Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/CJChE

Review

Applications of high-gravity technologies in gas purifications: A review☆

Jing Guo, Weizhou Jiao ⁎, Guisheng Qi, Zhiguo Yuan, Youzhi Liu ⁎
Shanxi Province Key Laboratory of Higee-Oriented Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China
National Demonstration Center for Experimental Comprehensive Chemical Engineering Education, North University of China, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The traditional gas purification techniques such as wet gas desulfurization, with their advantages of large-scale
Received 29 September 2018 implementation and maturity, have still been widely used. However, the main drawback of these techniques is
Received in revised form 8 January 2019 the low transfer efficiency, which normally needs towers as tall as tens of meters to remove the pollutants. There-
Accepted 11 January 2019
fore, new technologies which could enhance the mass transfer efficiency and are less energy-intensive are highly
Available online 26 January 2019
desirable. As a process intensification technology, high-gravity technology, which is carried out in a rotating
Keywords:
packed bed (RPB), has recently demonstrated great potential for industrial applications due to its high mass
High gravity technology transfer efficiency, energy-saving, and smaller volume. This consequently provides higher efficiency in toxic
Rotating packed bed (RPB) gas removal, and can significantly reduce the investment and operation costs. In this review, the mechanism,
Gas purification characteristics, recent developments, and the industry applications of high-gravity technologies in gas purifica-
Desulfurization tions, such as hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and
Pollution nanoparticle removal are discussed, most of the demonstration projects and practical application examples in
gas purification come from China. The perspective and prospective of this technology in gas purification and
other fields are also briefly discussed.
© 2019 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd.
All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Rapid industrial development brings social progress and economic
growth, however, it also leads to many serious environmental problems.
In China, nearly 70% of the pollution come from industry plants, and one
of the major pollutants in industry is harmful gas, which contains hydro-
gen sulfide (H2S), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile or-
ganic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate matter
(PM) [1,2]. The acidic gas such as SO2 and NOx would cause corrosion to
tubes, equipment and constructions, as well as result in the catalyst poi-
soning and acid rain. Furthermore, both of the acidic gas and fine partic-
ulates are harmful to the respiratory system and human health.
Therefore, effective air pollution control in industries is greatly necessary.
The traditional wet processes, such as fixed beds with packings, falling
film column [3], spray towers [4], and rotating-stream tray scrubber [5],
are widely used for flue gas desulfurization due to their high removal ef-
ficiency, low operating cost and stable operation. For instance, in the US,
☆ Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1610106) and
Shanxi Excellent Talent Science and Technology Innovation Project (201705D211011),
Specialized Research Fund for Sanjin Scholars Program of Shanxi Province (201707) and
North University of China Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (201701).
⁎ Corresponding authors at: Shanxi Province Key Laboratory of Higee-Oriented
Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, North University
of China, Taiyuan 030051, China.
E-mail addresses: jwz0306@126.com (W. Jiao), lyzzhongxin@126.com (Y. Liu).
approximately 85% of the flue gas desulfurization units installed are wet
scrubbers. However, these traditional wet processes have several short-
comings, such as limited mass transfer rate and large volume of equip-
ment, thereby leading to a huge reactor size and high capital costs [1].
Therefore, new technologies which could enhance the mass transfer effi-
ciency and are less energy-intensive are highly desirable.
As one of the hottest topics in chemical process intensification tech-
nologies, high-gravity (HiGee) technology, which is carried out in a ro-
tating packed bed (RPB), has recently demonstrated great potential for
industrial applications due to its high mass transfer efficiency, energy-
saving, and smaller volume [6]. This consequently provides higher effi-
ciency in toxic gas removal compared to the traditional technologies. Es-
pecially, it can significantly reduce the investment and operation costs.
Except working on the theoretical, mechanism and packing structures
of the high gravity processes [7–14], researchers in high gravity technol-
ogy field also focus on the practical applications of this technique [15,16],
which contains gas purification [17–20], nanomaterial preparation
[21–27], rectification [28–31], absorption [32,33], wastewater treatment
[34–38] and so on. In this review, the mechanism, the characteristics of
the RPB, and the recent developments and practical applications of
high-gravity technologies in gas purifications, such as H2S, SO2, NOx,
CO2, NH3, VOCs and nanoparticle removal are described. This article pro-
vides a pioneering review on the practical applications of high gravity
technology in gas purifications; the perspective and prospective of this
technology in gas purification and other fields are also briefly discussed.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjche.2019.01.011
1004-9541/© 2019 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
1362 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
2. The High Gravity Technology
High gravity technology was originally invented by Ramshaw [39].
The rotating packed bed, which rotates a doughnut-shaped packing el-
ement to generate a centrifugal acceleration as high as several hundred
folds of gravity to intensify mass transfer efficiency, plays an important
role in process intensification [40]. In RPB, liquid can be spread and split
into liquid elements such as micro-scale droplet, thread or film by the
high-speed rotating packing, the flow rate of these liquid elements
may be up to ten times higher than that in the field of gravity, then
the high-speed liquid elements contact counter-currently with the
flowing gas, which intensifies the interphase mass transfer greatly, the
mass transfer efficiency may be up to 1―3 orders of magnitudes higher
than that in a conventional packed bed, and the size of the reactor is dra-
matically reduced compared with the conventional reactor. This leads to
a significant reduction in the capital and operating costs. Therefore,
nowadays the RPB has been applied in various gas–liquid contacting
processes, such as material and medicine synthesis, petroleum produc-
tion, and pollution control [40,41]. In this section, the features and prin-
ciples of high gravity technology and the types of the RPB reactors are
discussed.
2.1. The types of RPB reactors
In an RPB, liquid is normally injected from the liquid distributor into
the inner periphery of the rotor, flows uniformly through the packing,
and leaves the outer edge of the rotor into the machine case, as show
in Fig. 1. Visual studies for the high gravity reactors show that, the diam-
eters of liquid droplets at the outer periphery of the RPB decreased from
1200 μm to 400 μm with the increase of the rotational speed from 300 to
1100 r·min−1 [10,12]. The gas can be forced to flow through the packing
zone in various directions to contact with the liquid in the rotor, con-
taining counter-current flow (i.e., radially inwards and leave via the
rotor center), co-current flow (i.e., radially outwards and leave via the
outer rotor) and cross flows (i.e., upwards and leave via the top of
rotor). For all of these types, the packing characteristics are generally
uniform throughout the packing zone [42].
2.2. Features and characteristics
The high gravity technology possesses a number of benefits, such as:
1) High micro-mixing efficiency and mass transfer efficiency, the mass
transfer coefficient is 1―3 orders of magnitudes higher than that in a
conventional packed bed.
Fig. 1. A schematic diagram of the RPB with cross flow.
2) High hydraulic and flooding capacity.
3) Low liquid hold-up, which is suitable for treating the expensive,
toxic, or inflammable materials.
4) Small reactor size, which is cost-saving, space-saving, and easy
installation.
5) Better self-cleaning of the rotor, which is difficult for scaling and
blocking.
6) Ultra-short staying time, which is suitable for the fast reaction and
mixture processes.
3. Practical Applications
After 30 years of rapid development, the mode of economic growth
of China is going to change from high pollution, high energy consump-
tion and high emission to low pollution, energy saving, and low toxic
emission. Therefore, the chemical engineering industry is under mount-
ing pressure, the sustainable development becomes a hot issue of the
chemical engineering. Chemical process intensification technologies
are aiming at energy conservation and emission reduction, by means
of developing new equipment and innovative techniques, which has
shown excellent potential in the sustainable development of chemical
engineering [43]. The ultimate purpose of all the technological innova-
tion is industrial applications, only realizing practical applications
could promote the industrial progress. As a process intensification tech-
nology, high gravity technique has been applied in industry since the
1990s, especially in the gas purifications [1]. The following part is
going to describe the recent developments and practical applications
of high-gravity technologies in gas purifications, such as H2S, SO2, NOx,
CO2, NH3, VOCs and nanoparticle removal.
3.1. H2S emission control using high-gravity technology
In coal chemical industry, coke-oven gas can be used to produce
many kinds of chemical products, such as, methyl alcohol, coal oil, ole-
fins, chemical fertilizer, and natural gas. However, the utilization of
the coke-oven gas has been greatly limited due to the low concentration
of H2S in it. The H2S will lead to the corrosion of the equipment, and the
poisoning of the catalyst, moreover, the emission of H2S will cause seri-
ous air pollution which is harmful to the human health. Therefore, the
control of the H2S emission in chemical industry is highly significant.
In traditional H2S desulfurization process, alkali liquor is the most
commonly used solution. This desulfurization process is a fast chemical
reaction process, and the mass transfer process of the gas-film is the
rate-controlling step. For this kind of mass transfer process, it is better
to choose packings with high surface area or equipment which has high
mass transfer coefficient to increase the reaction efficiency, thereby to de-
crease the volume of the reactor. In RPB, the mass transfer efficiency may
be up to 1–3 orders of magnitudes higher than that in a conventional re-
actor, which is an excellent candidate for desulfurization [40].
As a chemical process intensification technology, high-gravity tech-
nology combined with conventional wet process can significantly re-
duce the investment and operation costs of H2S removal, which has
been used in many industrial H2S containing gas, such as natural gas, re-
finery gas, coal-bed gas, synthesis gas, and coal-oven gas [17–19,44].
The wet catalytic oxidation desulfurization method using alkali liquor
as absorbent (i.e. Na2CO3, ammonia water, organic amine) is normally
consisted of catalytic chemical absorption and catalytic oxidation two
processes, and the H2S is catalytically oxidized to sulfur [18]. The main
difference of these processes is the type of catalyst; the commonly
used catalysts are dinuclear cobalt-phthalocyanine sulfonate (PDS),
chelated iron, CoS, 888, etc. [45].
Table 1 presents the performance evaluation of the H2S removal pro-
cesses using the high gravity technology in practical applications. The
results indicate that the H2S removal ratio using high gravity can
reach 90.0%–99.9%, depending on the type of the absorbents and the
type of the equipment [55]. In 2008, Qi et al. presented the industry
 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373 1363

Table 1
Performance evaluation of the H2S removal and selective removal processes using the high gravity technology

Type of Reactor size Gas composition Reactants Reactant Catalyst Operation conditions Efficiency Reference
reactor compositions

RPB Do Packing: 300 mm H2S: 2000 mg·m−3 Na2CO3 WNa2CO3: 6 to 14 PDS QG: 340 m3·h−1, QL: Average removal [46]
Di Packing: 80 mm g·L−1 1.7 to 4.5 m3·h−1 efficiency was 92.4%
HPacking: 195 mm CPDS: 5–20 mg·L−1
RPB D: 2000 mm H2S: 1200 mg·m−3 Hindered QG: 65000 m3·h−1 CoH2S: 20 mg·m−3 [47]
H: 4400 mm amine QL: 75 m3·h−1
Di Packing: 1600 mm
RPB D: 1400 mm H2S: 2500 mg·m−3 Na2CO3 Walkali liquor 25 g·L−1 Chelated QG: 680–4500 m3·h−1 CoH2S: ≤20 mg·m−3 [48]
H: 3000 mm iron 35–40 °C
QL: 20–40 m3·h−1 600–
800 r·min−1
RPB D: 1400 mm H2S: ≤4000 mg·m−3 Na2CO3 WNa2CO3: 10 g·L−1 CoS QG: ≤10000 m3·h−1 CoH2S: 5.01–852.3 [49]
H: 3350 mm WCoS: 15 mg·kg−1 QL: 0–120 m3·h−1 mg·m−3
VPacking: 0.3 m3 QL/QG: 8–10 L·m−3 Caverage: 45.3 mg·m−3
HPacking: 200 mm 30–38 °C Efficiency ≥90%
RPB H2S: 7589 mg·m−3 Na2CO3 Chelated CoH2S: 4.5 mg·m−3 [50]
iron
RPB D: 1600 mm H2S: 10600 mg·m−3, Na2CO3 WNa2CO3: 7–14 g·L−1 PDS QG: 21000 m3·h−1 CoH2S: 50–80 mg·m−3 [51,52]
H: 4200 mm CO2 volume fraction: WPDS: 15 mg·kg−1 QL/QG: 8.5 L·m−3 Efficiency ≥90%
98.97% Selectivity ≥90%
RPB D: 1400 mm H2S: 10000– MDEA MDEA mass QG: 8000–13000 m3·h−1 CoH2S: ≤20 mg·m−3 [53]
H: 2891 mm 15000 mg·m−3 percentage: 30% QL: 21 t·h−1 Coabsorption rate of
VPacking: 0.30772 m3 CO2: volume fraction QG/QL: 380–600 400 r·min−1 CO2: 8.9%
4%
RPB HPacking: 80 mm H2S: 2280 mg·m−3 Na2CO3 WNa2CO3: 10 g·L−1 PDS QL/QG: 8.5 L·m−3 Efficiency H2S: 99.13% [54]
Di Packing: 80 mm CPDS: 1.5 mg∙L−1 (32 ± 2) °C, 1000 r·min−1, Efficiency CO2: b1%
Do Packing: 300 mm

D: diameter; Do Packing: outer diameter of Packing; Di Packing: inner diameter of Packing; H: height; HPacking: height of Packing.

H2S removal by applying high gravity technology to replace conven-
tional packed tower as desulfurization equipment, in one of the chemi-
cal plants in Shanxi province of China [46]. In this process, the Na2CO3
solution was used for absorption of H2S in synthesis gas, the dinuclear
cobalt-phthalocyanine sulfonate (PDS) was used as catalyst. The reac-
tions of this process are as follows:
Catalytic chemical absorption of H2S:
H2 S ðgÞ→H2 S ðlÞ
inlet H2S was 1200 mg·m−3, the outlet concentration of the H2S was
20 mg·m−3. The process could run stably, and the steam consumption
of the rich solution regeneration was 4 t·h−1, less than the desulfurizing
tower, which showed considerable economic benefit [47].
In 2010, RPB was used for the removal of H2S from associated gas in
the oilfield production by choosing chelated iron as desulfurizer [48]. In
this process, alkali liquor is also the mainly absorbent to adsorb H2S, the
function of the iron ion is to convert HS− into sulfur, as shown in the fol-
ð1Þ lowing equations:

H2 S ðlÞ þ Na2 CO3 → NaHS þ NaHCO3 ð2Þ 1) The adsorption of H2S:

NaHS þ NaHCO3 → Na2 S þ CO2 þ H2 O ð3Þ Na2 CO3 þ H2 S→NaHS þ NaHCO3 ð7Þ

Catalytic oxidation (regeneration): 2) The oxidation of HS−:

2NaSx þ 1=2O2 þ H2 O → 2NaOH þ 2Sx ð4Þ Fe3þ ðchelated ironÞ þ HS− →Fe2þ ðchelated ironÞ þ S↓ þ Hþ ð8Þ

NaHS þ 1=2O2 → NaOH þ S ð5Þ

2NaHS þ 2O2 → Na2 S2 O3 þ H2 O ð6Þ

In this case, the packing was horizontal type with counter-flow, the
inlet H2S concentration was 2000 mg·m−3, the Na2CO3 concentration
was from 6 to 14 g·L−1, and the PDS concentration was from 5 to
20 mg·L−1. The gas flow was 340 m3·h−1, and the liquid flow was
from 1.7 to 4.5 m3·h−1. During the 7 days of continuous operation,
the average removal efficiency was 92.4%. In this condition, 4 kg of
Na2CO3 needs to be added every 8 h, which means 800 kg of Na2CO3
needs to be consumed to remove 1 t of H2S. The experimental results
showed that the removal efficiency of the desulfurization could reach
99.0% under proper conditions. Compared with tower equipment, the
high gravity method had many advantages, including higher desulfuri-
zation, lower liquid–gas ratio, and smaller equipment size. Fig. 2
shows an on-site photograph of the RPB desulfurization process.
In 2008, Han et al. presented the use of high gravity technology in shift
gas desulfurization in one Fertilizer Company of China. Hindered amine
was used as adsorption solution with the pressure of 3.2 MPa, when the
flow rate of the shift gas was 65000 m3·h−1, and the concentration of Fig. 2. A desulfurization site.
1364 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
3) The regeneration of desulfurization liquid:
4Fe2þ ðchelated ironÞ þ O2 þ 2H2 O→4Fe3þ ðchelated ironÞ þ 4OH− ð9Þ
4) Total reaction:
2H2 S þ O2 →2S↓ þ 2H2 O ð10Þ
In this case, the RPB had been operated smoothly more than two
years, the gas handling capacity was 6250 m3·h−1, the inlet concentra-
tion of H2S was 2500 mg·m−3, and the design temperature and design
pressure were 1.6 MPa and 80 °C, respectively. The industrial research
results showed that after desulfurization the concentration of H2S in
cleaned gas was less than 20 mg·m−3, and normally, the monitoring
value was less than 10 mg·m−3.
Qi et al. reported that, an industrial unit of H2S removal from coke
oven gas in a rotating packed bed using wet oxidation process was built
at a plant site, and the gas flow rate was 10000 m3·h−1. In this process,
Na2CO3 was used as alkaline source, CoS was used as catalyst, and the
high gravity technology equipment was built behind the previous desul-
furization tower. During the 40 day continuous monitoring, the inlet con-
centration of H2S was from 22.2 mg·m−3 to 3781.3 mg·m−3, the average
inlet concentration was 592.0 mg·m−3, and the lowest outlet concentra-
tion of H2S was 5.01 mg·m−3, the average outlet concentration was
45.3 mg·m−3. The H2S removal rate could reach as high as 99.8%, and
the average removal rate was 90.15%. When the inlet concentration
was lower than 100 mg·m−3, although the desulfurization efficiency
was low, the outlet H2S concentration could still be controlled at lower
than 50 mg·m−3. So the authors claimed that, the high gravity technol-
ogy for desulfurization has high operating flexibility, it can be used for
both bulk removal and fine removal of H2S. If one RPB setup cannot
satisfy the desulfurization concentration requirement, two or more
high gravity set-ups in series can be used to get higher desulfurization
efficiency [18,49].
As the volume of the RPBs is much smaller than the traditional desul-
furization towers, the RPB could be qualified for desulfurization in vari-
ous situations, such as onshore/offshore platform and frontier area in oil
field,. Zou et al. reported that, the RPB had been applied in the offshore
operating platform to remove H2S from the natural gas. The H2S concen-
tration of the inlet gas was 7589 mg·m−3, after desulfurization the con-
centration of the H2S was as low as 4.5 mg·m−3, which showed
excellent removal efficiency. Moreover, compared with the commercial
desulfurization towers, the volume of the high gravity equipment was
only 1/10 of the commercial desulfurization towers, which shows high
flexibility for various locations [50]. Moreover, to overcome the limita-
tion of the traditional desulfurization methods in the confined space,
Zhang et al. reported using ferric chelate absorbent in alkaline environ-
ment to remove H2S. The N2 and H2S mixture was used to simulate nat-
ural gas; the initial H2S concentration was 2500 mg·m−3. During the
72 h continuous experiment, the H2S removal efficiency was higher
than 99.6%, and in the optimal condition it could reach more than
99.9% [44].
As mentioned above, high gravity technology can be applied for H2S
removal in many different conditions, such as, industrial off-gases, coke-
oven gas, natural gas, especially in the confined space like offshore
operating platform, and existing factories. The advantages of high desul-
furization efficiency, excellent operating flexibility, small unit size, and
low investment and operation cost, show the bright prospect of this
technology. Furthermore, high gravity technology could also be applied
for selective removal of H2S from mixture gases.
3.2. Selective H2S removal
There is an increasing interest in the selective removal of H2S from
gas streams with a high ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) to H2S. Both H2S
and CO2 are acidic and similar in many physical and chemical aspects,
and therefore in the traditional wet oxidation desulfurization process,
a considerable quantity of CO2 can also be absorbed simultaneously,
which would increase the circulation volume of the absorption liquid
and increase the energy load of the solution regeneration system
[56–58]. Accordingly, it is necessary to selectively absorb H2S in the
presence of CO2, which will greatly improve the process efficiency and
bring significant social and economic benefits. In 2005, the high gravity
technology was applied for the selective absorption of H2S with high
concentration CO2 in an ammonia synthesis plant by Prof. Liu and his
co-workers [51,52]. Fig. 3 is the actual view of the selectivity desulfuri-
zation RPB equipment. The inlet gas flow rate was 21000 m3·h−1, the
volume fraction of CO2 was 98.97% and the concentration of H2S was
10600 mg·m−3, the PDS was used as the catalyst. The operation result
shown that both of the desulfurization rate and the selectivity were
more than 90%. Removing 1 t H2S, the consumption of alkali was 0.5 t,
and the emission reduction of the H2S was about 700 t·a−1. The good
H2S selectivity absorption had overcome the shortcomings of the large
scale synthesis ammonia system, which has shown excellent energy
conservation and emission reduction.
Fig. 3. A selectivity desulfurization RPB equipment.
In 2012, an industrial test for methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) selec-
tive absorption of H2S was performed by Prof. Chen's group to solve the
problem that a large amount of CO2 accompanying H2S is simulta-
neously removed in the conventional desulfurization process. In this
case, an RPB highlighted that MDEA was kinetically selective toward
H2S and restricted its thermodynamic selectivity toward CO2. The flow
rates of refinery dry gas ranged between 8000 and 13000 m3·h−1, the
liquid flow rate was 21 t·h−1, H2S content in feed gas ranged from
10000 to 15000 mg·m−3, and CO2 content in feed gas was approxi-
mately 4%. After desulfurization by RPB, the H2S content in sweet gas
was less than 20 mg·m−3 and the coabsorption rate of CO2 was approx-
imately 8.9%, which decreased nearly 90% compared with the conven-
tional tower desulfurization process [53].
The latest work using RPB for selective absorption of H2S with high
concentration of CO2 by Jiao et al. showed that the removal rates of H2S
and CO2 could reach 99.13% and b 1%, respectively, which indicated excel-
lent H2S removal efficiency and selectivity. In this study, the Na2CO3 was
used as alkali source and the dinuclear cobalt-phthalocyanine sulfonate
(PDS) was the catalyst [54]. The authors claimed that, the most important
function of RPB in selective absorption of H2S was to restrain the CO2 re-
moval efficiency and sharply intensify the absorption of H2S. Although the
mass transfer of CO2 absorption was also enhanced by the RPB, the total
amount of CO2 mass transfer was low. It was due to the short gas–liquid
 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
contact time. In this study, the H2S removal efficiency increased with the
increase of liquid–gas ratio, rotating speed, Na2CO3 concentration, and
PDS concentration. The desulfurization efficiency and selectivity as the
function of rotation speed are shown in Fig. 4. Those experimental results
testified the advantages of RPB over traditional tower equipment in selec-
tive H2S absorption.
Fig. 4. Effects of rotation speed on desulfurization efficiency and selectivity [54].
Both the above experimental and industrial works indicated that
high gravity technology had great benefits for desulfurization, such as,
higher efficiency, higher selectivity, smaller packing and equipment vol-
umes, lower investment, and minor energy consumption. Comparing
with traditional towers, the volume mass transfer coefficient within
RPBs increases 1–2 orders of magnitude, and the volume and the weight
of the equipment are much less than the towers.
3.3. SO2 emission control using high-gravity technology
SO2 is considered to be one of the serious air pollution gases, which is
the major source of haze. A large amount of the SO2 emission is from the
combustion of coal and other fossil fuels. To control the SO2 emission, a
variety of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) schemes have been developed,
containing wet, dry, and semidry processes. Wet processes are the most
popular methods for SO2 emission control and share 84% of the total de-
sulfurization market, with its advantages of high efficiency, low cost,
and stable operation [59]. In wet processes, the limestone or lime-
based scrubbing shares 70% of the market. However, wet limestone
technology is not regenerative which brings the problem of gypsum
fouling. Moreover, the mass transfer efficiency of the traditional SO2 ab-
sorption process is poor, it normally needs a large column packing to re-
alize the removal efficiency which leads to high investment and
operating costs. Therefore, researchers have been focused on develop-
ing regenerative techniques with process intensification to decrease
the investment and operation cost. As one of the typical process inten-
sification technologies, high gravity technology has been widely applied
in SO2 removal processes [60,61].
3.3.1. The mechanism of SO2 removal
The mechanism of SO2 removal in RPB is generally chemical absorp-
tion between the gas and liquid phases. With its great micro-mixing
ability, SO2 in the flue gas can be transferred from the gas phase to liquid
phase within ultra-short time. Various aqueous solutions can be used as
the liquid phase, such as sodium citrate buffer solution, double-alkali so-
lution, phosphate buffer solution, and ammonium buffer solution, as de-
scribed below:
1365
3.3.1.1. Double-alkali method. Double-alkali method is a commonly used
method to remove SO2 from industrial waste gases. In this method, first
SO2 is absorbed by NaOH solution to form Na2SO3 or/and Na2SO4, then
the Na2SO3/Na2SO4 solution reacts with lime slurry to obtain CaSO3
and CaSO4 sediment. The absorption process can be expressed as the
following equations [62]:
2NaOH þ SO2 → Na2 SO3 þ H2 O ð11Þ
2NaOH þ SO3 → Na2 SO4 þ H2 O ð12Þ
Na2 SO3 þ SO2 þ H2 O → 2NaHSO3 ð13Þ
The equations of regenerative process are as follows:
2NaHSO3 þ CaðOHÞ2 → Na2 SO3 þ CaSO3 ↓ þ 2H2 O ð14Þ
Na2 SO3 þ CaðOHÞ2 → 2NaOH þ CaSO3 ↓ ð14Þ
Na2 SO4 þ CaðOHÞ2 → 2NaOH þ CaSO4 ↓ ð16Þ
In this process, NaOH can be regenerated to go back to the system,
the consumable is the cheap Ca(OH)2. The regeneration reactions can
be held in a sedimentation basin to prevent the fouling and blockage
of the tubes and the desulfurization equipment.
3.3.1.2. Sodium citrate buffer solution. Our group first proposed RPB com-
bined with sodium citrate buffer solution to treat the SO2 pollution. SO2
removal by absorption into sodium citrate (Na3Ci) buffer solution with
RPB is generally considered as a fast, safe, green, and economical
method. The advantages of this process are simple, non-toxic, insignifi-
cant losses, no fouling problem, and low oxidation of SO2. In these pro-
cesses, SO2 in flue gas is absorbed by Na3Ci solution, and the dissolved
SO2 can be regenerated by steam stripping or other regenerative
method. The absorption solution can also react with H2S to obtain
sulfur, which can be separated by flotation [63,64]. The desulfurization
of SO2 with absorption and desorption in sodium citrate buffer solution
is
3SO2 ðgÞ þ 3H2 O þ Na3 Ci⇌3NaHSO3 þ H3 Ci ðlÞ ð17Þ
3.3.1.3. Ammonium buffer solution. In ammonia-based wet desulfuriza-
tion process, the (NH4)2SO3 and NH4HSO3 containing solution was nor-
mally used as the absorbent to react with SO2, which come from the flue
gas. The following reactions (18)–(20) mainly occur during the absorp-
tion process, and the reactions (21) and (22) generate (NH4)2SO4 by-
products, which can be used as fertilizer [65].
SO2 ðgÞ⇌SO2 ðaqÞ ð18Þ
SO2 ðaqÞ þ H2 O⇌H2 SO3 ð19Þ
ðNH4 Þ2 SO3 þ H2 SO3 ⇌2NH4 HSO3 ð20Þ
2ðNH4 Þ2 SO3 þ O2 ⇌2ðNH4 Þ2 SO4 ð21Þ
2NH4 HSO3 þ O2 ⇌2NH4 HSO4 ð22Þ
3.3.1.4. NaOH-based solution. It is reported that the size of the desulfuri-
zation equipment can be reduced greatly if high gravity technology
could be employed for the sulfur removal with NaOH-based solution.
A commercial RPB was applied on one offshore platform to remove
H2S from natural gas [51]. Thus, the use of an RPB may be a better choice
and more likely to be accepted by ship owners. Chu et al. proposed using
sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) solution in an RPB to remove SO2 which dis-
plays a bright future for the offshore application of SO2 removal. The
1366 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373

