Absorption (chemistry)

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In chemistry, absorption is a process by which a substance incorporated in one state is
transferred into another substance of a different state (e.g., gases being absorbed by a
liquid or liquids being absorbed by a solid). As an industrial process, the most commonly
encountered use of absorption is for the separation and/or purification of a gas mixture by
the absorption of part of the mixture in a solvent.
Another chemistry process is adsorption which is the physical adherence or bonding of
substances on the surface of another substance and it is not to be confused with
absorption. In essence, absorption involves substances in one state being incorporated
into the bulk volume of another substance in a different state, whereas adsorption
involves substances being adhered to the surface of another substance.

Types of absorption
Absorption may be either a physical or a chemical process:[1]
Physical absorption of a gas or part of a gas mixture in a liquid solvent involves the mass
transfer that occurs at the interface between the gas and the liquid and the rate at which
the gas diffuses into the liquid. Physical absorption of gases in a liquid solvent depends
on the following parameters: solubility of the gases and the pressure and temperature
conditions.
An example of physical absorption of a gas into a liquid is the absorption of
ammonia (NH3) into water (H2O). Some other examples are: the glycol
dehydration of raw natural gas by absorption of the water vapor contained in the
natural gas into liquid glycols, and the the separation of low molecular weight
gases such as propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10) from a hydrocarbon gas mixture
of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane and butane by absorbing the propane
and butane in a solvent that is a mixture of much higher molecular weight
hydrocarbon liquids.
Chemical absorption or reactive absorption involves a chemical reaction between the
substance being absorbed and the absorbing medium. In some cases, it occurs in
combination with physical absorption. Chemical absorption depends upon the
stoichiometry of the reaction and the concentration of the reactants.
An example of chemical absorption is the purification of natural gas by passing
the natural gas through an aqueous solution of an ethanolamine in which any acid
gases, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide] (CO2), are removed
from the natural gas by reacting with the ethanolamine (see the Amine gas

treating and Natural gas processing articles). Another example is the removal of
any hydrogen sulfide gas from the feedstock to an ammonia production plant by
contacting the hydrogen sulfide with a bed of solid zinc oxide (ZnO) with which it
reacts to form solid zinc sulfide (ZnS) (see the Ammonia production article).
Either type of absorption may be reversible or irreversible. The physical absorption of
small amounts of oxygen in water can be reversed by heating the water. The reactive
absorption of acid gases by an aqueous solution of ethanolamine can be reversed by
distillation of the ethanolamine solution. However, the reactive absorption of hydrogen
sulfide by zinc oxide cannot be reversed. The reactive absorption of carbon dioxide by an
aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is also irreversible and there not as
economically acceptable as the reversible reactive absorption of carbon dioxide by
ethanolamine solutions.
GAS ABSORPTION & DESORPTION
Gas absorption (also known as scrubbing) is an operation in which a gas mixture is
contacted with a liquid for the purpose of preferentially dissolving one or more
components of the gas mixture and to provide a solution of them in the liquid.
Therefore we can see that there is a mass
transfer of the component of the gas from
the gas phase to the liquid phase. The solute
so transferred is said to be absorbed by the
liquid.
In gas desorption (or stripping), the mass
transfer is in the opposite direction, i.e.
from the liquid phase to the gas phase. The
principles for both systems are the same.
We will focus on the analysis for gas
absorption, for the simple case whereby
only one component of the gas solute is
being absorbed. The other components of
the gas are assumed to be non-soluble in
the liquid (i.e. the other gas components are
inert components), and the liquid is non-volatile, which means that there is no transfer of
molecules from the liquid to the gas phase.
In addition, we assume there is no chemical reaction in the system and that it is operating
at isothermal condition.

The process of gas absorption thus involves the diffusion of solute from the gas phase
through a stagnant or non-diffusing liquid.
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The Table below showed representative commercial absorption applications.

From: Table 6.1 "Separation Process Principles", J.D. Seader and E.J. Henley, p.272
Click here for more information on gas absorption operation.
Gas absorption and desorption (stripping) can often integrated. Click here for an example.

Physical vs. Chemical Absorption

There are 2 types of absorption processes: physical absorption and chemical absorption,
depending on whether there is any chemical reaction between the solute and the solvent
(absorbent).
When water and hydrocarbon oils are used as absorbents, no significant chemical
reactions occur between the absorbent and the solute, and the process is commonly
referred to as physical absorption.
When aqueous sodium hydroxide (a strong base) is used as the absorbent to dissolve an
acid gas, absorption is accompanied by a rapid and irreversible neutralization reaction in
the liquid phase and the process is referred to as chemical absorption or reactive
absorption.
More complex examples of chemical absorption are processes for absorbing CO2 and
H2S with aqueous solution of monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA),
diethyleneglycol (DEG) or triethyleneglycol (TEG), where a reversible chemical reaction
takes place in the liquid phase. Chemical reactions can increase the rate of absorption,
increase the absorption capacity of the solvent, increase selectivity to preferentially

dissolve only certain components of the gas, and convert a hazardous chemical to a safe
compound.

http://www.separationprocesses.com/Absorption/GA_Chp03.htm
http://www.en.citizendium.org/wiki/Absorption_(chemistry)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_%28chemistry%29

Absorption (chemistry)
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Other senses: for the amalgamation of gold into mercury, see absorption of gold
into mercury. For the absorption of light, see Absorption (electromagnetic
radiation).

Laboratory absorber. 1a): CO2 inlet; 1b): H2O inlet; 2): outlet; 3): absorption column; 4):
packing.
Absorption, in chemistry, is a physical or chemical phenomenon or a process in which
atoms, molecules, or ions enter some bulk phase - gas, liquid, or solid material. This is a
different process from adsorption, since molecules undergoing absorption are taken up by
the volume, not by the surface (as in the case for adsorption). A more general term is
sorption, which covers absorption, adsorption, and ion exchange. Absorption is a
condition in which something takes in another substance.[1]

If absorption is a physical process not accompanied by any other physical or chemical

process, it usually follows the Nernst partition law:
"the ratio of concentrations of some solute species in two bulk phases in contact is
constant for a given solute and bulk phases"[citation needed]:

The value of constant KN depends on temperature and is called partition coefficient.

This equation is valid if concentrations are not too large and if the species "x" does not
change its form in any of the two phases "1" or "2". If such molecule undergoes
association or dissociation then this equation still describes the equilibrium between "x"
in both phases, but only for the same form - concentrations of all remaining forms must
be calculated by taking into account all the other equilibria.[1]
In the case of gas absorption, one may calculate its concentration by using, e.g., the Ideal
gas law, c = p/RT. In alternative fashion, one may use partial pressures instead of
concentrations.
In many processes important in technology, the chemical absorption is used in place of
the physical process, e.g., absorption of carbon dioxide by sodium hydroxide - such acidbase processes do not follow the Nernst partition law.
For some examples of this effect, see liquid-liquid extraction. It is possible to extract
from one liquid phase to another a solute without a chemical reaction. Examples of such
solutes are noble gases and osmium tetroxide.[1]