Mass Transfer Unit Operations

ChEg 3114

3rd year || 2020

Tsegay G
 4. Absorption

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Terminology
• Absorption (gas absorption aka scrubbing) is an operation in
which a gas mixture is contacted with a liquid for the
purpose of preferentially dissolving one or more components
of the gas mixture and to provide a solution of them in the
liquid.
• There is a mass transfer of the component the gas from the
gas phase to the liquid phase.
• The solute transferred is said to be absorbed by the liquid.
If the transfer is in the opposite direction, that is from
liquid to gas, the operation is called desorption or stripping.

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Cont..
• Absorption is used to separate gas mixtures; remove
impurities, contaminants, pollutants, or catalyst poisons from
a gas; and recover valuable chemicals. Thus, the species of
interest in the gas mixture may be all components, only the
component(s) not transferred, or only the component(s)
transferred.
• The species transferred to the liquid absorbent are called
solutes or absorbate.
• In stripping (desorption), a liquid mixture is contacted with
a gas to selectively remove components by mass transfer
from the liquid to the gas phase. Strippers are frequently
coupled with absorbers to permit regeneration and recycle
of the absorbent.
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Cont..
Acetone may be recovered from an air-acetone mixture by
bringing the gas into intimate contact with water in which
acetone gets dissolved but air does not.
Similarly, ammonia may be recovered from an air-ammonia
stream by washing the mixture with water,
Benzene and toluene vapour are removed from coke oven gas
by washing the gas with oil.
In the examples given above, transfer is from gas phase to
liquid phase.
If the transfer is in the opposite direction, that is from
liquid to gas, the operation is called desorption or stripping.

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Cont..
• Gas absorption is usually carried out in vertical
counter current columns.
• The solvent is fed at the top of the absorber,
whereas the gas mixture enters from the
bottom
• The absorbed substance is washed out by the
solvent and leaves the absorber at the bottom
as a liquid solution .
• The solvent is often recovered in a subsequent
stripping or desorption operation . This second
step is essentially the reverse of absorption and
involves counter current contacting of the liquid
loaded with solute using and inert gas or water
vapor .
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Cont..

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Cont..
• All the three examples of absorption of acetone, ammonia
and benzene-toluene are physical processes since no
chemical interaction is involved.
• However, during absorption of oxides of nitrogen in water to
produce nitric acid or during absorption of carbon dioxide in
a solution of sodium hydroxide, chemical reactions occur,
the nature of which influences the process of absorption.
• Thus, absorption may be of two broad types: pure physical
absorption and absorption accompanied by chemical reaction.

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Cont..
• The fundamental physical principles underlying the process
of gas absorption are the solubility of the absorbed gas and
the rate of mass transfer.
• One or more of the constituents of the gas mixture
dissolves or is absorbed in the liquid and can thus be
removed from the mixture.
• In some systems, this gaseous constituent forms a physical
solution with the liquid or the solvent, and in other cases , it
reacts with the liquid chemically.

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Cont..
• The purpose of such scrubbing operations may be any of
the following :
Gas purification (eg , removal of air pollutants from
exhausts gases or contaminants from gases that will be
further processed) ,
Product Recovery , or production of solutions of gases
for various purposes.

• The absorber may be a packed column , plate column , spray

column , venturi scrubbers , bubble column , falling films ,
wet scrubbers ,stirred tanks.

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Choice of Solvent for Absorption
If the principal purpose of the absorption operation is to
produce a specific solution, the solvent is specified by
the nature of the product.

If the principal purpose is to remove some components (e.g.

impurities) from the gas, some choice is frequently possible.

The factors to be considered are:

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Cont..
1. Gas solubility
The gas solubility should be high, thus increasing the rate
of absorption and decreasing the quantity of solvent
required. Generally solvents of a chemical nature similar to
that of the solute to be absorbed will provide good
solubility.
A chemical reaction of solvent with the solute will
frequently result in very high gas solubility, but if the
solvent is to be recovered for reuse. the reaction must be
reversible.

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Cont..
2. Volatility
The solvent should have a low vapour pressure to reduce
loss of solvent in the gas leaving an absorption column.
3. Corrosiveness
The materials of construction required for the equipment
should not be unusual or expensive.
4. Cost
The solvent should be inexpensive, so that losses are not costly,
and should be readily available.

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Cont..
5. Viscosity
Low viscosity is preferred for reasons of rapid absorption
rates, improved flooding characteristics in absorption
towers, low pressure drops on pumping, and good heat
transfer characteristics.
6. Others
The solvent if possible should be nontoxic, nonflammable,
and chemically stable and should have a low freezing point.

