CH18601- Mass Transfer 2

Introduction to Absorption

Presented by
Dr. R. Rajesh @ Nithyanandam
 Absorption

Definition:
 Absorption is a mass transfer operation in which one or more
species (solute) is removed from a gaseous stream by dissolution in
liquid (solvent)

 Gas absorption (also known as 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.

 The insoluble component (S) present in gas is not absorbed is

called carrier gas/inert gas .

 Ex: Removal of H2S gas from the natural gas using a suitable solvent
such as aqueous amine solution
Absorption
 Desorption or Stripping

• It ‘s a reverse process of absorption, in which a absorbed

solute from a liquid by bringing the liquid in contact with
gas stream.

Ex: The CO2 loaded amine solution leaving the absorption

column is stripped of the dissolved CO2 by using open
steam in a “stripping column”.
 Interphase Mass Transfer
Equilibrium:
 To generalise the equilibrium characteristic consider that an amount of
solute from a gaseous mixture is dissolved in solvent .

 After sufficient time, the system will attain equilibrium with respect to a
particular temperature and pressure

 The net rate of diffusion is zero at equilibrium conventionally, the

concentration of solute in liquid phase is expressed by mole fraction ‘x’ and
the concentration of solute in gas phase is expressed by mole fraction ‘y’
 Characteristics of the ideal solutions

Consider the liquid as the ideal solution,

Average intermolecular force of attraction and repulsion in the solution
are unchanged on mixing the constituents

Volume of solution varies linearly with composition

There is neither absorption nor evolution of heat in mixing the

constituents

Total Vapour pressure of the solution varies linearly with expressed as

mole fraction
Raoult’s Law (Ideal liquid

solution)
“ The partial pressure pofA
a solute gas A equal to the product of its vapour pressure
(p ) at the same temperature and its mole fraction in the solution (X A)
0

PA  p0 XA
p0 A - Partial pressure of components A in mmHg
p - Vapour pressure in mmHg
XA - mole fraction of components A in liquid phase

Daltons Law of Partial Pressure: Total pressure is sum of partial

pressures
Mole fraction in gas is given by
pA
yA 
Pt

p A
- Partial pressure of components A in mmHg
Pt - Total pressure in mmHg
yA - mole fraction of components A in Gas phase
Gas-Liquid Equilibrium:
• When the gas mixture in equilibrium with an ideal liquid solution follows the
ideal gas behavior, we have Raoult's Law:
p* = Pvp x
• When the solution is non-ideal, Raoult's Law cannot be applied.
• For non-ideal solution, we must use Henry's Law which states that:
p* = Hx or y* = p* / PT = m x, where
y* = equilibrium mole fraction in gas phase
PT = total system pressure
P
m = Henry's Law Constant ( vp / PT )
 Choice of Solvent for Absorption

1. Gas Solubility (high)

– Gas Solubility should be high
– Thus increase rate of absorption and decreases the
quantity of solvent required
2. Volatility (Easily evaporated)(low)
– Good Solvent should have low vapor pressure
– Volatility or low vapour pressure so that the solvent
loss with carrier gas because of vaporization is small
3. Viscosity (low)
‾ A solvent should low viscosity
‾ So that flow easily, a viscous solvent used in a mechanically
agitated absorber requires greater power consumption
4. Corrosiveness ( Non- Corrosive)
– Use Non-Corrosive or less corrosive solvent reduces the
material cost of the equipment as well as maintenance cost
5. Cost of availability
– The solvent should be cheap and readily available
6. Easy to recover
Which means easily to be regenerated.
7. Highly Selective
The selectivity of solvent must be high in which solvent dissolve one and
leave the others.

8. Miscellaneous
– The solvent should non-toxic
– non-flammable
– chemically inert high stability
Equilibrium Relations:-
Mass transfer between G/L depends highly
on the equilibrium between G/L. Different
gases and liquids yield separate solubility
curves , which must be determined
experimentally for each system. If the
equilibrium pressure of a gas at a given
liquid concentration is high, as case (A) in
the opposite figure, the gas is said to be
relatively insoluble in liquid , while if its
low, as for curve (B) , the solubility is said
to be high.
 Effect of temperature on the equilibrium curve
• Effect of temperature on the
equilibrium curve:-
• The solubility of any gas is
influenced by the temperature. If
the temperature of the system at
equilibrium is raised , the solubility
of a gas decreases . As shown in
the opposite figure as temperature
increases for the same solute (gas)
the solubility decreases from (10-
60)oC and the absorption power
decreases .
• Absorption process is usually
accompanied by evolution of heat.
So It is necessary to fit coolers to
the absorber to keep its
temperature sufficiently low.
Factors affecting absorption process:-

• Choice of solvent flow rate :-

• Temperature
• Pressure
 There are 2 types of absorption processes: physical absorption and chemical absorption,
depending on whether there is any chemical reaction between the solute and the
.solvent (absorbent)
Physical vs chemical absorption:-
When water and hydrocarbon oils are used as absorbents, no significant chemical
reactions occur between the absorbent and the solute, and the process is commonly
.referred to as physical absorption
When aqueous sodium hydroxide (a strong base) is used as the absorbent to dissolve
an acid gas, absorption is accompanied by a rapid and irreversible neutralization
reaction in the liquid phase and the process is referred to as chemical absorption or
.reactive absorption
More complex examples of chemical absorption are processes for
absorbing CO2 and H2S with aqueous solution of mono -
ethanolamine (MEA), di -ethanolamine (DEA), di-ethyleneglycol
(DEG) or tri-ethyleneglycol (TEG), where a reversible chemical
reaction takes place in the liquid phase. Chemical reactions can
increase:-
1- the rate of absorption.
2- increase the absorption capacity of the solvent.
3-increase selectivity to a certain components of the gas, and convert
a hazardous chemical to a safe compound.
Physical absorption:-
 FACT

“Problematic paper, but solutions to the problems lies in theory”

“The only way to understand theory is reading & relating it to reality and
questioning”

“The only way to solve problems is by exercising solution to problems”

Thank you for your attention