Tutorial 2: Packed columns and Trays
1. Acetone is to be recovered from an acetone-air mixture by counter-
current scrubbing with water in a packed tower. The inlet gas
mixture has 5 mole % acetone. The gas flow rate is 0.5 kg/m 2s (MW
= 29) and the liquid flow rate is 0.85 kg/m2s (MW = 18).
The overall mass transfer coefficient KYa may be taken as 0.0152 kg-
mole/([Link] fraction). The system may be considered as dilute.
What should be the height of the tower to remove 98% of the entering
acetone?
Mole fraction 0,0099 0,0196 0,0361 0,04
acetone (gas)
Mole fraction 0,0076 0,0156 0,0306 0,033
acetone (liquid)
Equations provided in class may be used
2. Sulfur dioxide is to be recovered from an air-SO 2 mixture by
contacting the gas mixture with pure water in a packed tower. The
tower will be operated at 30oC and 1 atm (abs).
The entering gas contains 5% mole SO2 and the exiting gas is to contain
not more than 0.5% mole SO2. Since the concentration of SO2 in water is
small, the system can be considered as dilute system. The total gas flow
rate entering the tower is 100 kg-mole/[Link]. The molecular weights of
SO2 and H2O are 64 and 18 respectively. If the overall mass transfer
coefficient for the vapour phase is KYa = 60 kg-mole/([Link]. mole fraction),
determine:
(a) the minimum pure water rate (in kg-mole/[Link]) needed for this
separation,
(b) the height of the tower (in m) required if the actual water rate
entering the tower is 1.2 times the minimum value
The equilibrium data for SO2-water system at 30oC and 1 atm (abs) are given below:
3. It is desired to absorb 90% of the acetone in a gas containing 1.0
mole% acetone in air in a counter-current tray column. The total
inlet gas flow to the column is 30.0 kg-mole/hr, and pure water is to
be used to absorb the acetone. The process is to operate
isothermally at 300 K and a total pressure of 101.32 kPa.
The equilibrium solubility relationship for acetone in water is y = 2.53 x.
Determine:
(a) the minimum pure water flow in kg-mole/hr.
(b) the number of theoretical trays required for the separation if the pure
water flow is 1.2 times the minimum.
(c) Compare your answers for part (b) using the Kremser-Brown-Souders
(KBS) Equation for gas absorption
(d) Use the KBS equation, find the number of theoretical trays required for the separation if
the pure water flow is 1.4 times and 2.0 times the minimum.