Operation of extraction unit

Liquid/Gas

By:

Mateo Polanco Rodríguez

Maria Paula Suarez

Andrés Pedraza

Faculty of Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering Laboratory

Teacher:

Laura Melisa Proanño

Summary

In this study, it was requested to determine the most efficient parameters to carry out a gas-liquid
extraction process (Absorption) for the extraction of cCarbon dDioxide (CO2) present in an air stream,
from a liquid solvent, water. To determine these parameters, it was necessary not only to carry out the
extraction at different flows to know which configuration presents a greater recovery of solute, but
also the determination of operating conditions, such as the maximum pressure drop in which the
extraction can be carried out without the occurrence of the flooding phenomenon. Once these tests
were performed, we proceeded to study the results obtained whose results and analysis are present in
this document.

Keywords: most efficient, extraction g-l. recovery. operating conditions, pressure drop, flooding

Introduction

The absorption operation, also known as Gas-Liquid extraction, is a unitary operation in which one or
more solutes in a gaseous mixture are extracted by a liquid solvent. This solvent must meet certain
conditions, the most important being the non-volatility with the gaseous flow of the operation. During
the process, the liquid solvent acts as a separation agent. These processes are widely used in the
extraction of Ccarbon dDioxide (CO2) present in the air, or for the extraction of impurities in gas flows
[1].

The number of species extracted depends directly on the stages of equilibrium and the absorption
factors of the components, the latter being inversely proportional to the number of stages of
equilibrium necessary. This absorption factor can be affected by several factors, one of them being the
flow velocities of the currents (gas or liquid), or the conditions in which the extraction is carried out:
temperature and pressure. The flow rate of the absorber component can be reduced, decreasing the
value of the constant K, reducing the Temperature or increasing the Pressure of the unit from gas
compression, although some type of these modifications means a higher cost in the separation
operation. Although it must be taken into accountconsidered that the increase in pressure requires a
diameter of the towerless and less, so there must be a balance in the costs of the unit [2].

The packaged tower, in which two fluids flowing in opposite directions allow one chemical
component is transferred from one fluid phase to another. There are two types of physical absorption,
in the that the gas is eliminated by having greater solubility in the solvent than other gases, and the
chemistry in the that the gas to be removed reacts with the solvent and remains in solution. It can be
reversible or irreversible[4]. The gas to be absorbed used in the equipment is usually CO 2 and is
extracted from a cylinder. close to the team. Other gases may be used, but care must be taken because
the equipment is not fireproof so the use of gases should not be made. The Hemple device is designed
to be used with CO2 if another gas is used different techniques must be used for the analysis of the
mixture air/gas. Therefore, the main objective of this project was to achieve the absorption of carbon
dioxide. present in an airstream using water as a solvent that flowed into the interior of the tower.
Ppacked bed available at the chemical engineering laboratories of the University of La Sabana.

Henry's Law (formulated in 1803 by William Henry) states that at a "constant

temperature, the amount of gas dissolved in a liquid is directly proportional to
the partial pressure that that gas exerts on the liquid. Mathematically it can be
formulated as cA = KH ⨯ PA (there are different formulations), being cA the
molar concentration of the dissolved gas A, PA the partial pressure of the same
and KH the Henry's constant, which is nothing more than the equilibrium
constant"[5].

Henry's Law
 HS X S
Y S=
PTotal
Equation 1. Equation for balance line

For the liquid-vapor equilibrium, it is necessary to assume ideal solutions. The fact of assuming a The
ideal solution also involves the following aspects:

● There is total solubility when the components are in a mixture,

● There is no chemical interaction in mass transfer.

● The diameters of the molecules are similar

● The intermolecular forces are similar to each other.

In terms of equilibrium, the principle is based on the fact that the differences in the concentrations of
the intermolecular forces are similar to each other. the component that exists between the phases, they
are transferred with respect to that of the equilibrium, the reason why the further away from the
equilibrium conditions the greater the mass transfer will be between the phases[2]

For the system to be handled, a balance between water and carbon dioxide is required. For this system,
Henry's constant data is easily found in the literature as a function of temperature.[6]

Table 1. Henry constant values at different temperatures for a CO2-Water system

With Equation 1 it is possible to perform the equilibrium line for a CO2-Water system taking into
account a temperature of 20 ° C for the Henry constant and a pressure of 1,012 atm which corresponds
to the atmospheric pressure in Chia:
Figure 2. Balance curve for CO2-Water

Overall transfer coefficient

For the development of the practice it is necessary to find the global mass transfer coefficient , which is
described by the following equation:

N
K log =( )∗¿
AH
Equation 2. Global mass transfer coefficient

Where N corresponds to the absorption ratio (mol / s), AH the area of mass transfer (m2), Pi and P0
correspond to the initial and final or inlet and outlet pressures, and finally, the Kog is the global
coefficient mass transfer. [7]

Configuration and equipment parts.

