Design Procedure for an Absorption Unit on

the AspenPlus Software

Author: Brigitte McNames

This manual presents all steps necessary to design an absorber using the AspenPlus
simulation software. The manual also includes useful tips, recommendations, and
explanations throughout the design procedure. The following example will be used:

Example 1
Problem Statement: Absorption of Acetone in a Packed Tower
Acetone is being absorbed by water in a packed tower having a diameter of 0.4866 m at
293 K and 101.32 kPa (1 atm). The inlet air contains 2.6 mol% acetone and outlet 0.5
mol% acetone. The total gas inlet flow rate is 14.0148 kmol/h. The pure water inlet flow
is 45.36 kmol/h. (This example is EXAMPLE 10.6-2 taken from reference 1).

Schematic:

Gas Outlet Pure Water Inlet

xacetone = 0.005 F = 45.36 kmol/h

Absorber
T = 293 K
P = 1 atm

Gas Inlet Liquid Outlet

xair = 0.974 xacetone = 0.00648
xacetone = 0.026
F = 14.014 kmol/h
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 2/15

Procedure

Logon to the AspenPlus system and start a blank simulation. The flowsheet area should
appear. (Refer to AspenPlus Setup for a Flow Simulation if you need help.)

Shown above is the Columns subdirectory. Choose the RateFrac block from the
subdirectory by clicking on it. If you click on the down arrow next to the RateFrac block,
a set of icons will pop up. These icons represent the same calculation procedure and are
for different schematical purposes only. Choose the block that best represents the process
that you are designing. For our example we will use the RATEFRAC rectangular block
at the top left corner.

RateFrac is a rate-based nonequilibrium model for simulating all types of multistage

vapor-liquid operations such as absorption, stripping, and distillation. RateFrac simulates
actual tray and packed columns, rather than the idealized representation of equilibrium
stages.

A column consists of segments (see schematic for a packed

column at right). Segments refer to a portion of packing in
a packed column or one or more trays in a tray column. Packed segment n-1
RateFrac performs an initialization calculation where all
Packed segment n
segments are modeled as equilibrium stages. The results
from the initialization step are used to perform the rate- Packed segment n+1
based nonequilibrium calculations. To learn more about
RateFrac and its applications refer to the RateFrac help
pages.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 3/15

First, create a schematic similar to the one above using the RateFrac block. Refer to
AspenPlus Setup for a Flow Simulation if you need help. Attach the liquid inlet and
gas inlet streams to the feed port. Attach the gas outlet to the vapor distillate port and the
liquid outlet to the bottoms port. Once the flow sheet is complete, click the Next
button ( ) and the title screen should appear (see below). Give the example a title and
change the units from English to Metric on the same screen. Click the button.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 4/15

The components screen should appear next. Enter in the species used in the example (see
above). The Find button on the bottom of the screen enables you to quickly search for
components in the databanks by formula, name, CAS registry number, molecular weight,
and normal boiling point. The Elec Wizard button can be used to generate electrolyte
components and reactions for electrolyte applications from components you entered. A
custom component that is not found in the databanks can be created using the User
Defined button. The Reorder button will simply reorder the components that are
already defined on the selection sheet. When all components have been entered, click the
button.

On the next screen,

choose a Property
Method from the list by
pressing on the down
button to the right of the
box. If you need help
refer to AspenPlus Setup
for a Flow Simulation.
This example will use
NRTL. Then click the
button.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 5/15

Shown at the left is the

input page for the
air/acetone inlet gas.
Enter all the data from
the problem statement
for temperature,
pressure, flow rate,
and composition.
Make sure that units
and definitions
correspond to the
values that you are
entering.

The input sheet for the gas inlet stream should appear (see above). Enter the values from
the problem statement. If values are unknown, leave the respective boxes blank. When
finished, click the button. The input sheet for the liquid inlet stream should appear.
Once again, enter the respective values from the problem statement, and click the
button.

The input sheet for the absorber block will appear next. A column consists of segments
that are used to evaluate mass and heat transfer rates between contacting phases. A
segment refers to a portion of packing in a packed column or a series of trays in a tray
column. Enter the number of segments. As a rule of thumb, there should be one segment
per foot of column height. However, more segments could be used to increase the
accuracy. The height of the segment should not be less than the average size of the
packing used. This example will use ten. Also on this screen, you can select the
condenser and reboiler type. Since we are modeling an absorber, select none for
condenser and reboiler. Click the button.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 6/15

The view selector that

appears on the next
screen allows you to
select the type of
pressure specification
that you want to enter.
Choose Top/Bottom
and enter 1 atm
pressure from the
problem statement for
segment 1. Segment
1 will refer to the first
segment at the top of
the tower. Click the
button.

