Gas Liquid Absorption

Introduction
The absorption is a basic operation of matter transfer. It consists of the
separation of some components of a gaseous mixture by contact with a dissolving
agent.
The matter transfer separation operations imply the contact of two unmixable
phases. This contact can be intermittent, as happens in the floor columns, or
continuous, as happens in the filling columns.
Objectives
1- Study hydrodynamic characteristics of packed columns.
2- Determine flooding characteristics of packed columns.
Description of apparatus
This equipment consists of a filling column, a liquid circuit (water), gas circuit (air
and CO2) and measure and analysis elements. The following figure represents the
utilized installation in a diagrammatical way.
The main parts of the installation are the following ones:
- Filling column
This column is formed by a cylindrical glass tube of 1400 mm of length and
75 mm of inside diameter. The filler of the column is of 8 mm glass Rasching rings,
supported by a nylon breaker plate.
- Liquid circuit (water)
The liquid, that is stored in a PVC deposit with a 40 liters capacity, is impelled
towards the column with the help of a magnetic drag centrifugal pump. The maximum
flow supplied by the pump is of 540 l/h. The flow that arrives in each moment to the
column is measured with an in-line flowmeter located in the panel. The liquid feeds to
the column through its upper end via one glass diffusion shower that assures a
uniform distribution in the filler. After crossing the column, the liquid effluent is
returned to the storage tank through a conduit with hydraulic seal (to avoid possible
gas leaks) in which there is a regulatory flow valve and one sampler.
- Gas circuit (air and CO2).
The air is supplied by a blower that provides a maximum flow of 6 m3/h and a
maximum output pressure of 1 bar. The gas proceeds of a press-type bottle (not
included in the equipment). Both gases flows are measured by means of in-line
flowmeters installed in line in the panel. The two gaseous currents are mixed, and
later on intruded via the base of the column through a side entrance located below the
level of the bed, so that the gaseous mixture was the most homogeneous thing
possible.
- Measuring and analysis equipment
1- Two manometric tubes (one for water and the other for mercury) that allow
determining the load loss along the column. When the charge loss is high, in
column flood processes with a high water and gas flow for example, it will be
necessary to use this Hg manometer. On the contrary, in those cases where the
charge loss is small, the water manometer must be used.
2- A measuring of CO2 equipment, that allows to determine the concentration of this
gas in the currents originating from the upper and central parts of the column. It is
formed by a glass syringe of 100 ml capacity, dedicated to extract the specific
quantities of a sample to be analyzed. Two glass deposits located at different
heights and interconnected. They contain an aqueous solution of KOH, in which
the contained CO2 will be absorbed in the sample of gas to analyze.
3- Three way-valves to direct the gaseous currents during the analysis process.
Procedure
Hydrodynamics of Packed Columns
1- Open the VR-1 valve and close VR-2.
2- Study dry-run pressure drop by flowing only air through one of the columns. Set
air flow at 20 LPM and work your way up by raising it in increments of 20 LPM
until 120 LPM. Record the pressure drop for all air flows.
3- Open VR-3 valve.
4- Allow liquid to flow into the column and measure the pressure drop for increasing
flow rates of gas. Use five different liquid flows starting from about 2 - 5 LPM.
For each liquid flow, raise the gas flow slowly in increments of 20 LPM and
record pressure drops.
5- Once liquid holdup (loading) in the column is observed, take data at very tiny
increments in gas flow rate in order to record flooding data. Patience is needed to
obtain accurate steady-state readings especially in the holdup/flooding region. At
a given liquid and gas flowrate in the vicinity of flooding, the pressure across the
packed bed should rise slowly until the liquid holdup in the column reaches its
maximum, but the pressure readings will probably oscillate.
6- When visual flooding is observed for each run, take extra data points at air
flowrates just prior to flooding and slightly higher if possible. For example, if
flooding occurs at approximately an air flowrate of 80 LPM, then take data points
at 72, 74, 76, 80, 82, 84 LPM, etc. This will allow for a more accurate
determination of flooding and loading points from the pressure drop graphs.
Calculations
Tables and Results
Hydrodynamics of Packed Columns
Dry Air:
Air Flow Rate (LPM) Pressure Drop (cm water)
20

40

60

80

100

120

Water air:
Water Flow Rate (LPM) Air Flow Rate (LPM) Pressure Drop (cm water)
1

1
 1

Report
1- Create a log-log plot of P/H versus Qgas. Where P is the pressure drop across
the top and bottom packing sections of the tower, Qgas is the volumetric flowrate
(LPM), H is the packing height. Plot all the experiments (dry air and liquid/air) on
the same graph.
2- Determine the conditions for loading and flooding from the plots.
Useful links:
http://www.slideshare.net/dp93/gas-absorption-experiment