The gas absorption column of the laboratory has a packed column that has an inside diameter of 80mm
which has a total length of 1.4m and is installed vertically on a stable steel surface. The column is full
of glass rings that have a diameter of 10mm which is one of the main characteristics of this type of
columns. The liquid used for the process is usually water and is stored in a 50L rectangular tank. This
has its respective valves to be filled and for the respective maintenance and cleaning. The gas that will
be absorbed is commonly carbon dioxide, and this will be taken from a cylinder with compressed gas,
the gas is connected at a low pressure and subsequently becomes connected with an air flow. The
relationship between air flow and gas can be easily known. The subsequent process is given and the
gas can exit from the top of the tower.
Figure 1. UOP7 gas absorption column[3]

Materials and procedure

Materials

● Sodium Hydroxide (1 Molar, 500 litresliters)

● Distilled water
● Carbon Dioxide
● Air
● UOP7 Gas Absorption Column
● Ball Aforado 100 mL
● Glass of precipitate
● Spatula

Procedure

The start-up of the equipment will be carried out by varying the liquid and gas input flows, in order to
each case will be measured CO2 composition at the output, pressure in the tower and energy
consumption of the compressor and pump, in this way the operating ranges will be established, the
influence of some variables on the absorption process and the optimal conditions that allow
separations with moderate energy consumption. Next, we will set out the detailed step-by-step that
must be followed to perform the measurements indicated.

1. First, the two balloons of the absorption analysis team to the left of the panel were filled with
a 1 Molar solution of sodium hydroxide. The level of the solution in the balloons was adjusted
to the '0' mark on the observation tube, this was done with the help of a washing jar which
contained the 1 M solution.
2. Open the water supply from the mains to the sump tank. Adjust the drain pipe to the water
return from the column so that the water is not returned to the sump tank.
3. With gas flow control valves C2 and C3 closed, start the liquid pump and adjust the water
flow through the column by adjusting control valve C1.
4. Start the compressor and adjust the control valve C2 to obtain an air flow.
5. Carefully open the pressure regulating valve on the carbon dioxide cylinder and adjust the
flow rate with the C3 valve
6. After approximately 5 minutes of stable operation, take gas samples from the control valves.
Analyze them consecutively to determine the content of the carbon dioxide in these gas
 samples, as shown in the attached scheme and in the following notes.
7. With the absorption balloon insulated and ventilation to the closed atmosphere, fill the
cylinder from the selected line by slowly extracting the piston. Take into account the volume
taken in the V1 cylinder, which should be approximately 40 ml for this particular exercise.
8. Isolate the cylinder from the column and the absorption balloon and ventilate the cylinder to
pressure. atmospheric. Closes after about 10 seconds.
9. Connect the cylinder to the absorption balloon. The liquid level should not change.
10. Slowly close the piston to empty the cylinder into the absorption balloon. Pull out slowly the
piston again. Note the level in the indicator tube.
11. Read the mark on the tube indicator = V. This represents the volume of gas sampled.
12. Once the full full-scale value has been read, slowly close the piston to empty the sample.
cylinder in the absorption balloon.
13. Repeat procedure for all flow settings.

Aspen simulation

Results and analisisanalysis

Initially, 1 L of NaOH 1 M solution was prepared to calculate through the Hempl apparatus, the
volume of CO2 absorbed. Next, in the process of removing CO 2 from the air with water, the following
flows of water, air, and carbon dioxide were worked on as shown below:

Table 2. Flows worked in the device UOP 7 .

Flow (l/min)

Repetition Air Water

1 30 4

2 40 3

3 35 5

Average 35 4

After this, it was defined that in the Hempl apparatus, a volume of 40 mL was measured and finally
the following volumes of CO2 were obtained below, in the middle and above the absorption column,
this procedure was carried out 6 times and the average was made for more certainty of the values.

