Department of Chemical Engineering

University of San Carlos Technological Center

Nasipit, Talamban, Cebu City

ChE 422L
Chemical Engineering Laboratory 1

Absorption
(Hydrodynamics in a Packed Absorption Column)

An initial report submitted to

Engr. May V. Tampus

by
Group 4
Loyao, Alger Jr. S.
Manlangit, Kirck Brandon L.
Siclot, Karynne Bernardine G.

February 2, 2015

1. Objectives

Determine experimentally the pressure drop across a wet column as a function of

the air flow rate and compare the results with theoretically calculated values.
Determine through visual observation and by graphical methods the loading and

the flooding points of the packed column at pre-set values of water flow rates.
Construct from experimental data the loading and the flooding curves of the
packed column based on the generalized correlations proposed by Sherwood,
Shipley and Holloway.

2. Processed Data and Discussion

Table 1. Experimental and theoretical values of pressure drop across a wet column as a
function of air flow rate.

experimental
air flow rate (L/min)
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170

Trial 1
P (cm H2O)
0.4
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.6
2.0
2.4
2.8
3.2
3.6
4.0
4.6
5.0

Trial 2
P (cm H2O)
0.4
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.7
2.0
2.4
2.8
3.5
3.8
4.2
4.6
5.0

theoretical
at 28C
P (cm H2O)
0.02
0.05
0.08
0.12
0.16
0.21
0.27
0.34
0.41
0.49
0.58
0.67
0.78
0.89
1.00
1.13

From the table above, the pressure drop values become greater as the air flow rate is
increased. Therefore, the pressure drop is directly proportional to the air flow rate. The
increase in pressure drop is due to the increase in drag force against the packing and other
friction forces present within the column.
2

The pressure drop measurements in relation to the air flow rate are plotted on a log-log
plot as shown in Figure 1. The theoretical values are also plotted, and it can be observed
that the pressure drop values obtained experimentally are greater than the calculated
values. This is to be expected because the only factors considered in calculating the for
the theoretical pressure drop are those in the Ergun equation and the effect of the column
wall. Moreover, the theoretical values represent that of a dry column, whereas the
measured pressure drop values are for a wetted column. For the same air flow rate, the
pressure drop in a wetted column is greater than that in a dry column. The packings in the
wetted column are partly filled with water thereby decreasing the cross-sectional area for
the air to flow through.

10.00

1.00
pressure drop (cm H2O)
Trial 1

Trial 2
0.10

theoretical

0.01
10

100

1000

air flow rate (L/min)

Figure 1. Pressure drop across a wet column as a function of air flow rate

The loading points and flooding points of the packed column used in the experiment at
set values of water flow rates can be determined both visually and graphically. The
loading point is when the liquid will start accumulating in the column because it is
hindered by the gas flowing in the opposite direction. The flooding point is when the
liquid in the column will overflow.

Figure 2. Loading point (a) and flooding point (b) of the packed column.

200.0

20.0

log (P/L)
1.5 L/min

2 L/min

2.5 L/min

3 L/min

3.5 L/min

4 L/min

2.0

0.2
15

150
log v

Figure 3. Pressure drop of the packed column with loading point and flooding point at
different water flow rates.
4

0.1000

0.0100
1.5 L/min
2 L/min
2.5 L/min

(vt)2a0.2G/(Lg3)

3 L/min
0.0010

3.5 L/min
4 L/min
4.5 L/min

0.0001
0.1000

1.0000

10.0000

(L/G)*(G/L)^0.5

Figure 4. Correlation by Sherwood, Shipley and Holloway for estimating flooding at given
liquid to gas rates

3. Appendices
Table 2. Data for packed column settings
Packed Column Settings
(No. 3 of Table 422.5-1)
Sampling
S1 and
Points:
S2
water flow rates (L/min)
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5

Calculation of theoretical pressure drop:

150 v L (1 ) 1.75 v 2 L (1 ) 4 f L v 2
P=
+
+
d
2D
d2
3
3
v=

4
D2

f=

16
N

N =

Dv

where:

L
D

d
P

v
f
NRe

air viscosity (kg/m.s)

air density (kg/m3)
column height (m)
column diameter (m)
packing void space
packing diameter (m)
pressure drop (N/m2)
air flow rate (m3/s)
air velocity (m/s)
fanning friction factor
Reynolds number

The Ergun equation is used plus the friction loss from the column wall to determine
the pressure drop values. The fanning friction factor was calculated assuming the flow in
the column is laminar. The same equation for the friction factor was used even beyond a
Reynolds number of 2100.
Table 3. Reynolds number and fanning friction factor at corresponding gas flow rates.

air flow
rate,
(L/min)
20
30

air flow
rate,
(m3/s)
0.00033
3
0.00050
0

air
velocity,
v (m/s)