mainly occurring equations during the absorption of SO2 into Na2SO3
solution are as follows [66]:
SO2 ðgÞ⇌SO2 ðaqÞ
SO2 ðaqÞ þ H2 O⇌H2 SO3
Na2 SO3 þ SO2 þ H2 O⇌2NaHSO3
3.3.1.5. Phosphate buffer solution. The upper wet regenerative flue gas
desulfurization methods have been applied in RPB and have shown ex-
cellent SO2 removal efficiency, however they still have some shortcom-
ings, such as, Na2SO3 has high reactivity and small liquid–gas ratio, but
during the regeneration process the Na2SO3 is easily oxidized into
Na2SO4 to decrease the SO2 recycle rate; sodium citrate has high sulfur
capacity and inoxidizability, but it easily loses efficacy; ammonia-
based solution has not only high sulfur capacity and high reactivity,
but also high evaporability. Based on these problems, phosphate buffer
solution has attracted our attention. The use of phosphate buffer solu-
tion such as alkali metal phosphate (Na2HPO4) could significantly in-
crease the capacity of SO2 absorption, and the reaction between SO2
and Na2HPO4 solution is reversible and instantaneous, which is easy to
regenerate and has no second pollution. Moreover, the property of
Na2HPO4 is stable which can be used for a long time.
The process is shown in Eqs. (26) and (27) [67]:
SO2 ðgÞ⇌SO2 ðlÞ
SO2 ðlÞ þ Na2 HPO4 ðlÞ þ H2 O ðlÞ⇌NaHSO3 ðlÞ þ NaH2 PO4 ðlÞ
During this process the absorption process is the forward reaction,
the desorption process is the reverse reaction. At first, the SO2 in the
flue gas transfers into liquid phase to form H+ and HSO3ˉ, and then
the H+ will combine with HPO42ˉ to promote the forward reaction of
Eqs. (26) and (27) to absorb more SO2 into liquid phase. The rich liquor
can be regenerated by steam stripping or other regenerative method to
release SO2. These SO2 can be used for producing H2SO4 or other
products.
3.3.2. Practical applications
In the sulfuric acid industry, the tail gas normally containing
3000 ppm SO2, the traditional wet desulfurization method was usually
carried out in columns packed with various packings or a spray tower, a
rotating stream tray scrubber, and so on [1]. To meet the ultra-low emis-
sion limitation control of those sour gaseous pollutants in China, it needs
two or three towers in series. However, if using high gravity technology to
treat SO2 containing inlet gas, even for 5000 mg·L-1 SO2, only one setup is
enough to meet the emission limitation. Moreover, it is difficult to up-
ð23Þ grade the existing desulfurization system by adding new columns due
to the limitation of the area and space in the running chemical factories.
ð24Þ Therefore, the high gravity technology is a promising pathway to solve
the above problem. In 1994, Chen et al. applied RPB at one sulfur acid
ð25Þ company of China as a plant test, the treatment capacity of the gas was
3000 m3·h−1, after desulfurization the concentration of SO2 was lower
than 100 mg·L-1, which was much lower than the 300 ppm emission lim-
itation at that time [68].
Table 2 presents the performance evaluation of the SO2 removal pro-
cesses using the high gravity technology in practical applications. Jiang
et al. reported [40] using a laboratory scale RPB to absorb SO2 from SO2/
air mixture with sodium citrate buffer solution (Na3Ci). Sodium citrate
buffer solution SO2 removal is generally considered as a fast, safe, green,
and economical method with the advantages of non-toxic reagent, simple
process, and no gypsum fouling. In this procedure, SO2 in flue gas is
absorbed by aqueous sodium citrate solution, and the dissolved SO2 is
subsequently recovered from the solution by steam stripping or other re-
generative method, or react with H2S to obtain sulfur, and then to be sep-
arated by flotation. In this work, the inlet concentration of SO2 was
5085 mg·m−3, and the desulfurization efficiency was as high as 97.3%.
Due to the high desulfurization efficiency and useful byproducts,
ammonia-based solution has also drawn great attention to absorb SO2.
In the desulfurization process, (NH4)2SO3 and NH4HSO3 coexisting solu-
tion is used as the ammonia-based. The sulfuric acid industry can gain
ð26Þ profit from the (NH4)2SO4 byproduct, which is a favorable resource of sul-
fur fertilizer. A cocurrent rotating packed bed (CO-RPB) with novel SiC
ð27Þ structured packing was employed to upgrade existing desulfurization sys-
tems using ammonia-based solution. The experimental results showed
that in order to meet the demand of SO2 emission standard, which is
400 mg·m−3 for the sulfuric acid industry, the suitable range of SO2
inlet concentration should be less than 5000 mg·m−3 [59]. An RPB with
SiC structured packing and plastic packing was investigated to absorb
SO2 from a gas mixture with an ammonia-based solution. Experimental
results showed that, the plastic packing had higher desulfurization effi-
ciency than the SiC packing under the same operation conditions [65].
In 2010, two RPBs were designed by Prof. Chen's group and applied
in Zhejiang Juhua Group Co. of China to remove SO2 from the tail gas of
sulfuric acid production lines with a capacity of 150000 t·a−1 and
200000 t·a−1, respectively. By using the ammonia-based solution as
the absorbent, the industrial running data showed that the average de-
sulfurization efficiency was higher than 97% and the concentration of
SO2 in the outlet tail gas was less than 300 mg·m−3, which was below
the emission limit of 400 mg·m−3 at that time [68].

