ABSORPTION

Instructor: Zafar Shakoor

 What is Absorption?
• Absorption is the transfer of one or more
materials from the gas phase to a liquid
solvent
• It is typically a physical phenomenon and
often involves no change in the chemical
species present in the system
• It is an important mitigation method
 Terminology
• Solute:- It is the material that is transferred from the gas
to the liquid phase
• Liquid desiccants:- Liquid solutions that have the
property of absorbing moisture from air, e.g., lithium
chloride and triethylene glycol
• Scrubbing:- Another term for absorption
• Salting out:- Liquid desiccants contain significant
amount of water in which the pollutants are dissolved,
and presence of certain chemicals like lithium chloride
can decrease the solubility of pollutants in water, this
phenomenon is known as salting out.
 Fundamentals
• Prediction of performance of absorbers and
absorption equipment
The first approach makes use of mass transfer
coefficients and depends on the molecular
diffusivities of the solute for the equipment in
which the operation is being carried out
 The second technique is a graphical solution
method
 The third method is described as the absorption
factor or overall approach
 Packed tower
La

Va
Demister
Liquid distributor
packing
Vb

Lb
 Material balance equation
Lb + Va = La + Vb
• V – moles of gas phase per unit time
• L – moles of liquid phase per unit time
• a,b – top and bottom of the contactor,
respectively.
Desirable properties of Tower
packing
 Large void volume to decrease pressure
drop
 Chemically inert to the fluids being
processed
 Large surface area per unit volume of
packing
 Lightweight but strong
 Good distribution of fluids
 Good wettability
 Tower packing
• Tower packings are usually available in a
variety of materials, including ceramic,
metal, plastic and carbon
• The size of an ideal tower packing must not
be greater than one-eighth of the tower
diameter
 Packing height
• The rate of mass transfer and packing
height depend on the area of contact
between the phases
• The height of a packed tower depends on
the properties and flow rates of the
contacting streams as well as on the type of
packing being used
 Application of absorption to
dehumidification and pollutant control
• Temperature and humidity are the key factors in determining
the comfort of an environment
• A significant reduction in pollutant concentrations can be
achieved by controlling the humidity of the space to be air
conditioned
• Dehumidification and pollutant control can be achieved by
absorption using spray columns, fine tube surface type
dehumidifier, packing column, liquid desiccant based HVAC
systems and absorber-stripper air conditioning systems
• Liquid desiccant systems are in use in large commercial
buildings only and not in homes or small buildings
EQUILIBRIUM SOLUBILITY
OF GASES IN LIQUlDS
• The rate at which a gaseous constituent of a
mixture will dissolve in an absorbent liquid
depends upon the departure from
equilibrium which exists, and therefore it is
necessary to consider the equilibrium
characteristics of gas-liquid systems.
 Two-Component Systems
• If a quantity of a single gas and a relatively nonvolatile liquid are
brought to equilibrium, the resulting concentration of dissolved gas in
the liquid is said to be the gas solubility at the prevailing temperature
and pressure.
• At fixed temperature, the solubility concentration will increase with
pressure in the manner, for example, of curve A, Fig. 8.1, which shows
the solubility of ammonia in water at 30°C.
• Different gases and liquids yield separate solubility curves, which
must ordinarily be determined experimentally for each system.
 Two-Component Systems
Continued
• If the equilibrium pressure of a gas at a given liquid
concentration is high, as in the case of curve B (Fig. 8.1),
the gas is said to be relatively insoluble in the liquid, while
if it is low, as for curve C, the solubility is said to be high.
• These are relative matters only, for it is possible to
produce any ultimate gas concentration in the liquid if
sufficient pressure is applied~ so long as the liquefied
form of the gas is completely soluble in the liquid.
 Two-Component Systems
Continued
• The solubility of any gas is influenced by the temperature, in a manner
described by van't Hoffs law of mobile equilibrium: if the temperature
of a system at equilibrium is raised, that change will occur which will
absorb heat.
• Usually, but not always, the solution of a gas results in an evolution of
heat, and it follows that in most cases the solubility of a gas decreases
with increasing temperature.
• As an example, curve A (Fig. 8.1) for ammonia in water at 30°C lies
above the corresponding curve for 10°C.
• At the boiling point of the solvent, provided its vapor pressure is less