Reynold
s
number,
NRe

fanning
friction
factor, f

0.075

357.48

0.0448

0.113

536.22

0.0298
6

0.00066
7
0.00083
3
0.00100
0
0.001167
0.00133
3
0.00150
0
0.00166
7
0.00183
3
0.00200
0
0.00216
7
0.00233
3
0.00250
0
0.00266
7
0.00283
3

40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170

0.151

714.96

0.0224

0.189

893.70

0.0179

0.226

1072.44

0.0149

0.264

1251.18

0.0128

0.302

1429.92

0.0112

0.340

1608.66

0.0099

0.377

1787.40

0.0090

0.415

1966.14

0.0081

0.453

2144.88

0.0075

0.490

2323.62

0.0069

0.528

2502.36

0.0064

0.566

2681.10

0.0060

0.604

2859.85

0.0056

0.641

3038.59

0.0053

Correlation by Sherwood, Shipley and Holloway:

v 2t a G 0.2
L
L =f
3
G
g L

( )

where:
L
G
vt
a
g

( )
G
L

water mass velocity (kg/s)

air mass velocity (kg/s)
superficial gas velocity (m/s)
packing specific area (m2/m3)
gravitational constant (m/s2)
packing void space

air density (kg/m3)

water density (kg/m3)
water viscosity (kg/m.s)

G
L
L

y (ordinate)=

v 2t a G 0.2
L
g 3 L

x (abscissa)=

L G
G L

( )

Table 4. Values of x and y for log-log plot of correlation.

1.5
x
2.1803
1.4535
1.0902
0.8721
0.7268
0.6229
0.5451
0.4845
0.4361
0.3964
0.3634
0.3354
0.3115
0.2907
0.2725
0.2565
0.2423

y
0.0003
0.0006
0.0011
0.0018
0.0025
0.0034
0.0045
0.0057
0.0070
0.0085
0.0101
0.0118
0.0137
0.0158
0.0179
0.0202
0.0227
3.5

x
5.0957
3.3971
2.5478
2.0383
1.6986
1.4559

y
0.0003
0.0006
0.0011
0.0017
0.0025
0.0034

water flow rate (L/min)

2
2.5
3
x
y
x
y
x
y
2.9069 0.0003 3.6336 0.0003 4.3677 0.0003
1.9379 0.0006 2.4224 0.0006 2.9118 0.0006
1.4534 0.0011 1.8168 0.0011 2.1839 0.0011
1.1627 0.0017 1.4534 0.0017 1.7471 0.0017
0.9690 0.0025 1.2112 0.0025 1.4559 0.0025
0.8305 0.0034 1.0382 0.0034 1.2479 0.0034
0.7267 0.0045 0.9084 0.0045 1.0919 0.0045
0.6460 0.0057 0.8075 0.0057 0.9706 0.0056
0.5814 0.0070 0.7267 0.0070 0.8735 0.0070
0.5285 0.0085 0.6607 0.0085 0.7941 0.0084
0.4845 0.0101 0.6056 0.0101 0.7280 0.0100
0.4472 0.0118 0.5590 0.0118 0.6720 0.0118
0.4153 0.0137 0.5191 0.0137 0.6240 0.0137
0.3876 0.0157 0.4845 0.0157 0.5824 0.0157
0.3634 0.0179 0.4542 0.0179 0.5460 0.0178
0.3420 0.0202 0.4275 0.0202 0.5138 0.0201
0.3230 0.0226 0.4037 0.0226 0.4853 0.0226
water flow rate (L/min)
4
4.5
x
y
x
y
5.8137 0.0003 6.5516
0.0003
3.8758 0.0006 4.3677
0.0006
2.9069 0.0011 3.2758
0.0011
2.3255 0.0017 2.6206
0.0017
1.9379 0.0025 2.1839
0.0025
1.6611 0.0034 1.8719
0.0034
8

1.2739
1.1324
1.0191
0.9265
0.8493
0.7839
0.7280
0.6794
0.6370
0.5995
0.5662

0.0045
0.0056
0.0070
0.0084
0.0100
0.0118
0.0137
0.0157
0.0178
0.0201
0.0226

1.4534
1.2919
1.1627
1.0570
0.9690
0.8944
0.8305
0.7752
0.7267
0.6840
0.6460

0.0045
0.0057
0.0070
0.0085
0.0101
0.0118
0.0137
0.0157
0.0179
0.0202
0.0226

1.6379
1.4559
1.3103
1.1912
1.0919
1.0079
0.9359
0.8735
0.8189
0.7708
0.7280

0.0045
0.0056
0.0070
0.0084
0.0100
0.0118
0.0137
0.0157
0.0178
0.0201
0.0226

4. References
Geankoplis, C. J. (2003). Principles of Transport Processes and Separation Processes.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall.