MUHAMMAD NAEEM

2002-CHEM-750-B

Department Of Chemical Engineering

University Of Engineering &Technology,
Lahore
 Designing Of Scrubber
Scrubbing is a common name given to the
unit operation normally known as the gas
absorption. In this process, mass is
transferred from the gas phase into a liquid
phase for the purpose of removing certain
component from the gas stream.
Obviously, the material to be transferred
has to be soluble in the liquid for the
process to be effective and herein lies one
of the most important aspects of scrubbing:
selection of the proper scrubbing liquid.
 PACKED SCRUBBERS:
Many different types of scrubbers are
used in industry. Packed scrubbers are
indicated when high efficiency is
required and when flexibility is
desirable.
The main advantages of the packed
scrubbers over others are:
Packed scrubbers are more economical
and effective for larger flows.
Packed scrubbers are more economical
when large fractional removals are
required (in excess of 98%).
Packed scrubbers are more
economical when high volatility
compounds are to be removed
because they offer very large transfer
areas and the ability to operate
counter-currently.
Packed scrubbers offer better
operability range than any other type
of scrubber.
Packed scrubbers operate at a
fraction of the pressure drop of trayed
ones. This reduces the horsepower
requirements for gas movement in the
tower.
 Designing Steps :
Selection of column.
Selection of packing material.
Calculating the flooding & then the
operating mass velocity.
Calculating actual dia. of column.
Finding the no. of transfer units (NOG).
Determining the height of transfer units
(HOG).
Determining the height of packing.
Determining the height of the column.
Determining the pressure drop
 Temp =176 0F
Press =1.02atm
Ethyl ether=57.01%
Ethanol=7.28%
Water =34.84%
SO2 =0.0086%
O2=0.87%

Temp = 77 0F
Dilute NaOH sol.

Temp =262 0F
Press 1.12 atm
Ethyl ether=40.17% Temp =?
Ethanol=5.13% NaHSO3 =0.721%
Water =52.88% NaOH=0.036%
SO2=1.22% Water=99.24%
O2=0.61% T-101
 Diameter Of the column:
Flooding mass Velocity;

L  g

G  L
= 0.022

from graph
GC  
0.2
2
 
f L  w 
g      = 0.2
'

c g L  L 

G’ (at flooding) = 2143.49 lb/ft2.hr

Operating mass Velocity; For 60% of the flooding rate

G (opt) = 1286.09 lb/ft2.hr

 Cross sectional area = flow rate / mass velocity

A = 10.23 ft2

( / 4) D 2 = 10.23 ft2
Therefore

D = 3.6 ft
D = 1.1 m
 Height Of Packing (Zp)

The Height of Packing is:

Zp = Height of Transfer Unit × No. Of

Transfer Unit
i.e.

Z = HOG × NOG
“No. of Transfer Units”
yb = mole fraction of SO2 in entering
gas = 0.0122
ya = mole fraction of SO2 in exit
gas = 0.000086
b
dy
b
dy yb
N OG   y  y *   y  ln( y )
a a
a

NOG = 5
“Height of Transfer Unit”

Height of Transfer Unit is:

 H G
H OG  m H m

L
G
m
L
 “Height of Transfer Unit”

 0.75 0.1 0.05 0.2 

aw   c   Lw   Lw2 a


 2 
 Lw  
 1  exp 1.45    
a   l   a L    L2 g


  a
 L L  
         
 

aw = 77.92 m2/m3

1
  
1

 *
 
K L  L   0.0051 Lw
3

 ad 
2
 L
 0.4
 L g   aw  L   L DL 
p
   
KL = 4.79 x 10-5m/s
 Height of Transfer Unit

0.7
 Vw   v 
 ad p 
K G RT 2
 K 5   
aDV  a v    v Dv 

KG = 8.886× 10 -4 kmol/m2sec.atm
 Height of Transfer Unit

Gm
HG 
K G aw P

HG = 0.593 m

Lm
HL 
K L a w Ct

HL = 0.28 m
 Height of Transfer Unit

mGm
H OG  HG   HL
Lm

HOG = 0.803 m
or
HOG = 2.63 ft
“Height of Packing”

Zp = HOG x NOG

Zp = 3.97m

Zp = 13.03ft
“Total Height of The Column”
Prividing,Approximately,2 m for the liquid &
gas distribution at the bottom & at the top
of the column,
So,
total Height of Packed column:
Zt = Zp + (height for distribution)
Zt = 3.97+2 m
= 5.97 m
Or
Zt = 19.6 ft
 “Pressure Drop”
2
G L
P    10 ( )
G
∆P = 0.84 in H2O/ft of packing

∆Pt = 10.9 in H2O

∆Pt = 0.027 atm

 “Specification sheet”
Unit: Scrubber

Item No: T-101

Function: Removal of SO2

Operating pressure: 1.0 atm

Diameter of the column : 3.6 ft

Number of Transfer Units : 5

Specification sheet
Height of Transfer Unit : 2.63 ft

Height of Packing : 13.03 ft

Height of Column : 19.60 ft

Packing : 1 inch Ceramic Intalox Saddles

Total Pressure Drop : 0.027 atm

Distributor: Trough Type Liquid Distributor