The button will automatically bring you to the tray specification sheet. Since our column
consists of packing rather than trays, choose PackSpecs from the data browser at the
left. You will be brought to the packing specification sheet. Choose New to create
your packing specification for the tower. Start pack segment number at 1, which is the
top packed section in the column. The screen shown below will appear for entering
packing specifications. Enter a value for the ending segment. For our example, enter ten
since it is the last segment of packing in our column. For this example, I have arbitrarily
chosen 1.5-in ceramic raschig rings as packing since the packing type was not specified
in the problem statement. Guess a packing height that may give us the separation we
need to get our final gas and liquid concentrations. Since I have already tackled this
problem, I know that the required height of packing necessary to achieve the separation
we need is 1.94 m. Click the button to continue.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 7/15

The next sheet will ask you to enter the value for the column diameter. Since the column
diameter is given in the problem statement, enter the value of 0.4866 m. Click the
button. The next screen shown below asks you to specify the location of feed inlets and
outlets. Notice that the number eleven was entered for the gas inlet stream. This is
because the convention for stream location is above segment. Click the button
after entering all necessary information.

All required input is now entered and the simulation can be run. The Results screen is
shown below. You can browse through the results by clicking on the double arrow next
to the Results header.

Notice that the height

and packing
specifications that we
entered gave us the
separation specified
in the problem
statement. From the
problem statement,
the mole fraction of
acetone leaving in the
liquid phase is equal
to 0.00648, and the
mole fraction of
acetone leaving in the
gas phase is equal to
0.005.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 8/15

Additional RateFrac Features on AspenPlus:

Additional RateFrac features can be explored and utilized by viewing the data browser.
The data browser refers to the column at the left side of the AspenPlus screen. It gives an
outline view of the available simulation input, results, and objects that have been defined.
Following are additional, but not all, of the commonly used RateFrac features. These
features can be utilized through the data browser.

Report Options : Report Options is found under the Setup menu of the data browser.
This feature will allow you to specify report options and data to
include or suppress in the standard AspenPlus report. The report
documents all of the input data and defaults used in an AspenPlus run
as well as the results of the simulation. This feature allows you
control over final information displayed for general information,
flowsheets, blocks, and streams.

Column Parameters : There are many options available to simulate all different types of
columns. Following is a list of options available and their primary
functions:
Setup Enter the number of segments, specify the condenser and the
reboiler, and column operating specifications.
TraySpecs and PackSpecs Define the trayed or packed section,
tray or packing type, and other parameters.
Reactions Enter starting and ending segments for a reactions, as
well as reaction, chemistry, and user reactions IDs.
Estimates Provide initial liquid and vapor temperature estimates for segments in the
column. If you do not enter an estimate, RateFrac generates an initial profile based on
the initialization option selected.
Equilibrium Segments Specify optional groups of equilibrium segments.
Heaters Coolers Enter side heater segment numbers and duties.

DesignSpecs: Design specifications can be created if you have a final design value in
reach. You enter the specification type and the target value that you
would like to obtain. In the process, the stream type, components,
segments, and other design information must be identified.
AspenPlus will use this information to conform to your design. The
number of design specifications must equal the number of
manipulated variables. Use the RateFrac Vary Form to specify
manipulated variables for the design mode.

Convergence: RateFrac usually performs the initialization calculations only up to a

relatively relaxed tolerance. In certain situations, you might need to
tighten the tolerance on these calculations to generate a good starting
point for the rate-based nonequilibrium calculations. When the
column has many segments, you might need to loosen the tolerance.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 9/15

Oftentimes, the value of the diameter is not given in the problem statement. The
following problem is a modification of example one, where percent of flooding is given
rather than diameter. The following example will utilize Design Specs to design an
absorber under these conditions:

Example 2
Problem Statement: Absorption of Acetone in a Packed Tower
Acetone is being absorbed by water in a packed tower having a percent flooding of 0.8 at
293 K and 101.32 kPa (1 atm). The inlet air contains 2.6 mol% acetone and outlet 0.5
mol% acetone. The total gas inlet flow rate is 14.0148 kmol/h. The pure water inlet flow
is 45.36 kmol/h. (This example is a modification of EXAMPLE 10.6-2 taken from
reference 1).

