Air-Stripper Design Parameters

Four key factors determine the efficiency with which volatile compounds may he removed from the liquid phase in an air stripper. Air-stripper design must include 

The height of the packed tower will also affect the removal efficiency of the contaminant. An optimum balance between the air-to-water ratio and the tower height results in acceptable removal efficiencies at the lowest combination of capital and operational cost. 

The desired rate of flow of the liquid to be treated will determine the diameter of the airstripping column. 

The type of packing material will have an impact on the mass transfer rate, because the surface area of the packing provides the air-to-water interfacial area. 

It is the overall mass transfer coefficient, however, that ultimately controls the rate of removal of a substance by air stripping. For example, dichloroethane, which has a lower Henry s constant than trichloroethylene, has been found easier to remove by air stripping, owing to its higher mass transfer coefficient (10). The mass transfer coefficient for a specific substance in a specific air-stripping system may be calculated by (9)  

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