column will also have an impact on the column height as for distillation. 

Abstract—Gas-liquid interfacial areas a and volumetric liquid-side mass-transfer coefficients kLa are experimentally determined in a high pressure trickle-bed reactor up to 3.2 MPa. Fast and slow absorption of carbon dioxide in aqueous and organic diethanolamine solutions are employed as model reactions for the evaluation of a and kLa at high pressure, and various liquid viscosities and packing characteristics. A simple model to estimate a and kLa for the low interaction regime in high pressure trickle-bed reactors is proposed. 

The reported study on gas-liquid interphase mass transfer for upward cocurrent gas-liquid flow is fairly extensive. Mashelkar and Sharma19 examined the gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient (both gas side and liquid side) and effective interfacial area for cocurrent upflow through 6.6-, 10-, and 20-cm columns packed with a variety of packings. The absorption of carbon dioxide in a variety of electrolytic and ronelectrolytic solutions was measured. The results showed that the introduction of gas at high nozzle velocities (>20,000 cm s ) resulted in a substantial increase in the overall mass-transfer coefficient. Packed bubble-columns gave some improvement in the mass-transfer characteristics over those in an unpacked bubble-column, particularly at lower superficial gas velocities. The value of the effective interfacial area decreased very significantly when there was a substantial decrease in the superficial gas velocity as the gas traversed the column. The volumetric gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient increased with the superficial gas velocity. 

Saada25 measured the gas liquid mass-transfer coefficients for absorption of carbon dioxide into NaOH solutions for cocurrent upflow. Goto et al.8 evaluated the liquid-gas mass-transfer coefficients for the desorption of oxygen from water into nitrogen in a 2.58-cm-i.d. glass tube packed with CuO-ZnO particles... 

---