4/8/2020 | By: Rohit N Chaudhari (J18IMT640)

Mass Transfer Operations

Write-up (Presentation)
PACKED COLUMN: It is a type of packed bed used to
perform separation processes, such as absorption, stripping, and
distillation.

1. Composition: Tower body, Pedestal, padding

supporting part, Liquid distributor, Liquid redistributor,
Tower packings and Packing hold-down grid.
2. Advantages: Lower pressure drop, Good for thermally
sensitive liquids and Cost efficient.
3. Disadvantages: Packing can break during installation
and Misdistribution of liquid.
4. Principle: It is Based on principle of counter current
contact of liquid and gas and The performance of the
column strongly depends on the arrangement of the
packing to provide good liquid and gas contact throughout
the packed bed.
5. Working: The flow direction can be seen here, liquid is
being drained and gas up flowed.
6. Random Packed Column: Random packing is packing of
specific geometrical shapes which are dumped into the
tower and orient themselves randomly. Random packing
has more risk than structured packing and less ability to
handle maldistributed liquid.

Highly used for,

a. Liquid-Liquid Extraction
b. Carbon Dioxide Scrubbing
c. Distillation

7. Structured Packed Column: They are crimped layers or

corrugated sheets which is stacked in the column. Each layer is
oriented at 70° to 90° to the layer below. Structured packed
offers 30% capacities higher than random packed for equal
efficiency up to 50% higher at the same capacity.

Highly used in,

a. Separations of Isotopes
b. High Vacuum Distillation
c. Column Revamps majorly to increase

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TRAY COLUMN: It is a chemical equipment used to carry
out unit operations where it is necessary to transfer
mass between a liquid phase and a gas phase.

1. Types: bubble cap tray, sieve deck tray, dual flow tray,
valve tray and baffle tray
2. Advantages: cost efficient, can handle higher liquid flow
rates, better at handling any source of fouling
and trays allows upward moving vapours and downward
moving liquids to have good contact.
3. Disadvantages: Foaming system reduces the
performance of plate columns, Anti foaming agents can
be made use of to suppress the foam.
4. Plate columns can handle wide range of gas and liquid
flow rates.
5. Plate efficiency can be predicted more accurately.
6. Plate column operation is considerably smooth.
7. Cooling arrangement can be provided in plate
column.
8. Plate column provide stage wise contact.
9. When the liquid cause fouling or deposition of solids,
even though the tray is blocked up, it is easier to clean it
and manholes can be provided over the plate.

Tray Designs
A tray essentially acts as a mini-column, each accomplishing
a fraction of the separation task. From this we can deduce
that the more trays there are, the better the degree of
separation and that overall separation efficiency will depend
significantly on the design of the tray. Trays are designed to
maximise vapour-liquid contact by considering the

 liquid distribution and

 vapour distribution

on the tray. This is because better vapour-liquid contact

means better separation at each tray, translating to better
column performance. Less trays will be required to achieve
the same degree of separation. Attendant benefits include
less energy usage and lower construction costs.
GAS LIQUID AGITATED VESSEL: The main purpose of
the equipment for interphase mass transfer is to provide
intimate contact of the immiscible phases

1. Composition: Agitator shaft, impeller, gas

nozzles, baffles, drain, vent, sparger, manhole,
motor, shaft seal.
2. Working: Liquid is fed to the vessel from the
top side of vessel and completely fills the
column. The gas is sparged below the impeller
midway between the center and the periphery
of the impeller and gas goes vertically upward
towards impeller.
3. Applications: Progressive freeze concentration of
skimmed milk, Liquid phase oxidation, Chlorination in
organic synthesis

FALLING FILM COLUMN: A falling-film column (or

wetted-wall column) is a particular chemical equipment used
to achieve mass and heat transfer between two fluid phases
(in general one gas phase and one liquid phase).