Gas Outlet Pure Water Inlet

xacetone = 0.005 F = 45.36 kmol/h

Absorber
T = 293 K
P = 1 atm

Gas Inlet Liquid Outlet

xair = 0.974 xacetone = 0.00648
xacetone = 0.026
F = 14.014 kmol/h
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 10/15

Procedure

Logon to the AspenPlus system just as in the first example. Create an identical
flowsheet, and enter all data exactly the same as in Example one, until you get to packing
specifications. This time, we do not know the packing height, so we must make an
estimate. For this example, we will estimate a packing height of 1 meter. Click the
button.

A value for the

total packing
height must be
entered in order
for the AspenPlus
simulation to run.
This estimated
value will be
overridden in the
Design Specs area
of the program,
where the height
will be varied in
order to satisfy
entered mole
fraction values.

The diameter input screen should appear next. In this example, the value of the diameter
is not known. AspenPlus can calculate the diameter based upon the percent flooding of
the column. Choose Use calculated diameter and enter the values as shown below. An
estimate must also be entered for the diameter. This example will use 1 meter.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 11/15

Now, you must enter the Design Specification information. We are going to vary the
packing height in the column in order to satisfy the mole fraction of acetone leaving the
column in the gas outlet stream. Scroll down the data browser and choose Flowsheeting
Options and then Design Specs. Click the New button on the screen that appears.
The design spec of DS-1 will appear and choose okay to accept. The screen for the
Fortran variable will appear. Choose new. The screen shown below will appear.
In the area labeled
Spec, enter the
variable name that we
know. In this case, it
is the mole fraction of
acetone leaving the
column in the gas
outlet stream. In our
example we will
arbitrarily call this
variable CONC. On
the next line, enter the
target value of the
variable, and finally
set the tolerance.
Click the button.

The screen for the manipulated variable will appear next. For the manipulated variable
type, choose Block-Var (the variable that we are manipulating is a block variable). Fill in
the block name and the variable name. In the area labeled ID1 enter the number one.
This refers to the column number. In the area labeled ID2, enter the number one. This
refers to the starting segment number. Choose values for the lower and upper
manipulated variable limits. For our example, we will use a packing height between 1
and 10 meters. Click the button.
A list of manipulated
variables can be accessed
by clicking on the down
button to the left of the
variable blank. Short
descriptions of the
variable abbreviations
are given as each of the
variable names is
highlighted.
Whenever you are unsure
what information you are
supposed to enter,
highlight that area and
refer to the dialogue box.
It may contain a
description of the data.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 12/15

All required input has now been entered and the simulation can be run. The results
screen are shown below.

Mole fraction values

for the gas outlet
and liquid outlet
stream closely
match the values
that we were trying
to obtain in the
problem statement.

The value of packing height that satisfied our design conditions was 1.94 meters. This
value is equal to the 1.94 meters calculated by reference one.

REFERENCES

1. Geankopolis, C.J. Transport Processes and Unit Operations. 3rd ed., Prentice Hall,
1993.
2. Help pages. AspenPlus Software.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 13/15

Example Input Summary File:

;Input Summary created by ASPEN PLUS Rel. 10.0-1 at 13:38:59 Tue Mar 7, 2000
;Directory C:\My Documents\ASPEN-INTEGRATED\Absorbers Filename C:\My
Documents\ASPEN-INTEGRATED\Absorbers\absorberdesign.inp
;

TITLE 'Absorption of Acetone in a Packed Tower'

IN-UNITS MET

DEF-STREAMS CONVEN ALL

DATABANKS PURE10 / AQUEOUS / SOLIDS / INORGANIC / &

NOASPENPCD

PROP-SOURCES PURE10 / AQUEOUS / SOLIDS / INORGANIC

COMPONENTS
ACETONE C3H6O-1 ACETONE /
WATER H2O WATER /
AIR AIR AIR

FLOWSHEET
BLOCK ABSORBER IN=LIQ-IN GAS-IN OUT=GAS-OUT LIQ-OUT

PROPERTIES NRTL

PROP-DATA NRTL-1
IN-UNITS MET
PROP-LIST NRTL
BPVAL ACETONE WATER 6.398100000 -1808.991000 .3000000000 &
0.0 0.0 0.0 293.1500000 368.2500000
BPVAL WATER ACETONE .0544000000 419.9716000 .3000000000 0.0 &
0.0 0.0 293.1500000 368.2500000