Operation line for CO2 absorption in air

For what has to do with the development of the operation line for the absorption that was performed,
the balance shown in Figure 2 was taken into account, which depends on Henry's law. The following
figure shows the general diagram on which the absorption operation is based with the respective
experimentally found data:

Figure 2. General diagram of the experimental process

From these data, it was possible to find the respective MaCabe Thiele graphs, among these , is the first
that serves to find the minimum solvent flow or the minimum L / V and the second corresponding to
the stage count for the separation operation . Below is Table 3 in which a summary of the results
obtained experimentally and from the MaCabe Thiele diagrams is reported:

Table 3. Summary table of results for experimental data

It should be noted that the MaCabe Thiele diagrams were made in terms of molar relationships
because the solutions were concentrated, which means that the balance of matter is also in terms of
liquid and gas flow without solute, since these flows They are considered constant:

G N+1 Y N +1 + S0 X 0=G1 Y 1 +S N X N

Equation 3. Matter balance for concentrated system

The respective MaCabe Thiele diagrams are shown below:

Figure 3. McCabe Thiele for boundary condition

Figure 5. MaCabe Thiele for stage counting with experimental data

Conclusions
It was concluded that water is not as good a solvent due to its low carbon dioxide recovery; this is
because water has low solubility for CO2 and also reacts slowly to hydrolyze CO2. Mass transfer
takes place through physical absorption. , in case you want to get the highest recovery percentage was
found that a flow of 4 L / min may be adequate for get to obtain a high efficiency and have an
acceptable pressure drop. Another aspect to consider is time, as it could be observed the longer we
have our operation running, we will recover more CO2 percentage.

The efficiency of carbon dioxide absorption was somewhat affected by systematic errors with the
Hempl apparatus.

The packages had a great role in the separation because they facilitated the contact of the two species
making the separation effective.

References
[1] Wankat, P.C. (2012). Separation Process Engineering. Third Edition. Pearson Education,
Inc. United States of America.
[2]Seader. J, Henley. E, Keith. D, (2011), Separation process principles chemical and
biochemical operations.
[3] Armfield. (2010). Instruction Manual. Gas Absorption Column. Issue 20.
[4]Gutierrez. (2007). Columnas de absorción. Obtenido de:
http://jackzavaleta.galeon.com/balw4.pdf
[5]UGR. (2009). DISOLUCIÓN DE GASES EN AGUA. PROCESOS ÁCIDO BASE Y
SOLUBILIDAD. Recuperado de https://www.ugr.es/~mota/QIA_SEMINARIO-1.pdf
[6] Phillip. C Wankat. Ingenieria de procesos de separación, Segunda edición. Editorial.
[7]Pearson Prentice Hall.Año 2007 J.D Seader, J. Henely, Separation process principles
second edition. John Wiley & Son Inc.

EVALUATION
Íte Valor
Concepto G2
m (%)
Maria
      Mateo Andrés
Paula
1 Título del trabajo, autores, fecha. 0.02 4 4 4
Resumen: comentar brevemente lo realizado, los
2 resultados más relevantes y las conclusiones 3 3 3
(máximo 300 palabras) y palabras clave 0.1
Introducción: Realizar un corto marco teórico del
tema (máximo 1 hoja). Debe incluir ejemplos de
3 industrias donde se utilice la operación de 3.5 3.5 3.5
separación del caso de estudio y por qué esta es la
mejor opción en ese caso. 0.1
4 Metodología: Describir detalladamente el 0.1 3.5 3.5 3.5
procedimiento realizado en el laboratorio y los
equipos usados. También deben incluirse detalles de
la simulación en Aspen (Hysys o Plus) (máximo 2
 hojas).
Resultados y análisis de resultados*: 3.00 3.00 3.00
5.1 Resultados teóricos y de simulación: Describir y
analizar los resultados de los cálculos teóricos 2.5 2.5 2.5
realizados y obtenidos en la simulación.
5.2 Resultados experimentales: Mostrar y analizar 0.25
los resultados experimentales. En esta sección 3.5 3.5 3.5
incluya las calibraciones que haya tenido que hacer*.
5.3 Análisis de resultados: Comparar, contrastar y
analizar los tres resultados anteriores. Usar tablas y 3 3 3
5 gráficas para hacer estas comparaciones
*Anexo: Introduzca los resultados de manera
apropiada y agradable en un archivo de Excel
dividido en tres hojas, de acuerdo a los siguientes 3
tipos de resultados. Introduzca esquemas (dibujos,
diagramas de flujo) en las hojas de Excel que 0.05 0 0 0
permitan visualizar fácilmente los resultados de las
diferentes corrientes de los equipos utilizados.
Identificar claramente qué significa el calor en cada
columna y qué unidades tiene.
Conclusiones y percepción general del trabajo
6 3 3 3
realizado. 0.15
Referencias: Citas y referencias en formato de
7 Chemical Engineering Journal. Se debe usar un 5 5 5
gestor bibliográfico para este propósito. 0.04
8 Autoevaluacion 0.04 0 0 0
9 Coevaluación 0.05 0 0 0
9 Trabajo en clase 0.1 4 4 4
  Total 1 2.88 2.88 2.88