Table 2
The performance evaluation of the SO2 removal processes using the high gravity technology

Type of Reactor size Gas composition Reactants Reactant Operation conditions Efficiency Reference
reactor compositions

RPB Di Packing: 59 mm SO2/air Sodium citrate buffer CNa3Ci: 1 mol·L−1 QL/QG: 7 L·m−3 97.3% [40]
Do Packing: 132 mm SO2: 5085 mg·m−3 solution QG: 3 m3·h−1
HPacking: 40 mm
Cocurrent Di Packing: 100 mm SO2/air (NH4)2SO3 and NH4HSO3 (190 ± 2) g·L−1 QG: (183 ± 0.5) m3·h−1 CoSO2 b400 [59]
RPB Do Packing: 300 mm SO2: (4100 ± 50) mg·m−3 Alkalinity 12 ± 0.1 QL: (340 ± 1) L·h−1 mg·m−3
HPacking: 100 mm 1000 r·min−1
RPB Di Packing: 100 mm SO2: 1000–5500 mg·m−3 Ammonia-based solution (190 ± 2) g·L−1 QG: 75–160 m3·h−1 ≥95% [65]
Do Packing: 300 mm Alkalinity: 13–18 QL: 300–400 L·h−1
HPacking: 100 mm 400–1000 r·min−1
RPB D: 2800 mm SO2: 1087–6578 mg·m−3 Ammonia-based solution 111.6–162.4 g·L−1 QG: 2 × 70000 m3·h−1 CoSO2 b300 [68,69]
H: 3000 mm mg·m−3
RPB D: 3200 mm SO2: 2828–6285 mg·m−3 Ammonia-based solution (1.2 ± 0.1) kg·L−1 QG: 8000 m3·h−1 CoSO2 b400 [69]
H: 3600 mm mg·m−3
−1 3 −1
RPB HPacking: 100 mm SO2: 700 mg·L Na2SO3 pH 6–8 QG: 550 m ·h 83%–99.6% [59]
Di Packing: 230 mm 300–1500 r·min−1
Do Packing: 424 mm

D: diameter; Do Packing: outer diameter of Packing; Di Packing: inner diameter of Packing; H: height; HPacking: height of Packing.
 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
Xu reported that, in 2011 the RPB was used in Anhui Tongling Huaxing
Co. of China, the ammonium buffer solution was used for absorption of
SO2 in the flue gas while producing ammonium sulfate precipitates uti-
lized as fertilizers. In this case, the removal efficiency of SO2 could reach
98.8% with a gas flow rate of 80000 m3·h−1. The inlet SO2 concentration
was 5000 mg·m−3, and the average outlet concentration of SO2 was
360.63 mg·m−3. In addition, the high gravity process could operate at a
relatively higher gas-to-liquid (G/L) ratio, i.e., 140–10000 (v/v), than the
conventional packed bed, i.e., ~10 (v/v). As a result, the treatment capacity
of flue gas using the high gravity technique would be greater than that of
the same size of conventional packed bed reactor [69].
As RPB with high mass transfer efficiency and small size, it is also an
excellent choice for SO2 removal from the exhaust gas in ships. Recently,
Chu et al. investigated SO2 removal in a lab scale and a pilot RPB with so-
dium sulfite (Na2SO3) solution [66]. The inlet concentration of the SO2
was 700 ppm, and the gas flow rate for the pilot scale was 550 m3·h−1.
The experimental results showed that the SO2 concentration in the outlet
gas of the RPB could decrease sharply and there was no obvious scale up
effect. Under the same operating conditions as those for the spray tower,
the RPB had a stable desulfurization efficiency that was more than 97%.
The comparison results showed that the SO2 removal efficiency of the
RPB (pH = 6) could reach 98%, which was 6% higher than that of the
spray tower (pH = 10).
3.4. CO2 emission control using high-gravity technology
The emission of CO2 accounts for the high proportion of the green-
house gases, and about 82% of the CO2 comes from burning coal and
other fossil fuel. In other side, CO2 is also a very useful industrial raw
material, which is widely used in food, chemical, and other industries.
So it is necessary to develop new processes which not only has high ab-
sorption efficiency, but also could utilize the CO2 resource.
Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies are cur-
rently considered as an effective approach to reduce industrial CO2
emissions. However, none of the CCUS technologies alone can provide
a short-term solution to reduce CO2 emissions [70]. Actually, high grav-
ity technology is also a good candidate for industrial CO2 capture.
In 2007, Xing et al. applied RPB to reclaim CO2 from flue gas. This
process was developed to replace the traditional absorption method
to treat the very low rate of CO2 in some power plants. In this process,
N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and Triethylenetetramine (TETA)
mixed solution was used to absorb CO2 from the flue gas, in which the
inlet CO2 volume fraction was 5%–8% [71].
As the MDEA is a tertiary amine, the adsorption rate of CO2 is slow,
but it has high adsorption load, and the desorption energy consumption
is very low. However, for the TETA, it has two primary amine nitrogen-
atoms and two secondary amine nitrogen-atoms, which has higher ad-
sorption rate. In this case, the MDEA and TETA mixed liquor was used as
the CO2 absorbent, both has the fast adsorption rate property of primary
and secondary amines, and the high adsorption load of tertiary amine,
which could highly increase the CO2 adsorption rate. There were
cross-reactions in this mixed liquor adsorption process, the tertiary
amine could react with the reaction product of the primary and second-
ary amines with CO2. The reaction processes are as follows:
CO2 þ H2 O → Hþ þ HCO3 − ð28Þ
Hþ þ R3 N → R3 NHþ ð29Þ
RNH2 þ CO2 → RNH2 þ COO− ð30Þ
RNH2 þ COO− þ R3 N → RNHþ COO−2 þ R3 NHþ ð31Þ
Eq. (28) is an ultra-slow reaction which is controlled by the liquor
film. Eq. (30) is the control step of the primary and secondary amines to
adsorb CO2. Eqs. (29) and (31) are instantaneous reactions. Thereby, in
1367
this case, the control step of the CO2 adsorption is Eqs. (28) and (30).
For this adsorption process, the adsorption rate is related with the solubil-
ity coefficient, wet phase molecular diffusivity, and the concentration of
the mixed mine. Therefore, in order to realize the recycling of the CO2
from the flue gas, we need to increase the volume mass transfer coeffi-
cient and the mass transfer driving force to intensify the mass transfer
rate.
Based on the former mechanism of the CO2 adsorption with mixed
organic mine in the RPB, the pilot test results indicated that the absorp-
tion rate and capacity of CO2 could be remarkably enhanced by the sys-
tem of TETA and MDEA, and the removal efficiency of CO2 from flue gas
could reach 85.81% under proper conditions, which was about 25%
higher than that of the traditional absorption method [71].
In 2007, Jassim et al. [33] reported the performance of a pilot-plant
scale RPB in absorption and desorption of CO2 using monoethanolamine
(MEA) solutions. In this process, the outside diameter of the packing
was 398 mm, the inside diameter of the packing was 156 mm, and axial
depth was 25 mm. They claimed using MEA concentrations above 30 wt
% could achieve lower CO2 penetration levels. For MEA concentration at
30 wt%, the feed CO2 concentration was 3.5 vol%–4.5 vol%, after absorp-
tion the CO2 concentration could reach 0.03 vol%–0.13 vol%. In a compar-
ison with a simulated stripper showed at similar operational conditions,
rotating packed bed could save size and space and has high efficiency.
In 2011, Chen et al. developed a new structured RPB which was ap-
plied in a coal-fired power plant to absorb CO2, the absorption efficiency
could reach higher than 80% at the optimum condition [51].
In order to decrease the oxidative degradation caused by the dissolved
oxygen (DO) in solution which has always happened in CO2 capture pro-
cesses, Chen and Tan et al. proposed to use sodium aliphatic diamine sul-
fonate (NaADS) to mix with piperazine (PZ) and diethylenetriamine
(DETA) to capture CO2. Although the viscosity of the mixed absorbent so-
lution PZ/DETA/NaADS was higher than that of PZ/DETA, more free
amines presented in solution and high shear stress provided in an RPB,
the similar CO2 capture efficiency and CO2 capture amount could still be
achieved. In addition, the regeneration energy of PZ/DETA/NaADS was
less than PZ/DETA and MEA at the general regeneration condition at
202.65 kPa and 120 °C [72].
Chiang and his co-workers have conducted accelerated carbonation
via the high gravity technology to enhance the micro-mixing efficiency
and the mass transfer. The concept, known as the high-gravity carbon-
ation (HiGCarb) process, was first proposed in 2012 by Chang et al.
[73], and then successfully applied in a steel plant in Taiwan [74,75].
For the HiGCarb process with a CO2 removal efficiency greater than
90%, the total energy consumption was estimated to be (268.6 ±
57.9) kW∙h·(t CO2)−1, and the scale of this process was 170 kg CO2 cap-
tured per day [74]. Another application of HiGCarb process which used
lime by product as absorbent was carried out in a petrochemical industry
at a scale of ~600kg CO2 captured per day in Taiwan since 2016 [1].
In addition, researchers also worked on the modeling of RPB CO2 cap-
ture system which will be helpful in scale-up, optimization, optimum de-
sign and process analysis of this system [76–78]. For example, Borhani
et al. applied the first principles in gPROMS® to model an RPB absorber
using MEA as the solvent to capture CO2 at steady state condition. The re-
sult showed good agreement with the experimental results and revealed
that rotor speed has the most important effect on carbon capture level,
and after that lean MEA solution flow rate has the second importance [77].
3.5. NOx emission control using high-gravity technology
NOx is a general term for the nitrogen oxides, including NO, NO2,
N2O3, N2O4, and N2O5. Long-term exposure to NOx would increase the
risk of respiratory disease. NOx also contributes to the formation of
acid rain, photochemical smog, and ground level ozone. Most of the
NOx emission comes from the vehicle exhaust and the stationary source
emissions. The stationary source emissions can be divided into two
parts, one part is from the fossil fuel combustion, the other part is
1368 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373