than that of the gas or vapor solute, the gas solubility will be zero.
 Two-Component Systems
Continued
• 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
100°C and therefore at pressures above
atmospheric.
• This phenomenon can be usefully exploited, e.g.,
in operations such as certain ore-leaching
operations where oxygen-bearing solutions are
required.
Two-Component Systems
Continued
 Multicomponent Systems
• If a mixture of gases is brought into contact with a liquid, under
certain conditions the equilibrium solubilities of each gas will be
independent of the others, provided, however, that the equilibrium is
described in terms of the partial pressures in the gas mixture.
• If all but one of the components of the gas are substantially insoluble,
their concentrations in the liquid will be so small that they cannot
influence the solubility of the relatively soluble component, and the
generalization applies.
• Curve A (Fig. 8.1) will also describe the solubility of ammonia in
water when the ammonia is diluted with air, since air is so insoluble in
water, provided that the ordinate of the plot is considered as the partial
pressure of ammonia in the gas mixture.
 Multicomponent Systems
continued
• If several components of the mixture are appreciably soluble, the
generalization will be applicable only if the solute gases are indifferent
to the nature of the liquid, which will be the case only for ideal solutions.
• For example, a mixture of propane and butane gases will dissolve in a
nonvolatile paraffin oil independently since the solutions that result are
substantially ideal.
• On the other hand, the solubility of ammonia in water can be expected to
be influenced by the presence of methylamine, since the resulting
solutions of these gases are not ideal.
• The solubility of a gas will also be influenced by the presence of a
nonvolatile solute in the liquid, such as a salt in water solution, when
such solutions are nonideal.
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption
• If the principal purpose of the absorption operation is to produce a
specific solution, as in the manufacture of hydrochloric acid, for
example, the solvent is specified by the nature of the product.
• If the principal purpose is to remove some constituent from the gas,
some choice is frequently possible.
• Water is, of course, the cheapest and most plentiful solvent, but the
following properties are important considerations:
 Choice 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.
• Generally solvents of a chemical nature similar to that of the solute to be absorbed win
provide good solubility.
• Thus hydrocarbon oils, and not water, are used to remove benzene from coke-oven gas.
• For cases where the solutions formed are ideal. the solubility of the gas is the same in
terms of mole fractions for all solvents. But it is greater in terms of weight fractions for
solvents of low molecular weight, and smaller weights of such solvents, as measured in
pounds, need to be used.
• 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.
• For example, hydrogen sulfide can be removed from gas mixtures using ethanolamine
solutions since the sulfide is readily absorbed at low temperatures and easily stripped at
high temperatures.
• Caustic soda absorbs hydrogen sulfide excel1ently but will not release it in a stripping
operation.
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption
Volatility
• The solvent should have a low vapor pressure since the gas leaving an
absorption operation is ordinarily saturated with the solvent and much
may thereby be lost.
• If necessary, a second, less volatile liquid can be used to recover the
evaporated portion of the first, as in Fig. 8.3.
• This is sometimes done, for example, in the case of hydrocarbon
absorbers, where a relatively volatile solvent oil is used in the
principal portion of the absorber because of the superior solubility
characteristics and the volatilized solvent is recovered from the gas by
a nonvolatile oil.
• Hydrogen sulfide can be absorbed by a water solution of sodium
phenolate, but the desulfurized gas is further washed with water to
recover the evaporated phenol.
Tray absorber
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption
Corrosiveness
• The materials of construction required for
the equipment should not be unusual or
expensive.
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption
Cost
• The solvent should be inexpensive, so that
losses are not costly, and should be readily
available.
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption
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.
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption
Miscellaneous
• The solvent if possible should be nontoxic,
nonflammable, and chemically stable and
should have a low freezing point.