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Equipment
Methods for designing and analyzing absorption, stripping,
and distillation depend on the type of equipment used for
contacting vapor and liquid phases.

When multiple stages are required, phase contacting is most

commonly carried out in cylindrical, vertical columns
containing trays or packing

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Cont..
• In distillation, heat drives the separation of the more
volatile from the less volatile component, this unit operation
is always counter current.

• In absorption/striping, separation is induced by addition of

third component; these unit operations can be either
counter-current or co-current.

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Trayed Columns
• Absorbers and strippers are mainly trayed towers (plate
columns) and packed columns, and less often spray towers,
bubble columns, and centrifugal contactors,

Industrial equipment for absorption and stripping: (a) trayed tower; (b) packed column;
(c) spray tower; (d) bubble column; (e) centrifugal contactor.

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Cont..
• A trayed tower is a vertical, cylindrical pressure vessel in
which vapor and liquid, flowing counter currently, are
contacted on trays or plates that provide intimate contact
of liquid with vapor to promote rapid mass transfer.

• Liquid flows across each tray, over an outlet weir, and into a
down comer, which takes the liquid by gravity to the tray
below.
• Gas flows upward through openings in each tray, bubbling
through the liquid on the tray.

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Cont..

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Cont..
• When the openings are holes, two-phase-flow regimes may
occur.
• The most common and favored regime is the froth regime, in
which the liquid phase is continuous and the gas passes
through in the form of jets or a series of bubbles.
• The spray regime, in which the gas phase is continuous,
occurs for low weir heights (low liquid depths) at high gas
rates.
• For low gas rates, the bubble regime can occur, in which the
liquid is fairly quiescent and bubbles rise in swarms.

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Cont..
• At high liquid rates, small gas bubbles may be undesirably
emulsified.
• If bubble coalescence is hindered, an undesirable foam
forms.
• Ideally, the liquid carries no vapor bubbles (occlusion) to the
tray below, the vapor carries no liquid droplets(entrainment)
to the tray above, and there is no weeping of liquid through
the holes in the tray.
• With good contacting, equilibrium between the exiting vapor
and liquid phases is approached on each tray, unless the
liquid is very viscous.

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Cont..

Possible vapor–liquid flow regimes for a contacting tray: (a) spray; (b) froth; (c)
emulsion; (d) bubble; (e) cellular foam.

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Packed Columns
• A packed column is a vessel containing one or more sections
of packing over whose surface the liquid flows downward as
a film or as droplets between packing elements. Vapor flows
upward through the wetted packing, contacting the liquid.
• The packed sections are contained between a gas-injection
support plate, which holds the packing, and an upper hold-
down plate, which prevents packing movement.
• A liquid distributor, placed above the hold-down plate,
ensures uniform distribution of liquid over the cross
sectional area of the column as it enters the packed section.

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Cont..

If the height of packing is more than

about 20 ft, liquid channeling may occur,
causing the liquid to flow down near the
wall, and gas to flow up the center of
the column, thus greatly reducing the
extent of vapor–liquid contact.
In that case, liquid redistributors need
to be installed.

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Cont..
• Commercial packing materials include random(dumped)
packings and structured(arranged, ordered, or stacked)
packings

• As packing size increases, mass-transfer efficiency and

pressure drop decrease. Therefore, an optimal packing size
exists.

• However, to minimize liquid channeling, nominal packing size

should be less than one-eighth of the column diameter.

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Cont..
• Metal packings are usually preferred because of their
superior strength and good wettability, but their costs are
high.
• Ceramic packings, which have superior wettability but inferior
strength, are used in corrosive environments at elevated
temperatures.
• Plastic packings, usually of polypropylene, are inexpensive and
have sufficient strength, but may have poor wettability at low
liquid rates.
• Although they are considerably more expensive per unit
volume than random packings, structured packings exhibit less
pressure drop per theoretical stage and have higher
efficiency and capacity.
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Cont..
Absorber and stripper design or analysis requires
consideration of the following factors:
1. Entering gas (liquid) flow rate, 6. Heat effects and need for cooling
composition, T and P (heating)
2. Desired degree of recovery of 7. Number of equilibrium stages and
one or more solutes stage efficiency
3. Choice of absorbent (stripping 8. Type of absorber (stripper)
agent) equipment (trays or packing)
4. Operating P and T, and allowable 9. Need for redistributors if packing
gas pressure drop is used
5. Minimum absorbent (stripping 10. Height of absorber (stripper)
agent) flow rate and actual 11. Diameter of absorber (stripper)
absorbent (stripping agent) flow
rate
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Cont..
• The ideal absorbent should have (a) a high solubility for the
solute(s); (b) a low volatility to reduce loss; (c) stability and
inertness; (d) low corrosiveness; (e) low viscosity and high
diffusivity; (f) low foaming proclivities; (g) low toxicity and
flammability; (h) availability, if possible, within the process;
and (i) a low cost.
• The most widely used absorbents are water, hydrocarbon
oils, and aqueous solutions of acids and bases.
• The most common stripping agents are steam, air, inert
gases, and hydrocarbon gases.