STREAM GAS-IN
SUBSTREAM MIXED TEMP=293. <K> PRES=1. MOLE-FLOW=14.014
MOLE-FRAC ACETONE 0.026 / WATER 0. / AIR 0.974

STREAM LIQ-IN
SUBSTREAM MIXED TEMP=293. <K> PRES=1. MOLE-FLOW=45.36
MOLE-FRAC WATER 1.
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 14/15

BLOCK ABSORBER RATEFRAC

PARAM NCOL=1 TOT-SEGMENT=10
COL-CONFIG 1 10 CONDENSER=NO REBOILER=NO
PACK-SPECS 1 1 10 HTPACK=1. <meter> PACK-ARRANGE=RANDOM &
PACK-TYPE=RASCHIG PACK-MAT=CERAMIC PACK-DIM="1.5-IN" &
PACK-SIZE=.0381000 SPAREA=1.213900 PACK-FACTOR=3.116760 &
PACK-TENSION=61.00000 DIAM-EST=1. <meter> BASE-SEGMENT=10 &
VOID-FRACTIO=0.73
FEEDS LIQ-IN 1 1 / GAS-IN 1 11
PRODUCTS LIQ-OUT 1 10 L / GAS-OUT 1 1 V
P-SPEC 1 1 1.
COL-SPECS 1 MOLE-RDV=1.0 Q1=0.0 QN=0.0

DESIGN-SPEC DS-1
DEFINE CONC MOLE-FRAC STREAM=GAS-OUT SUBSTREAM=MIXED &
COMPONENT=ACETONE
SPEC "CONC" TO "0.005"
TOL-SPEC ".001"
VARY BLOCK-VAR BLOCK=ABSORBER VARIABLE=HTPACK &
SENTENCE=PACK-SPECS ID1=1 ID2=1
LIMITS "1" "10"

STREAM-REPOR MOLEFLOW MOLEFRAC

;
;
;
;
;
Absorber Design Procedure SDSM&T 15/15

GAS-OUT

LIQ-IN
ABSORBER

GAS-IN

LIQ-OUT

Absorption of Acetone in a Packed Tower

Stream ID GAS-IN GAS-OUT LIQ-IN LIQ-OUT
From ABSORBER ABSORBER
To ABSORBER ABSORBER
Phase VAPOR VAPOR LIQUID LIQUID
Substream: MIXED
Mole Flow KMOL/HR
ACETONE .3643640 .0761541 0.0 .2882099
WATER 0.0 .3171725 45.36000 45.04283
AIR 13.64964 13.59127 0.0 .0583660
Mole Frac
ACETONE .0260000 5.44557E-3 0.0 6.34972E-3
WATER 0.0 .0226801 1.000000 .9923644
AIR .9740000 .9718743 0.0 1.28590E-3
Total Flow KMOL/HR 14.01400 13.98460 45.36000 45.38940
Total Flow KG/HR 416.3316 403.6166 817.1731 829.8881
Total Flow L/MIN 5615.509 5611.735 13.64048 13.92747
Temperature K 293.0000 293.4187 293.0000 292.2765
Pressure ATM 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000 1.000000
Vapor Frac 1.000000 1.000000 0.0 0.0
Liquid Frac 0.0 0.0 1.000000 1.000000
Solid Frac 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Enthalpy CAL/MOL -1376.595 -1623.627 -68319.40 -68199.92
Enthalpy CAL/GM -46.33711 -56.25579 -3792.303 -3730.086
Enthalpy CAL/SEC -5358.779 -6307.159 -8.6082E+5 -8.5988E+5
Entropy CAL/MOL-K -1.227476 -.3513392 -39.14193 -39.35059
Entropy CAL/GM-K -.0413176 -.0121732 -2.172707 -2.152218
Density MOL/CC 4.15931E-5 4.15338E-5 .0554232 .0543163
Density GM/CC 1.23566E-3 1.19873E-3 .9984660 .9931067
Average MW 29.70827 28.86151 18.01528 18.28374
Liq Vol 60F L/MIN 7.937254 7.645211 13.64580 13.93784