ABSORPTION
Gas absorption is a process in which a gas mixture is in
placed in contact with a liquid for the purpose of
preferential dissolving of one or more components of
the gas mixture
Examples:
- NH3 is removed from oven gas by water
- CO2, H2S are removed from natural gas using
water solutions of alkaline salts
- Benzene, toluene are removed from natural gas
using hydrocarbon oil
Solubility of gases in liquid
• The solubility of any gas is influenced by the temperature
• The solution of a gas results in an evolution of heat
• In most cases the solubility of a gas decreases with
increasing temperature
• On the other hand, the solubility of many of the low-
molecular weight gases such as hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, methane and others in water increases with
increased temperature above about 100oC
• This phenomenon is used in ore-leaching operation
where oxygen-bearing solutions are required
Ideal Liquid Solutions
Characteristics of Ideal solutions:
1. The average intermolecular force of attraction and
repulsion in the solution are unchanged on mixing the
constituents
2. The volume of the solution varies linearly with
composition
3. There is neither absorption nor evolution of heat in
mixing the constituents
4. The total vapor pressure of the solution varies linearly
with composition expressed as mole fraction
Raoult’s Law
If ideal gas is in equilibrium with ideal mixture we can
apply the following expression to find partial
pressures of the components:
*
P px
The partial pressure P* of a solute gas A equals the
product of its vapor pressure p at the same
temperature and its mole fraction in the solution x
Equilibrium relations for dilute solutions:
Henry’s law
Henry’s law is valid for dilute solutions,
p A Py A H (T ) x A where A does not ionize, dissociate or
react in the liquid phase
Absorption: General design considerations
1. Entering gas composition flow rate, temperature and pressure Design
objective
2. Desired degree of separation
3. Choice of solvent:
- High gas solubility Thermophysical
- Low volatility characteristics
- Low corrosiveness
- Low cost
- Low viscosity
- Non-toxic, non-explosive
4. Minimum solvent flow rate -> actual solvent flow rate Basic design
5. Number of equilibrium stages elements
6. Heat/cooling requirements
7. Type of absorber Technical
8. Geometrical parameters of the system/economy specifications
Characteristics of Solvent for Absorption
Gas solubility:
The gas solubility should be high, thus increasing the rate of
absorption and decreasing the quantity of solvent required
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
Hydrogen sulfide can be removed from gas mixtures using
ethanolamine solutions since the sulfide is readily absorbed at low
temp and easily stripped at high tem
Caustic soda will absorb H2S excellently but not release it in a
stripping operation
Volatility
The solvent should have a low vapor pressure
The gas leaving an absorption operation is ordinarily
saturated with the solvent and thereby lost
Second less volatile liquid can be used to recover the
evaporation portion of the first
Hydrogen sulfide can be absorbed by water solution of
sodium phenolate but the desulfurized gas is further
washed with water to recover the evaporated phenol
Corrosiveness
Cost: The solvent should be inexpensive
Viscosity: Low viscosity is preferred
Miscellaneous: Nontoxic, nonflammable, chemically stable
and should have a low freezing point
Mass transfer operations in packed towers
Gas outlet
Liquid inlet
Liquid outlet Gas inlet
Mass transfer operations in packed towers
Materials:
• metal
• plastic
• ceramic
Choice of materials depend on the corrosiveness of
the system and the cost of the material
Operating Line in Mole Fraction
Minimum Liquid-Gas Ratio for Absorber
Cocurrent Absorber
Tray Absorber
Problem
NH3 is absorbed from a gas by using water in a scrubber
under atmospheric pressure. The initial NH3 content in the
gas is 0.04 (kmol/kmol of inert gas). The recovery of NH3 by
absorption is 90%. The water enters the tower free from
NH3 .
Estimate
1. the concentration of NH3 sin the exiting liquid if the actual
water used is 1.5 times of the minimum
2. the number of theoretical stages required.
X 0.005 0.01 0.0125 0.015 0.02 0.023
Y 0.0045 0.01202 0.0138 0.0183 0.0273 0.0327
Problems
Coal gas is to be free of its light oil by scrubbing
wash oil as an absorbent and the light oil is
recovered. Absorber gas is to 0.25m3/sec at
25oC .Total pressure of the system is 803mmHg
containing 2% (volume) of light oil vapors. The light
oil is entirely assumed to be benzene and 95%
removal is recovered. The wash oil enters at 25oC
containing 0.005 mole fraction and has an average
molecular weight of [Link] oil circulation rate is 1.5
times of the minimum is to be used. The temp will
be constant at 26OC and the vapor pressure of
benzene C6H6 is 100mmHg. Estimate the number of
plates.
Lsact = Lsmin * 1.5
Lsact = 1.2008 x10-3 * 1.5
Lsact =1.8013 x 10-3 K mol/sec
Ls act /Gs = (Yb –Ya ) / (Xb act –Xa )
1.8013 x 10-3 /0.01058 = (0.0204 – 0.001) / (Xbact -
0.00502)
0.17019 = 0.0194 / Xbact - 0.00502
Xbact = 0.1189
From graph:
Number of plates = 9
Absorption Factor
It is the ratio of the slope of the operating line to that of
the equilibrium curve
A = L/mG
Most economical A will be in the range from 1.25 to 2.0
The reciprocal of the absorption factor is called the
stripping factor S