mainly from the chemical process which related to HNO3, such as nitro- 2 NO2 ðgÞ → N2 O4 ðgÞ ð34Þ
gen fertilizer plants, gunpowder and dynamite plants and organic
chemical plants. As a major pollutant flue gas, NOx emission has re-
NO ðgÞ þ NO2 ðgÞ → N2 O3 ðgÞ ð35Þ
ceived great attention in the world. Various technologies have been de-
veloped to reduce NOx emission [2].
The exhausted gas of the gunpowder plant containing a great Then the NOx in the gas phase will transfer into the liquid phase, and
amount of NOx, the traditional denitrification process with absorption for pure water or nitric acid solution, the adsorption reactions are as
tower using water as absorbent, which need large area, high invest- follows:
ment, high operation cost. Moreover, the removal efficiency is low, nor-
mally after denitrification the NOx emission concentration is still higher 2NO2 ðlÞ þ H2 O ðlÞ → HNO2 ðlÞ þ HNO3 ðlÞ ð36Þ
than 5000 mg·m−3, which is much higher than the emission limitation.
In order to overcome those shortcomings, based on the experience of N2 O3 ðlÞ þ H2 O ðlÞ → 2HNO2 ðlÞ ð37Þ
the desulfurization process, Prof. Liu and his colleagues had developed
the high gravity denitrification technique. N2 O4 ðlÞ þ H2 O ðlÞ → HNO2 ðlÞ þ HNO3 ðlÞ ð38Þ
In 2007, nitration tail gas mainly of NOx was treated by an RPB. In
this process, the carbamide was used as the absorbent, also containing 3HNO2 ðlÞ → 2NO þ HNO3 ðlÞ þ H2 O ðlÞ ð39Þ
some additive to adjust the pH of the solution. The mechanism of this
process is as follows: In this case, the nitric acid solution was used as absorbent, ozone was
introduced to oxidize HNO2 to HNO3 to prevent the decomposition of
2HNO2 þ ðNH2 Þ2 CO → CO2 þ 2 N2 þ 3H2 O ð32Þ HNO2 in the liquid phase and therefore to improve the NOx absorption.
In an acidic system at ambient temperature, the reaction is.
After being adsorbed into the solution, the NOx will form HNO3 and
3HNO2 ðlÞ þ O3 ðlÞ → 3HNO3 ðlÞ ð40Þ
HNO2, and ionized into NO3− and NO2− respectively. The NO2− ions will
react with (NH2)2 CO to form N2 and CO2. The operation conditions
Reaction (40) is a fast reaction and the mass transfer of ozone is the
and running stability were examined during the pilot test based on
controlling step. In this process, it was intensified by the RPB, so that the
our earlier research. The gas flow was 100 m3·h−1, and the inlet NOx
absorption amount of NOx is increased. The mechanism of NOx absorp-
concentration was from 18000 to 20000 mg·m−3 and used 20 wt% of
tion into nitric acid solutions in the presence of ozone is represented in
carbamide as absorbent. With an excellent micro-mixing efficiency
Fig. 6.
under such gravitation, a NOx removal ratio of greater than 96% can be
achieved by the high gravity technique with two RPBs in series, the
NOx concentration in the outlet gas was less than 240 mg·m−3, which
was lower than the Chinese national emission limitation at that time.
Compared with the traditional towers, the RPB could decrease the
equipment investment nearly 75%, reduce the operation cost about
79% [79] Fig. 5 presents a denitrification RPB equipment.
In 2010, Li et al. applied the RPB in industry denitrification [80]. NO,
NO2, N2O3, N2O4, O2, and other inert gas species are in the gas phase. The
gas phase reactions in this study are:

2NO ðgÞ þ O2 ðgÞ → 2NO2 ðgÞ ð33Þ

Fig. 6. Mechanism of NOx absorption into acid solution in the presence of ozone [80].

Fig. 5. A denitrification RPB equipment.
In this process, the NOx tail gas was from the nitration reaction de-
vice of one Chemical Industry Co. in Gansu, China, and the NOx concen-
tration in the inlet gas streams was 200–240 g·m−3, the gas flow rate
was 1700 m3·m−2·h−1. Under the optimized conditions, the removal
efficiency of NOx could be higher than 90% and the concentration of ni-
tric acid byproduct was higher than 45%. With the great potential indus-
try applications, these high gravity denitrification techniques have been
used in many chemical factories in China by our group as demonstration
projects.
High gravity technology has been proved as a great technique for de-
nitrification process which can use different absorbents. Zhang et al. [81]
used RPB as a gas–liquid reactor to enhance the NO removal efficiency
by FeII (EDTA) solution. Under proper conditions, the removal efficiency
could reach 87%. Because NO is the major component of the NOx
 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373 1369

emission and is less soluble in water than NO2, Sun et al. recently did an
experimental work to absorb NOx in to NaOH solution in an RPB with
preoxidation by O3 [32]. In this work, before inletting into the RPB, the
NO was first oxidized by the O3 to increase the denitrification efficiency.
At optimized conditions, the denitrification efficiency could get around
80%. This work indicates that the hydrolysis reactions of NOx are still the
rate-determining steps in the NOx absorption process and are the main
obstacles hindering NOx removal by wet scrubbing processes, so RPB
has great potential in this kind of conditions.

3.6. NH3 emission control using high-gravity technology

Ammonia (NH3) is a colorless air pollutant with a strong and repel-

lent smell. Most of the NH3 emission comes from petrochemical, agri-
culture and chemical industries, such as synthetic ammonia industry,
ammonium carbonate industry, ammonium nitrate industry and
nitrophosphate fertilizer industry. The composition of these kinds of
NH3 containing flue gases is very complicated, which contain NH3,
NOx, water and particulate. In commercial treatment, particles and
water vapor during the condensation process will form a slurry which
easily blocks the towers, and then decreases the recycling amount of
the NH3. Moreover, the process of the traditional method is long and
with high operation cost. In order to solve the above industry problems,
Prof. Liu and his co-workers developed a new type of RPB with radial
corrugated packing, which could realize deamination and dehumidifica-
tion at the same time [82]. The deamination rate is higher than 90%,
both the ammonia and water can realize recycling utilization. If using
acidic waste water as adsorbent, the adsorption process is chemical ad-
sorption, the reactions are as follows:
H3 PO4 þ 3NH3 → ðNH4 Þ3 PO4 ð41Þ
NH3 þ H2 O → NH4 þ þ HO− → NH3  H2 O ð42Þ
The adsorption efficiency is based on the acid content of the solution,
if the acidic solution is sufficient, the NH3 could be fully adsorbed, oth-
erwise the adsorption process of the remaining NH3 will convert into
water adsorption, which is controlled by the gas–liquid equilibrium,
and will decrease the adsorption efficient.
In 2006, this technique had been applied in the update of the
nitrophosphate fertilizer flue gas treatment process in one fertilizer
company of China. The RPB setup was installed in a small platform
with the height of 39 m. The gas flow rate was 55000 m3·h−1, the con-
centration of NH3 was 8.3 g·m−3, the volume content of water was
20.6%, and the concentration of particulates was 3 g·m−3. The absor-
bent in this case was the waste HNO3 solution from its own process,
and the NH4NO3 byproduct could recycle into the same process. The de-
amination rate of this technique could reach as high as 92%, the
recycling amount of NH3 was 2940 t·a−1, and the dehumidification
rate was 60.8%, the recycling amount of water was 3.86 t·a−1, which
could decrease operation cost about 8.82 million CNY·a−1. This tech-
nique was also applied in another company, which was the biggest
slow controlled release fertilizer company of Asia. In that case it could
recycle NH3 2576 t·a−1, recycle water 17.8 kt·a−1, and decrease the
emission of NOx 126 t·a−1 [82]. This technique has made a big contribu-
tion to the energy conservation and emission reduction of fertilizer in-
dustry and has also been applied in many other chemical companies
in China.
In 2008, Meng et al. [83] aimed at the problems of treating ammonia
in phosphate tail gas, an RPB was used to replace the conventional
towers, with acid waste water as absorbent. Pilot scale experiment
was made to determine the capacity of ammonia removal from phos-
phate tail gas, as show in Fig. 7. The result showed that, when the gas
flow was 500 m3·h−1, gas–liquid ratio was 1000 m3·m−3, high gravity
factor was 90, and the absorptivity of ammonia could reach 90%. After
15 days of continuous running, the system was stable and after
Fig. 7. An RPB for NH3 emission control.
treatment the content of the ammonia in phosphate tail gas could
reach the state discharge standards, about 739 mg·m−3.
For the traditional Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) denitration
technology, the setup of the liquid ammonia gasification process is
large, and the volatilization of NH3 is harmful to the health of the
workers and may cause explosion at certain conditions. In order to
solve these problems, our group presented using ammonia water strip-
ping instead of the liquid ammonia gasification process. High gravity
technology was used for the ammonia water stripping process, the
free ammonia in the ammonia water was stripped into gas phase, and
transferred to a denitration furnace. This technique can highly increase
the denitration rate, and the volume of the setup is much smaller than
the traditional ones which could highly decrease the investment and
operation cost, and is much more safe. This technique has been applied
in one coal power company of China, as shown in Fig. 8. The ammonia
water treatment amount was 0.1–0.8 m3·h−1 for one RPB setup, the
dosage of dilution air was 1000–2400 m3·h−1, the denitration rate
was higher than 95%, the emission concentration of NOx was less than
100 mg·m−3, and the concentration of escape NH3 was less than
8 mg·m−3.
3.7. VOC emission control using high-gravity technology
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) normally originate from motor
vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, industrial facilities, electric utilities and
chemical solvents, such as-trichloroethylene (TEC), isoprene (C3H8), ben-
zene (C6H6), gasoline (C8H18), and vinyl chloride (C2H3Cl). Traditional
VOC purification technologies include adsorption, absorption, condensa-
tion and membrane separation, however there are still several shortcom-
ings like long-term process, high energy consumption, and secondary
pollutions. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new technologies to over-
come the above problems. Considering the characteristics of high gravity
technology, such as small pressure drop, high transportation efficiency,
small equipment volume, and flexible operation, our group applied RPB
in the VOC purification. Based on the physicochemical properties of
VOCs, new packing and high gravity set-ups have been developed. The
VOC absorption rate is higher than 90%, which is positive to reduce the
1370 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
Fig. 8. An RPB set up for NOx and NH3 control.
following workload. For instance, in acetic acid (CH3COOH) gas purifica-
tion process, the gas flow rate was 4500 m3·h−1, water was used as ab-
sorbent, when the CH3COOH concentration was higher than 70% in the
absorbent, it was transferred into rectification tower, after rectification
the purity of CH3COOH was higher than 99%, the recycling amount was
527 t·a−1 [41].
This technology could also be used to recycle acetone (CH3COCH3),
ethyl acetate (CH3COOC2H5), etc. For instance, in one explosives produc-
tion process, CH3COCH3, CH3COOC2H5, and water mixed solution was
used to purify the explosives products. With the temperature growing,
the amounts of the CH3COCH3 and CH3COOC2H5 were volatilized into
the air, which causes environmental problems and the wasting of re-
sources. In order to solve this problem, RPB was applied to recycle
CH3COCH3 and CH3COOC2H5, and water was chosen as absorbent. The
packing rotation speed was 1000 r·min−1, the recycling time was 12 h,
and the flow rate was 2 m3·h−1. The recycling solution was returned
back to the previous process which could not only reduce pollution, but
also decrease the operation cost [84]. In 2009, this technique was also ap-
plied for the absorption of CH3COOH, the gas flow rate was 450 m3·h−1,
the maximum liquid circulating volume was 0.3 m3, the liquid flow rate
was 0.5 m3·h−1 to 1.5 m3·h−1, after 12 h circulating, the CH3COOH
mass fraction could reach higher than 60%. The recycling of acetic acid
could decrease the operation cost about 1.35 million CNY·a−1 [85].
3.8. Particulate matter control using high-gravity technology
The types of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere include
suspended particulates, inhalable particulate matter (PM10), fine par-
ticulate matter (PM2.5), and ultrafine particulate matter [1]. The partic-
ulate pollutants released from the industrial tail or flue gas are the key
sources leading to serious haze pollution. New national regulation of
the ultra-low emission limitation control of those particulate pollutants
in China is lower than 5 mg·m−3 or lower than 20 mg·m−3 in some
special cases. However, the conventional particulate collection
processes like bag house filter, wet scrubber, and electrostatic precipita-
tor are difficult to meet the ultra-low emission limitation. RPB wet par-
ticulate collection technique combined the characteristics of cyclone,
filter, mechanical rotation collector, and water dust scrubber together,
which can meet the ultra-low emission control. For PM 1.0, it still can
achieve high purification efficiency more than 90%, and is suitable to
put in series after the original wet dust collector.
A flow diagram of one of the RPB particulate removal processes is
shown in Fig. 9. First the particles containing gas flow through the in-
duced draft fan (1) to get higher pressure, then flow through the vortex
flow meter (2) into RPB (4), the adsorbent is pumped into RPB by the
liquid pump (6) and is torn into liquid elements such as droplet, thread
or film by the high-speed rotating packing to trap the particulates. After
trapping, the adsorbent is flow into reservoir (5), and the clean gas dis-
charge from the top of the RPB. The particulate concentration of the inlet
and outlet gas is measured by a dust detector (3). Here, based on the dif-
ferent conditions and requirements, the particulate adsorbent can be
circulating water, alkali liquor, etc.
$ 