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Graphical method for trayed towers
For the countercurrent-flow,
trayed tower for absorption
(or stripping) shown in the
figure, stages are numbered
from top (where the
absorbent enters) to bottom
for the absorber; and from
bottom (where the stripping
agent enters) to top for the
stripper.
Phase equilibrium is assumed
between the vapor and liquid
leaving each tray.
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Cont..

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Cont..
Assume for an absorber that only solute is
transferred from one phase to the other. Let:
L’ = molar flow rate of solute-free absorbent

V’ = molar flow rate of solute-free gas (carrier gas)

X = mole ratio of solute to solute-free absorbent in

the liquid
Y = mole ratio of solute to solute-free gas in the vapor

Values of L’ and V’ remain constant through the tower, assuming no

vaporization of absorbent into carrier gas or absorption of carrier gas by
liquid.
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Cont..
Mole Ratios
We can then define the gas and liquid molar ratios as

The molar ratios are related to the mole fractions for solute i
by   𝑦𝑖   𝑥𝑖
𝑌 𝑖= 𝑋 𝑖=
1− y𝑖 1− x 𝑖
For the solute at any stage n, the K-value is

------- (1)

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Operating Lines (from Material Balances)
• At both ends of the towers in Figure 1, entering and leaving
streams are paired. For the absorber, the pairs at the top
are (X0, L’ and Y1, V’) and (YN+1, V’ and XN, L’) at the bottom;
for the stripper, (XN+1, L’ and YN, V’) at the top and (Y0, V’ and
X1, L’) at the bottom.
• These terminal pairs can be related to intermediate pairs of
passing streams between stages by solute material balances
for the envelopes shown in Figure 1.
• The balances are written around one end of the tower and
an arbitrary intermediate equilibrium stage, n.

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Cont..
For the absorber,

Equations (3) and (5) are operating lines. The terminal points represent
conditions at the top and bottom of the tower. operating lines are
straight with a slope of L’/V’.
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Minimum Absorbent Flow Rate (for ∞ Stages)

Figure 2. Operating lines for an absorber

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 Minimum Absorbent Flow Rate (for ∞ Stages)
Operating lines for four absorbent
flow rates are shown in Figure 2,
where each line passes through the
terminal point, (Y1,X0), at the top of
the column, and corresponds to a
different liquid absorbent rate and
corresponding operating-line slope,
L’/V’.
To achieve the desired value of Y1 for
given YN+1, X0, and V’ , the solute-free
absorbent flow rate L’ must be
between an ∞ absorbent flow (line 1)
and a minimum absorbent rate
(corresponding to ∞ stages),L’min(line
Figure 2. Operating lines for an absorber
4).
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Cont..
The solute concentration in the outlet liquid, XN(and, thus,
the terminal point at the bottom of the column, YN+1, XN),
depends on L’ by a material balance on the solute for the
entire absorber. From (2), for n=N,

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Cont..
The minimum absorbent flow rate, L’min, corresponds to a
value of XN (leaving the bottom of the tower) in equilibrium
withYN+1, the solute concentration in the feed gas. Note that
it takes an infinite number of stages for this equilibrium to
be achieved. An expression for L’min of an absorber can be
derived from (7) as follows.
For stage N, (1) for the minimum absorbent rate is

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Cont..
Solving (8) for XN and substituting the result into (7),

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Cont..

Read and do more about this

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Group Assignment
Crystallization
-Introduction
Drying -Body (definition,
Leaching application, diagram, …)
Ion exchange -summary

(To be submitted by February 5/2021)

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Quiz 2 (5 minutes)
1. Why should solvent has to be low vapor pressure in
absorption ? (1pt)
2. Write at least four differences between distillation and
absorption. (2pts)
3. Write 2 general purposes of absorption. (2pts)

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