1. Principle: A thin film of liquid falling down the

inside of a vertical pipe through which the gas flows
constitutes a wetted wall column.
Wetted wall columns have been used as absorbers
of Hydrochloric acid, Ammonia, Acetone, Benzene
and other volatile liquids. They have also been
studied for theoretical studies for mass transfer
because the interfacial surface between the phases
is kept under control and is measurable.
2. Composition: Liquid solvent, cooling jacket,
cooling liquid.
3. Design: The falling-film column is a vertical tube or
pipe provided with such an arrangement for liquid
feeding and withdrawal.
4. Applications: Fuel ethanol industry, food
processing, and chemical service industry.

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SPRAY TOWER: It is a liquid gas contacting equipment
used to achieve mass and heat transfer between a continuous
gas phase and a dispersed liquid phase.

1. Types: Spray chamber, centrifugal scrubber, self-

induced spray, venturi scrubber, horizontal baffled
spray scrubbers, etc.
2. Advantages: Convenient, for air pollution control over
other methods, higher corrosion resistance, low capital
cost, less power consumption.
3. Disadvantages: Lower mass transfer efficiencies, In
efficient for removal of particulate matter.
4. Working Principle: It is Based on principle of
counter current contact of liquid and gas and can be
utilized in decreasing the pollutant concentration in the
atmosphere.
5. Applications: waste water treatment industry,
pharmaceutical industries, gasification

BUBBLE COLUMN: It is another type of gas liquid

contacting equipment where similar principle of gas
dispersion is used in form of bubbles through the
liquid.

1. Principle: The introduction of gas takes place at the

bottom of the column and causes a turbulent stream
to enable an optimum gas exchange.
2. Bubble column reactors belong to the general class of
multiphase reactors which consist of three main
categories namely, the trickle bed reactor (fixed or
packed bed), fluidized bed reactor, and the bubble
column reactor.
3. Bubble columns are the devices in which gas, in the
form of bubbles, come in contact with the liquid. The
purpose may be simply to mix the two phases or
substances are transferred from one phase to another
i.e. when the gaseous reactants are dissolved in liquid
or when liquid reactant products are stripped.
4. The bubble column in which the gas is fed into the
column at the bottom and rises in the liquid escaping
from it at the upper surface; the gas is consumed to a
greater or lesser extent depending on the intensity of
mass transfer and chemical reaction.
VENTURI TUBE: A Venturi tube is an instrument designed
to measure the velocity of a fluid by taking advantage of the
Venturi effect.

1. Composition: Converging Cone, cylindrical throat,

diverging cone.
2. Advantages: Simple in operation, low head loss,
tolerance of high solid content, long term reliability, no
moving parts.
3. Disadvantages: Expensive, square root pressure
velocity relationship, poor turndown ratio.
4. Applications: Automotive industry, Aeronautics,
household.
5. Venturi Effect: The Venturi effect is the reduction
in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a
constricted section of a pipe. A venturi creates a
constriction within a pipe that varies the flow
characteristics of a fluid travelling through the tube. As
the fluid velocity in the throat is increased there is a
consequential drop in pressure. The fact that a pressure
drop accompanies an increased flow velocity is
fundamental to the laws of fluid dynamics.

ROTATING DISC COLUMN: It is a continuous

contacting device for the food and beverage industries. It can
be used where well-defined contact times are necessary for
the soluble components to be efficiently transferred from
within solid particles to a liquid medium.

1. Composition: Gear box, Shaft, stators and

rotors, drive motor.
2. Principle: Inside the RDC is a central, vertical
drive shaft. Attached to the shaft is a series
of rotating discs; between each adjacent pair
of rotating discs is a stationary disc, fixed to
the column, which has a hole at its centre. Slurry
moves up the column.
3. Applications: High-temperature extraction of
soluble solids from slurries in the instant coffee
industry following the aroma recovery process.
Continuous reaction processes in the food industry
where precise temperature and times are required,
for example enzymatic reactions.