$


  
Fig. 9. Process flow diagram of RPB particulate removal.
This technique has been applied in many chemical factories. Table 3
presents the operating conditions and performance of PM removal
using high gravity techniques. In one fertilizer company in Henan,
China, the blow-air after burning, heat exchanger, and water dust scrub-
ber still contained particulates about 100 mg·m−3. An RPB was used to
solve this emission problem by Prof. Liu and his co-workers in 2016. In
this case, the diameter of the RPB was 2200 mm (Fig. 10), the gas flow
rate was 80000 m3·h−1, the circulating water was used as purification
medium, and the flow rate of the circulating water was 26 m3·h−1.
After purification the concentration of the dust was lower than
12 mg·m−3, the pressure drop was only 800 Pa, which realized the
ultra-low emission with low investment and operation cost.
This technique was also applied in one chemical company of
China, the particulate concentration in the flue gas after burning
and desulfurization process was 600 mg·m −3 . The gas flow rate
was 30000 m3·h−1–40000 m3·h−1, after RPB purification, the par-
ticulate concentration in the outlet was less than 50 mg·m−3.
In one fertilizer company of China, a rotary fluidized bed was used to
prill CaNH4NO3 particles. However, there was 3000 mg·m−3 of
CaNH4NO3 contained in the off-gas, which not only wastes the product
but also results in air pollution. In this process, the gas flow rate was as
high as 43000 m3·h−1, and the particle size was small, therefore tradi-
tional particulate collection method could not get good purification effi-
ciency. The equipment would easily be blocked and could not run well
for a long time. Moreover, the CaNH4NO3 production equipment was
settled in a platform with the height of 22 m, not enough space for the
traditional purification set-ups. In order to overcome those problems,
our RPB was used to collect the CaNH4NO3 particles, the diameter of
the RPB was only 1600 mm, and the height of the RPB was 3500 mm,
 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373 1371

Table 3
Performance evaluation of the particulate removal processes using the high gravity technology

Type of Reactor Gas composition Liquid phase Pressure Operation conditions Efficiency Reference
reactor size drop

RPB D: 2200 mm Dust: 100 mg·m−3 Circulating water 800 Pa QG: 80000 m3·h−1 CoDust: ≤12 mg·m−3 This paper
QL: 26 m3·h−1
RPB D: 2000 mm Dust: 600 mg·m−3 Water QG: 30000–40000 m3·h−1 CoDust: ≤50 mg·m−3 This paper
RPB D: 1600 mm Dust: 3000 mg·m−3 Circulating water QG: 43000 m3·h−1 CoDust: ≤5 mg·m−3 This paper
H: 3500 mm QL: 12 t·h−1 Efficiency ≥99%
RPB D: 1600 mm Dust: 900 mg·m−3 and Water QG: 20700 m3·h−1 CoDust: ≤10 mg·m−3 This paper
H: 4100 mm 300 mg·m−3 Efficiency ≥90%
RPB D: 1200 mm Dust: 50 mg·m−3 Mg(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2 solution QL/QG = 0.21 L·m−3 CoSO2: ≤8 ppm [41]
SO2: 1200 mg·L−1 Efficiency ≥99%
RPB D: 600 mm SO2: 3 g·m−3 Na(OH) and Ca(OH)2 solution ≤500 Pa QG: 4000 m3·h−1 Desulfurization efficiency ≥94% [62]
H: 1500 mm QL/QG ≤ 1.5 L·m−3 Particulates removal efficiency ≥99%

D: diameter; H: height.

which was settled in the platform and suitable for the layout of the
plant. The running results showed that, the purification efficiency was
more than 99%, and the outlet particulate concentration was only
5 mg·m−3. The flow rate of the circulating water was only 12 t·h−1,
which could go back to the production process.
In coal chemical industry, the purification of the coke oven gas, pro-
ducer gas, water gas and semi-water gas is very important in the whole
process. With the development of the pressure gasification technology,
there are more particulates and tar than before in the gases. Even after
traditional purification processes, there still contained particulates and
tar from tens to hundreds of mg·m−3, which will accumulate in the pro-
cess to affect the production. In order to improve the quality of the prod-
ucts and the running stability, new purification technology was highly
desired. In this kind of case, two serious challenges lead to traditional
methods not meeting the purification requirement, one is the low par-
ticulate concentration, the other one is the small size of the particulate.
In order to solve the above problems, and based on the previous re-
search work, high gravity wet purification coal gas technology has
been developed by our group. This technique could both purify particu-
lates and tar. Moreover, this high gravity technology and the equipment
have been acceded to the chemical design specification of Sedin Engi-
neering CO. LTD of China.
In 2013, our technique was applied in one coal chemical company in
Xinjiang, China. The flow rate of the coal gas was 20700 m3·h−1, before
our technological reformation, after traditional purification, there still
contained 900 mg·m−3 tar and 300 mg·m−3 dust to block the inlet of
the compressor, and the process needs to stopped to remove the partic-
ulate and tar once a week. In order to solve the blocking, the coal gas had
to be burned before going into the compressor, which not only wastes
tar, but also causes environmental pollution. Based on this technological
problem, new high gravity technology had been developed, the diame-
ter of the high gravity equipment was 1600 mm, and the height of the
equipment was 4100 mm. Under the proper conditions, the tar and par-
ticulate removal efficiency was higher than 90%, the concentration of
the outlet particulate was less than 10 mg·m−3. After this technological
reformation, all of the coal gas could be recycled
(2.3 hundred million m3·a−1), and the compressor could run well for
more than half year. This technique has been applied in more than 10
companies of China, even in high pressure (4.5 MPa) coal gas purifica-
tion, which has highly application prospects.
In many chemical cases, there are both particulates and SO2 in the
flue gases, so it is highly desired to develop a new technology which
can purify particulates and SO2 simultaneously. Our North University
of China first presented the idea, using RPB with 1200 mm diameter
to combine desulfurization and particulate purification together. This
technology was first applied in one chemical company of Shanxi,
China and one power plant of Taiyuan, China. Mg(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2 so-
lution was used as absorbent, there were 50 g·m−3 particulates and
1200 mg·L−1 SO2 in the flue gas. The liquid–gas ratio of our RPB wet de-
sulfurization and dust removal technology was 0.21 L·m−3, which was
much lower than the most traditional wet purification methods. Both of
the desulfurization and dust removal rate could get 99%, the SO2 con-
centration in the outlet gas was only 8 mg·L−1, at that time the emission
limitation in the world was less than 300 mg·L−1 [41].
Our group reported that, the RPB could remove both hydrophilic and
hydrophobic particulates, the purification capacity was higher than that
of an electrostatic precipitator, and the volume of the equipment was
only 1/4 of the electrostatic precipitator, which could decrease the

Fig. 10. An RPB equipment for particulate removal.

1372 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
equipment investment and the capital expenditure. The removal effi-
ciency was equal to that of the venturi scrubber, but the pressure drop
was only 1/6 of the venturi scrubber, and the energy consumption
was only 17% of the venturi scrubber. In 2000, this technique passed
the Shanxi province of China science and technology achievement ap-
praisal, and in 2002 awarded second prize of Science and technology
progress in Shanxi province [16].
In 2004, multi-spraying high gravity technology had been applied in
one company in Guangdong to treat the boiler fuel gas. The gas flow rate
was 4000 m3·h−1, the SO2 concentration in the inlet gas was 3 g·m−3,
double-alkali method was used for desulfurization. At first, a water dust
scrubber was used to purify the dust, the diameter was 1500 mm and
the height was 8000 mm, the desulfurization rate was 70%, and the
dust removal efficiency was 80%. After applying the new multi-
spraying RPB, the desulfurization rate was increased to more than
94%, and the particulate removal was up to 99%. And the diameter of
the RPB was only 600 mm, the height was only 1500 mm, the volume
of the RPB was only 3.6% to the volume of the water dust scrubber [62].
The upper practical application results indicate that, the removal
ratio of fine particulate (~ mm) by the RPB normally is significantly
higher than that by conventional processes. In particular, fine particles
larger than 3.5 μm could be almost completely removed by the high
gravity technology [86]. It is noted that, the high gravity technology
could efficiently remove particulate in a wide range of particle sizes be-
tween 0.01 and 100 μm. The cutting particle sizes (the most difficult to
collect) for the RPB system are typically in the range of 0.02–0.3 μm,
which is quite competitive with the wet scrubber system (the critical
particle sizes of 0.1–0.5 μm), but the pressure drop in the RPB system
is less than that in the wet scrubber system [1].
4. Perspective and Prospective
High gravity technology is one of the process intensification technol-
ogies, which is a new branch of chemical engineering. The upper exper-
imental and industry results demonstrated that high gravity technology
is highly competitive in gas pollutant emission control for removing
H2S, SO2, CO2, NOx, NH3, VOCs, and particulate from tail gas, petroleum
or natural gases, and flue gas. In order to meet the new national regula-
tion of the ultra-low emission limitation of China, industries in the
chemical, power generation, and oil field need to upgrade their environ-
mental protection equipment. The high gravity technology is highly ef-
ficient, energy-saving and small in size, which is one of the best
techniques for the equipment update, the gas purification in the ship
and the marine drilling platform, and has received considerable atten-
tion. In addition, high gravity technology is highly appropriate to be ap-
plied in processes which are controlled by the mass transfer and/or the
molecule mixture, and other specific material industry processes, such
as the treatment of high viscosity, thermal sensitivity, and expensive
materials. Therefore, high gravity could be applied in the unit
applications like absorption, desorption, rectification, devolatilization
processes; the preparation of nano-materials; and the reaction pro-
cesses such as, sulfonate, polymerization and condensation.
The high gravity technology can offer great benefits for chemical en-
gineering processes due to its advantages of intensifying mass transfer
by orders of magnitude, ultra-short residence time, as well as the
small size, low cost, energy saving, and environmental friendliness.
However, comprehensive commercial-scale applications of high gravity
technology about the scale-up, stability and flexibility of the equipment
are still needed to be undertaken. Moreover, the market reception of
high gravity technology for the new design plants needs to be improved.
Therefore, numerous continuously long-period operations of large-scale
RPBs are necessary to gain more commercial data and experiences for
ensuring the market acceptance of high gravity technology, such as
the packing type and structures for the different systems and the mass
transfer and micromixing properties for different systems and RPB
types. In addition, scientific experiments should be coupled with a
mechanism model at microscale and computational fluid dynamic
(CFD) simulation at macroscale to precisely predict the behaviors of
mass/heat transfer and hydraulic properties of the RPB.
As one of the process intensification technologies, high gravity tech-
nique has achieved industry applications in many fields, which has
shown excellent energy conservation and emission reduction. In order
to meet the fierce market competition, the process intensification tech-
nology will continue to improve and develop, and the high gravity tech-
nology will also keep playing a very important role in the development
of the chemical engineering.
References
[1] S.Y. Pan, P. Wang, Q. Chen, W. Jiang, Y.H. Chu, P.C. Chiang, Development of high-
gravity technology for removing particulate and gaseous pollutant emissions: Prin-
ciples and applications, J. Clean. Prod. 149 (2017) 540–556.
[2] Ö. Yildirim, A.A. Kiss, N. Hüser, K. Leßmann, E.Y. Kenig, Reactive absorption in chem-
ical process industry: A review on current activities, Chem. Eng. J. 213 (2012)
371–391.
[3] S. Kiil, M.L. Michelsen, K. Dam-Johansen, Experimental investigation and modeling
of a wet flue gas desulfurization pilot plant, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 37 (1998)
2792–2806.
[4] F. Ruhland, R. Kind, S. Weiss, The kinetics of the absorption of sulfur dioxide in cal-
cium hydroxide suspensions, Chem. Eng. Sci. 46 (1991) 939–947.
[5] W.S. Sun, Z.B. Wu, Y. Li, T.E. Tan, Sodium-enhanced limestone wet FGD in rotating-
stream tray scrubber, Chin. J. Environ. Sci. 23 (2002) 105–108.
[6] K. Neumann, K. Gladyszewski, K. Groß, H. Qammar, D. Wenzel, A. Górak, M.
Skiborowski, A guide on the industrial application of rotating packed beds, Chem.
Eng. Res. Des. 134 (2018) 443–462.
[7] W.W. Li, B. Song, X.P. Li, Y.Z. Liu, Modelling of vacuum distillation in a rotating
packed bed by Aspen, Appl. Therm. Eng. 117 (2017) 322–329.
[8] W.W. Li, J.J. Yan, Z.F. Yan, Y.C. Song, W.Z. Jiao, G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, Adsorption of phenol
by activated carbon in rotating packed bed: Experiment and modeling, Appl. Therm.
Eng. 142 (2018) 760–766.
[9] W. Li, X.L. Wu, W.Z. Jiao, G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, Modelling of dust removal in rotating packed
bed using artificial neural networks (ANN), Appl. Therm. Eng. 112 (2017) 208–213.
[10] Z.M. Gao, S.G. Ma, D.T. Shi, J.N. Wang, Y.Y. Bao, Z.Q. Cai, Droplet characteristics and
behaviors in a high-speed disperser, Chem. Eng. Sci. 126 (2015) 329–340.
[11] Y.W. Li, S.W. Wang, B.C. Sun, M. Arowo, H.K. Zou, J.F. Chen, L. Shao, Visual study of
liquid flow in a rotor-stator reactor, Chem. Eng. Sci. 134 (2015) 521–530.
[12] L. Sang, Y. Luo, G.W. Chu, J.P. Zhang, Y. Xiang, J.F. Chen, Liquid flow pattern transi-
tion, droplet diameter and size distribution in the cavity zone of a rotating packed
bed: A visual study, Chem. Eng. Sci. 158 (2017) 429–438.
[13] A.S. Joel, M.H. Wang, C. Ramshaw, E. Oko, Modelling, simulation and analysis of in-
tensified regenerator for solvent based carbon capture using rotating packed bed
technology, Appl. Energy 203 (2017) 11–25.
[14] Y.Z. Liu, D.Y. Gu, C.C. Xu, G.S. Qi, W.Z. Jiao, Mass transfer characteristics in a rotating
packed bed with split packing, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 23 (2015) 868–872.
[15] H.K. Zou, G.W. Chu, Y. Xiang, Y. Luo, B.C. Sun, J.F. Chen, New progress of HIGEE reac-
tion technology, CIESC J. 8 (2015) 2805–2809 (in Chinese).
[16] W.Z. Jiao, Y.Z. Liu, D.Y. Zhang, The application of high gravity rotating packed bed in
environmental industry, Sichuan Environ. 24 (2005) 78–82 (in Chinese).
[17] Y. Luo, Y. Liu, G. Qi, H. Guo, Z. Zhu, Selection of chelated Fe (III)/Fe (II) catalytic ox-
idation agents for desulfurization based on iron complexation method, Chin. Pet.
Process Petrochem. Technol. 16 (2014) 50–58.
[18] G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, W.Z. Jiao, Study on industrial application of hydrogen sulfide re-
moval by wet oxidation method with high gravity technology, Chin. Pet. Process.
Petrochem. Technol. 13 (2011) 29–34.
[19] Y. Luo, Z.Z. Zhang, J.B. Qi, G. Li, G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, Optimization of high-gravity chelated
iron process for removing H2S based on response surface methodology, Chin. Pet.
Process. Petrochem. Technol. 17 (2015) 87–93.
[20] B. Jafari, M.R. Rahimi, M. Ghaedi, K. Dashtian, S. Mosleh, CO2 capture by amine-based
aqueous solution containing atorvastatin functionalized mesocellular silica foam in
a counter-current rotating packed bed: Central composite design modeling, Chem.
Eng. Res. Des. 129 (2018) 64–74.
[21] Z.J. Zhao, Z.Y. Wang, D. Wang, J.X. Wang, N.R. Foster, Y. Pu, J.F. Chen, Preparation of
3D graphene/iron oxides aerogels based on high-gravity intensified reactive precip-
itation and their applications for photo-Fenton reaction, Chem. Eng. Process. Process
Intensif. 129 (2018) 77–83.
[22] X.L. He, Z. Wang, Y. Pu, D. Wang, R.J. Tang, S.M. Cui, J.X. Wang, J.F. Chen, High-grav-
ity-assisted scalable synthesis of zirconia nanodispersion for light emitting diodes
encapsulation with enhanced light extraction efficiency, Chem. Eng. Sci. 195
(2019) 1–10.
[23] Y. Pu, J.N. Leng, D. Wang, J.X. Wang, N.R. Foster, J.F. Chen, Recent progress in the
green synthesis of rare-earth doped upconversion nanophosphors for optical
bioimaging from cells to animals, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 26 (2018) 2206–2618.
[24] J.N. Leng, J.Y. Chen, D. Wang, J.X. Wang, Y. Pu, J.F. Chen, Scalable preparation of
Gd2O3:Yb3+/Er3+ upconversion nanophosphors in a high-gravity rotating packed
bed reactor for transparent upconversion luminescent films, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.
56 (2017) 7977–7983.
[25] X.C. Yang, J.N. Leng, D. Wang, Z.Y. Wang, J.X. Wang, Y. Pu, J.L. Shui, J.F. Chen, Synthe-
sis of flower-shaped V2O5:Fe3+ microarchitectures in a high-gravity rotating packed
 J. Guo et al. / Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering 27 (2019) 1361–1373
bed with enhanced electrochemical performance for lithium ion batteries, Chem.
Eng. Process. Process Intensif. 120 (2017) 201–206.
[26] Y. Pu, J.N. Leng, D. Wang, J.X. Wang, N.R. Foster, J.F. Chen, Process intensification for
scalable synthesis of ytterbium and erbium co-doped sodium yttrium fluoride
upconversion nanodispersions, Powder Technol. 340 (2018) 208–216.
[27] H.Y. Shen, Y.Z. Liu, One-step synthesis of hydrophobic magnesium hydroxide nano-
particles and their application in flame-retardant polypropylene composites, Chin. J.
Chem. Eng. 26 (2018) 2199–2205.
[28] X.P. Li, Y.Z. Liu, Characteristics of fin baffle packing used in rotating packed bed, Chin.
J. Chem. Eng. 18 (2010) 55–60.
[29] Y.M. Li, X.H. Li, Y. Wang, Y.Y. Chen, J.B. Ji, Y.L. Yu, Z.C. Xu, Distillation in a counter flow
concentric-ring rotating bed, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 53 (2014) 4821–4837.
[30] Y.M. Li, Y.S. Lu, X.J. Liu, G.Q. Wang, Y. Nie, J.B. Ji, Mass-transfer characteristics in a ro-
tating zigzag bed as a Higee device, Sep. Purif. Technol. 186 (2017) 156–165.
[31] X.P. Li, Y.Z. Liu, Z.Q. Li, X.L. Wang, Continuous distillation experiment with rotating
packed bed, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 16 (2008) 656–662.
[32] B.C. Sun, M.P. Sheng, W.L. Gao, L.L. Zhang, M. Arowo, Y. Liang, L. Shao, G.W. Chu, H.K.
Zou, J.F. Chen, Absorption of nitrogen oxides into sodium hydroxide solution in a
rotating packed bed with preoxidation by ozone, Energy Fuel 31 (2017)
11019–11025.
[33] M.S. Jassim, G. Rochelle, D. Eimer, C. Ramshaw, Carbon dioxide absorption and de-
sorption in aqueous monoethanolamine solutions in a rotating packed bed, Ind.
Eng. Chem. Res. 46 (2007) 2823–2833.
[34] H.L. Fan, S.F. Zhou, W.Z. Jiao, G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, Removal of heavy metal ions by mag-
netic chitosan nanoparticles prepared continuously via high-gravity reactive precip-
itation method, Carbohydr. Polym. 174 (2017) 1192–1200.
[35] H.L. Fan, S.F. Zhou, J. Gao, Y.Z. Liu, Continuous preparation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles
through impinging stream-rotating packed bed reactor and their electrochemistry
detection toward heavy metal ions, J. Alloys Compd. 671 (2016) 354–359.
[36] Y.J. Qin, S. Luo, S. Geng, W.Z. Jiao, Y. Liu, Degradation and mineralization of aniline by
O3/Fenton process enhanced using high-gravity technology, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 26
(2018) 1444–1450.
[37] J.B. Modak, A. Bhowal, S. Datta, Extraction of dye from aqueous solution in rotating
packed bed, J. Hazard. Mater. 304 (2016) 337–342.
[38] K. Gudena, G.P. Rangaiah, S. Lakshminarayanan, Optimal design of a rotating packed
bed for VOC stripping from contaminated groundwater, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 51
(2011) 835–847.
[39] C. Ramshaw, Higee distillation — An example of process intensification, Chem. Eng.
389 (1983) 13–14.
[40] X.P. Jiang, Y.Z. Liu, M.D. Gu, Absorption of sulphur dioxide with sodium citrate buffer
solution in a rotating packed bed, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 19 (2011) 687–692.
[41] L.L. Qu, Y.Z. Liu, S.Z. Chu, Y.C. Zhang, W.Z. Jiao, Application of high gravity technology
in gas purification, Natural Gas Chem. Ind. 2 (2011) 55–59 (in Chinese).
[42] D. Reay, C. Ramshaw, A. Harvey, Chapter 6 — Intensification of Separation Processes,
Butterworth-Heinemann Elsevier Ltd., Oxford, 2013 205–249.
[43] Y.Z. Liu, Discussion on process intensification technology to promote the transfor-
mation, upgrading and sustainable development of chemical industry, Chem. Ind.
Eng. Prog. 37 (2018) 1203–1211 (in Chinese).
[44] L.L. Zhang, S.Y. Wu, Z.Z. Liang, H. Zhao, H.K. Zou, G.W. Chu, Hydrogen sulfide removal
by catalytic oxidative absorption method using rotating packed bed reactor, Chin. J.
Chem. Eng. 25 (2017) 175–179.
[45] H.K. Zou, M.P. Sheng, X.F. Sun, Z.H. Ding, M. Arowo, Y. Luo, L. Zhang, G.W. Chu, J.F.
Chen, B.C. Sun, Removal of hydrogen sulfide from coke oven gas by catalytic oxida-
tive absorption in a rotating packed bed, Fuel 204 (2017) 47–53.
[46] G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, W.Z. Jiao, Desulfurization by high gravity technology, Chem. Ind. Eng.
Prog. 27 (2008) 1404–1407 (in Chinese).
[47] X.M. Han, J.P. Xie, S.H. Sun, Use of ultra gravity separator in shift effluent desulfuri-
zation unit, Chem. Fertilizer Ind. 35 (2008) 52–53 (in Chinese).
[48] W.M. Li, Z.H. Li, G.J. Hao, W.S. Zhang, D. Zeng, K. Guo, Industrial application of rotat-
ing packed bed (RPB) on H2S removal from associated gas by iron-redox process,
Chin. J. Chem. Ind. Eng. 35 (2014) 26–30.
[49] G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, H. Wang, W.Z. Jiao, Experimental study on hydrogen sulfide removal
from coke oven gas in a rotating packed bed by wet oxidation, Chem. Ind. Eng. Prog.
33 (2014) 1045–1049 (in Chinese).
[50] H.K. Zou, G.W. Chu, H. Zhao, Y. Xiang, J.F. Chen, Process intensification of high-
gravity reactor for environmental engineering: from fundamental to industrializa-
tion, Sci. China Chem. 44 (2014) 1413–1422.
[51] Y.Z. Liu, Chemical Process Intensification Method and Technologies, Chemical Indus-
try Press, Beijing, 2017 (in Chinese).
[52] Y.Z. Liu, Chemical Engineering Process and Technology in High Gravity, National De-
fense Industry Press, Beijing, 2009 (in Chinese).
[53] Z. Qian, Z.-H. Li, K. Guo, Industrial applied and modeling research on selective H2S
removal using a rotating packed bed, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 51 (2012) 8108–8116.
[54] W.Z. Jiao, P.Z. Yang, G.S. Qi, Y.Z. Liu, Selective absorption of H2S with high CO2 con-
centration in mixture in a rotating packed bed, Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif.
129 (2018) 142–147.
[55] M.K. Shivhare, D.P. Rao, N. Kaistha, Mass transfer studies on split-packing and
single-block packing rotating packed beds, Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif. 71
(2013) 115–124.
[56] Y. Sun, J.P. Zhang, C. Wen, L. Zhang, An enhanced approach for biochar preparation
using fluidized bed and its application for H2S removal, Chem. Eng. Process. Process
Intensif. 104 (2016) 1–12.
1373
[57] J.G. Lu, Y.F. Zheng, D.L. He, Selective absorption of H2S from gas mixtures into aqueous
solutions of blended amines of methyldiethanolamine and 2-tertiarybutylamino-2-
ethoxyethanol in a packed column, Sep. Purif. Technol. 52 (2006) 209–217.
[58] W.J.W. Bakker, F. Kapteijn, J.A. Moulijn, A high capacity manganese-based sorbent
for regenerative high temperature desulfurization with direct sulfur production:
Conceptual process application to coal gas cleaning, Chem. Eng. J. 96 (2003)
223–235.
[59] G.W. Chu, Y. Luo, C.Y. Shan, H.K. Zou, Y. Xiang, L. Shao, J.F. Chen, Absorption of SO2
with ammonia-based solution in a cocurrent rotating packed bed, Ind. Eng. Chem.
Res. 53 (2014) 15731–15737.
[60] Z.G. Yuan, W. Song, Y.Z. Liu, X.F. Kang, B. Peng, Mechanism of flue gas desulfurization
with sodium phosphate solution, Chem. Eng. Technol. 37 (2014) 2185–2189.
[61] Z.G. Yuan, W. Song, Y.Z. Liu, X.F. Kang, B. Peng, T. Wang, Regeneration of SO2 loaded
sodium phosphate solution in rotating packed bed, J. Chem. Eng. Jpn 47 (2014)
777–781.
[62] C.Q. Pan, X.H. Deng, Characteristics and application of multi-spraying high gravity
rotating packed bed, Sulfuric Acid Ind. 6 (2007) 31–38 (in Chinese).
[63] E. Bekassy-Molnar, E. Marki, J.G. Majeed, Sulphur dioxide absorption in air-lift-tube
absorbers by sodium citrate buffer solution, Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif. 44
(2005) 1039–1046.
[64] J. Xue, L. Meng, B. Shen, S. Du, X. Lan, Study on desorbing sulfur dioxide from citrate
solution by ultrasonification, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 15 (2007) 486–491.
[65] S. Bai, G.W. Chu, S.-C. Li, H.K. Zou, Y. Xiang, Y. Luo, J.F. Chen, SO2 removal in a pilot
scale rotating packed bed, Environ. Eng. Sci. 32 (2015) 806–815.
[66] G.W. Chu, J. Fei, Y. Cai, Y. Liu, Y. Gao, Y. Luo, J.F. Chen, Removal of SO2 with sodium
sulfite solution in a rotating packed bed, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 57 (2018) 2329–2335.
[67] Z.G. Yuan, Y.Z. Liu, W. Song, X.F. Kang, T. Wang, B. Peng, Removal of sulfur dioxide
from flue gas by sodium phosphate buffer solution in a co-current rotating packed
bed, Chem. Ind. Eng. Prog. 33 (2014) 1327–1331 (in Chinese).
[68] J.F. Chen, H.K. Zou, G.W. Chu, H. Zhao, L. Shao, High gravity technology and its indus-
trial application, S. P. BMH. Relat. Eng. 106 (2012) 6–10 (in Chinese).
[69] J. Xu, J.F. Chen, H.K. Zou, G.W. Chu, H. Zhao, Application of high gravity desulfuriza-
tion technology in sulfuric acid industry, S. P. BMH. Relat. Eng. 112 (2013) 32–36 (in
Chinese).
[70] P. Li, S.Y. Pan, S. Pei, Y.J. Lin, P.C. Chiang, Challenges and perspectives on carbon fix-
ation and utilization technologies: An overview, Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 16 (2016)
1327–1344.
[71] Y.Q. Xing, Y.Z. Liu, L.J. Cui, Experimental study on intensification absorption of car-
bon dioxide from simulation flue gas by high-gravity rotary packed bed, Modern
Chem. Ind. 27 (2007) 470–473 (in Chinese).
[72] H. Chen, T.C. Tsai, C.S. Tan, CO2 capture using amino acid sodium salt mixed with
alkanolamines, Int. J. Greenhouse Gas Control 79 (2018) 127–133.
[73] E.E. Chang, S.Y. Pan, Y.H. Chen, C.S. Tan, P.C. Chiang, Accelerated carbonation of steel-
making slags in a high-gravity rotating packed bed, J. Hazard. Mater. 227-228 (2012)
97–106.
[74] S.Y. Pan, Y.H. Chen, C.D. Chen, A.L. Shen, M. Lin, P.C. Chiang, High-gravity carbon-
ation process for enhancing CO2 fixation and utilization exemplified by the steel-
making industry, Environ. Sci. Technol. 49 (2015) 12380–12387.
[75] S.Y. Pan, P.C. Chiang, Y.H. Chen, C.S. Tan, E.E. Chang, Ex situ CO2 capture by carbon-
ation of steelmaking slag coupled with metalworking wastewater in a rotating
packed bed, Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (2013) 3308–3315.
[76] E. Oko, C. Ramshaw, M. Wang, Study of intercooling for rotating packed bed ab-
sorbers in intensified solvent-based CO2 capture process, Appl. Energy 223 (2018)
302–316.
[77] T.N. Borhani, E. Oko, M. Wang, Process modelling and analysis of intensified CO2
capture using monoethanolamine (MEA) in rotating packed bed absorber, J. Clean.
Prod. 204 (2018) 1124–1142.
[78] N. Chamchan, J.Y. Chang, H.C. Hsu, J.L. Kang, D.S.H. Wong, S.S. Jang, J.F. Shen, Com-
parison of rotating packed bed and packed bed absorber in pilot plant and model
simulation for CO2 capture, J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng. 73 (2017) 20–26.
[79] Y.Z. Liu, P. Li, Y. Li, R.C. Kang, J.X. Diao, Pilot test on treatment of high concentration
nitrogen oxides by high gravity technology, Chem. Ind. Eng. Prog. 26 (2007)
1058–1061 (in Chinese).
[80] Y. Li, Y. Liu, L. Zhang, Q. Su, G. Jin, Absorption of NOx into nitric acid solution in ro-
tating packed bed, Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 18 (2010) 244–248.
[81] L.L. Zhang, J.X. Wang, Q. Sun, X.F. Zeng, J.F. Chen, Removal of nitric oxide in rotating
packed bed by ferrous chelate solution, Chem. Eng. J. 181–182 (2012) 624–629.
[82] X.L. Meng, Y.Z. Liu, W.Z. Jiao, H. Wang, Study on treatment technology for tail gas of
nitro phosphate plant, M-Sized Nitrogenous Fertilizer Prog. 2 (2008) 41–43 (in Chinese).
[83] X.L. Meng, Y.Z. Liu, W.Z. Jiao, H. Wang, Research on treatment of ammonia in phos-
phate tail gas by rotating packed bed, Chem. Ind. Eng. Prog. 27 (2008) 308–310
(in Chinese).
[84] L.J. Cui, Y.Z. Liu, W.Z. Jiao, Y.Q. Xing, Recovery of solvent mixture from propellant and
explosive plant by high-gravity absorption technology, Chin. J. Explosives Propellants
30 (2007) 51–53.
[85] W.Z. Jiao, Y.Z. Liu, L.J. Cui, Pilot-scale research on absorption of acetic acid tail gas by
high-gravity technology, Chin. J. Explosives Propellants 32 (2009) 59–61.
[86] X.H. Deng, D.L. Tian, Y.Z. Luo, Experimental study of micron dust removal using
high-gravity rotating bed, Sulfuric Acid. Ind. 6 (2010) 16–20 (in Chinese).