CHAPTER THREE

ABSORPTION
 Absorption and Stripping
 Absorption (or scrubbing) is the removal of a component (the
solute or absorbate) from a gas stream via uptake by a non-
volatile liquid (the solvent or absorbent).
 Absorption is used to separate gas mixture; remove impurities,
contaminants, pollutants, or catalyst poisons from gas; or
recovery of valuable chemicals.
 Desorption (or stripping) is the removal of a component from a
liquid stream via vaporization and uptake by an insoluble gas
stream.
 Thus, absorption and stripping are opposite unit operations, and
are often used together as a cycle.
 Both absorption and stripping can be operated as equilibrium
stage processes using tray columns or, more commonly, using
packed columns.
The inert gas in the gas mixture is called “carrier gas”.
In the absorption process of ammonia from air-
ammonia mixture by water, air is carrier gas, ammonia
is ‘‘solute” and water is absorbent.
An intimate contact between solute gas and absorbent
liquid is achieved in a suitable absorption equipment,
namely, tray tower, packed column, spray tower,
venture scrubber, etc.
Absorption operation is of two types; physical and
chemical.
Absorber/Stripper Cycle
 Absorption Systems – Physical
Physical absorption relies on the solubility of a particular
gas in a liquid (e.g. absorption of acetone from acetone – air
mixture by water).
This solubility is often quite low; consequently, a relatively
large amount of liquid solvent is needed to obtain the
required separation.
This liquid solvent containing the solute is typically
regenerated by heating or stripping to drive the solute back
out.
Because of the low solubility and large solvent amounts
required in physical absorption, chemical absorption is also
used.
 Absorption Systems – Chemical
 Chemical absorption relies on reaction of a particular gas
with a reagent in a liquid (e.g. absorption of nitrogen
oxides by water to produce nitric acid).
 This absorption can often be quite high; consequently, a
smaller amount of liquid solvent/reagent is needed to
obtain the required separation.
 However, the reagent may be relatively expensive, and it is
often desirable to regenerate when possible.
Equipment
Absorption and stripping are conducted in tray towers
(plate column), packed column, spray tower, bubble
column, and centrifugal contactors. The first two types
of these equipment will be discussed.
Tray tower:
A tray tower is a vertical, cylindrical pressure vessel in
which gas and liquid, which flow counter currently,
are contacted on a series of metal trays or plates.
Liquid flows across any tray over an outlet weir, and
into a down comer, which takes the liquid by gravity
to the tray below.
The gas flows upward through opening in each tray,
bubbling through the liquid on the other tray.
A schematic diagram for the flow patterns inside the
tray column is shown below.

Figure : Typical cross-flow plate (sieve)

 Packed tower
The packed column is a vertical, cylindrical pressure
vessel containing one or more section of packing material
over which the liquid flows down wards by gravity as a
film or as droplets between packing elements.
 Gas flows upwards through the wetted packing
contacting the liquid.
The sections of packing are contained between a lower
gas - injection support plate, which holds the packing,
and an upper grid or mish hold-down plate, which
prevent packing movement.
A liquid distributor, placed above the hold-down plate,
ensures uniform distribution of liquid as it enters the
packing section.
Figure: Packing absorber column
 General Design Consideration
Design or analysis of an absorber (or stripper) requires
consideration of a number of factors, including:
1. Entering gas (liquid) flow rate, composition,
temperature, and pressure.
2. Design degree of recovery (R) of one or more solutes.
3. Choice absorbent (solvent).
4. Operating pressure and temperature and allowable
pressure drop.
5. Minimum absorbent (solvent) flowrate and actual
solvent flowrate as a multiple of the minimum rate
needed to make the separation.
.
 Cont’d
6. Number of equilibrium stages.
7. Heat effects and need for cooling (heating).
8. Type of absorber (stripper) equipment.
9. Height of absorber (stripper) column.
10. Diameter of absorber (stripper) column
 Selection of solvent for absorption
 If the objective of absorption is separation of a particular
component from a mixture, selection of absorbent plays a great
role.
 Few criteria for the selection of an absorbent/solvent are as
follows:
(A) Gas Solubility: High solubility of a gas in the solvent is
preferred, utilizing low quantity of solvent.
(B) Volatility: Low volatility or low vapor pressure of the solvent
enhances the absorption operation as solvent loss with carrier
gas is very small.
(C) Viscosity: For better absorption, a solvent of low viscosity is
required.
(D)Corrosiveness: Non-corrosive or less corrosive
solvent reduces equipment construction cost as well as
maintenance cost.
(E) Cost: The solvent should be cheap so that losses will
be insignificant and should be easily available.
(F) Toxicity and Hazard: The solvent should be non-
toxic, nonflammable, non-hazardous and should be
chemically stable.
The most widely absorbent (solvent) used are water,
hydrocarbon oils, and aqueous solutions of acids and
bases. While the most common stripping agents used are
water vapor, air, inert gases, and hydrocarbon gases.
Types and Components of Absorbers
 Spray-Tower Absorbers
 Tray-Tower Absorbers

Sieve Trays Bubble-cap tray.

 Packed bed absorbers
Henry’s Law – Mole Fraction Relationship
 Absorption data is typically available in the form of solute
mole fractions, yi vs. xi, or in terms of the Henry’s
constant, H.
 Henry’s Law, in terms of the mole fractions of solute i and
the total pressure, is:
Hi Hi yi
yi  xi 
PTot PTot x i

 Henry’s Law is valid at low concentrations of solute i,

approximately less than 10%.
Henry’s Law Constants
3.1
Absorption and Stripping Assumptions
We assume that:
 The carrier gas is insoluble (or it has a very low
solubility) in the solvent.
 The solvent is nonvolatile (or it has a low vapor
pressure).
 The system is isothermal. e.g., the effects of heat of
solution or reaction are low or there is a cooling or
heating system in the column.
 The system is isobaric.
 The concentration of the solute is low, say <10% – this is
the limit for the use of Henry’s Law.
 While the total gas and liquid streams can change in
absorption, the flow rate of the carrier gas, which we assume
to be insoluble in the solvent, does not change.

 Similarly, the flow rate of the solvent, which we assume to be

nonvolatile, does not change.

 Consequently, we can define our equilibrium curve and

operating line in terms of mole ratios with respect to the
carrier gas and solvent, instead of mole fractions as we did in
distillation.

 Doing so circumvents the problem of the changing total gas

and liquid stream amounts or flowrates in absorption and
stripping.