CEE 452/652

Week 9, Lecture 2 –
Absorption

Dr. Dave DuBois

Division of Atmospheric Sciences,
Desert Research Institute
 Today’s topics
• Today’s topic: chapter 13 on absorption
• Cover odor control on Tuesday, Oct 30
– Also have review session next class Oct 30
• Midterm is Nov 1 (next Thursday)
– Cumulative, information up to Oct 30 lecture
is fair game

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 Major Techniques for
Capture/Elimination of Gas
Pollutants
• Oxidation to form nontoxic compounds
• Chemical reduction to form nontoxic
compounds
• Adsorption onto solid surfaces
9Absorption into liquids
• Biological oxidation to form nontoxic
compounds
• Condensation of vapors to form liquids
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 The Absorption Process
• The transfer of material from a gas (absorbate) to
a liquid (absorbent)
• Transfer is based on the preferential solubility of a
gaseous component in the liquid
• Also known as “scrubbing” or “washing”
• Examples include removal and recovery of NH3 in
fertilizer manufacturing
• Control of SO2 from combustion source
• Control of odorous gases from rendering plants
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Mass Transfer in Absorption

diffusion

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 Types of Absorber Control
Equipment
• Packed bed tower absorbers
• Spray tower absorbers
• Tray tower absorbers
• Venturi Absorbers
• Ejector Absorbers
• Biofiltration Bed Absorbers

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Gas out
Gas Absorption
Equipment
• Packed bed
absorbers – most
common
• Counter-current flow
tower configuration
• Gas flow enters
bottom of tower and
flows upward
Gas in
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 Gas exit

Gas Absorption
Equipment
• Another counter-
current flow tower
configuration

Gas in

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 Cross-Flow Scrubber

Gas
Flow Gas
in Flow
out

Concentration gradients exist in two

directions in the liquid
- from top to bottom and front to rear 9
 Packed Bed Abs. Applications
• Suited to applications where high gas
removal efficiency is required
• Exhaust gas is relatively free from
particulate matter
• Control of SO2 and HCl in sulfuric acid and
hydrochloric acid production

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Packing Elements

Lessing ring
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 Packing Elements
• Packing material provides a large surface
area for mass transfer
• Packing elements made of plastic
(polyethylene, polypropylene,
polyvinylchloride), ceramic or metal
• Sizes range from 1 to 4 inches each
• Design depends on corrosiveness of gas,
scrubbing liquid, size of absorber, static
pressure drop and cost
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Packing Elements

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 Spray Tower Absorber
• Simplest device used for absorption
• Consists of open vessel and a set of liquid spray
nozzles to distribute scrubbing liquid (absorbent)
• Limited efficiency because of limited contact
between gas and spray droplets
– Used when gases are
extremely soluble in absorbent
– Chemical reaction in liquid
could cause clogging

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 Gas Absorption Equipment
Spray Tower
Full Cone Nozzle
Co-current Spray Tower
Scrubber

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Tray Tower Absorber

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Packed Tower
Design
Diameter and height of the
bed can be estimated for this
design

Use generalized flooding and

pressure drop correlation
graph

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 Simplified Design of Packed
Absorber
1. calculate value of

L ⎛ ρg
0.5
⎞
abcissa = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
G ⎝ ρL ⎠
In the Generalized Sherwood flooding and pressure
drop correlation graph
L = mass flow rate of liquid
G = mass flow rate of gas
ρg = gas density
ρL = liquid density
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 (G ' ) 2 FΦμ 0L.1
ρG ρ L g

L = mass flow rate

of liquid
G = mass flow rate
of gas
G’ = mass flux of gas
per cross sectional
area of column
F = Packing factor
Φ = specific gravity
of the scrubbing
liquid
μL = liquid viscosity
(in cP; 0.8 for water)
L ρG
(dimensionless)
G ρL 19
 Simplified Design of Packed
Absorber
2. calculate flooding pressure drop

ΔPflood = 0.115 F 0.7

p

Fp = packing factor (dimensionless)

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 Simplified Design of Packed
Absorber
3. use graph to find ordinate at the flooding
pressure drop, ΔP

G’ = mass flux of gas per cross sectional

(G ' ) FΦμ
2 0. 1
L
area of column (lb/ft2-s)
F = Packing factor
Φ = specific gravity of the scrubbing liquid
ρG ρ L g μL = liquid viscosity (lb/ft-s)
g = gravitational acceleration
ρg = gas density
ρL = liquid density

4. And find gas flow rate, G’

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 Simplified Design of Packed
Absorber
5. Calculate actual gas flow rate per unit area as
a fraction of the gas flow rate at flooding

Goperating = G’ f
Where
Goperating = actual flow rate per unit area (lb/ft3-s)
f = coefficient (0.75)

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 Simplified Design of Packed
Absorber
6. Calculate packed bed diameter on the actual
gas flow rate per unit area in the system

Total gas flow rate

Tower Area =
Gas flow rate per unit area

4 ⋅ Tower Area
Tower Diameter = Note correction
π

Tower Diameter = 1.13 Tower Area

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 Problems with high gas flow
• Channeling: the gas or liquid flow is much
greater at some points than at others
• Loading: the liquid flow is reduced due to the
increased gas flow; liquid is held in the void
space between packing
• Flooding: the liquid stops flowing altogether
and collects in the top of the column due to
very high gas flow

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