Gas absorption is mass transfer operation where one or more species is removed from a

gaseous stream by dissolution in a liquid. The component that is extracted from the gaseous stream

is known as solute and the component that extracting the solute is known as solvent. Carrier gas is

the insoluble component present in the gas that is not absorbed by the solvent. The transfer is based

on the preferential solubility of solutes in the solvent (Gas Absorption And Desorption, n.d.).

Packed towers are used for continuous countercurrent contacting of gas and liquid in

absorption (Geankoplis, 1993).The mechanism in packed tower is the gas and liquid phases

flows counter – currently where they interact on the packings interface. The liquid flows in

downward direction, over the surface of the packing, whereas the gas flows through the space

or voids of the packings in upward direction. The gas flow is driven by pressure while the liquid

flow is driven by the gravity force. The gas undergoes pressure drop due to the liquid occupied

some part of the open space and voids of the packing. Thus, reducing the area available for the

gas to flow. If the packing is dry with no liquid feed, then maximum flow gas is available. The

pressure drop increases as the liquid flowrate into the tower increases

High flux will result in flooding. This occurrence happens at the upper limit of the

gas flow rate called flooding velocity since the liquid is blown out with the gas at the flooding

point. The gas start to hinder the liquid flow at loading point where accumulation of liquid start

appearing in the packing. Low flux will be resulting in channeling or weeping. There are two

types of packings types which is random and structured.

Figure 1Typical Packed Tower Packings: (a) Raschig ring, (b) Lessing ring, (c) Berl Saddle, (d)

Pall ring (Geankoplis C.J.,1993)

One of the oldest specially manufactured types of random packings are Raschig rings

and still in general use. (Separation Columns (Distillation, Absorption and Extraction)) They

provide a large surface area within the volume of the column for the interaction between liquid

and gas. They also enhance the contact time between liquid and gas. (iitb.vlab.co.in, 2011) The

generalized correlation for pressure drops in packed column (Eckert, 1970)

Figure 2 Generalized Correlation for Pressure Drop in Packed Columns (Eckert, Chem. Eng.

Prog., 66(3), 39 (1970))

 𝐺𝑦 2 𝐹𝑃 𝑣𝑥 0.1
𝑥 − 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 = 𝑔 y
𝑐 (𝜌𝑥 −𝜌𝑦 )𝜌𝑦

𝐺 𝜌𝑦
𝑦 − 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 = 𝐺𝑥 √𝜌
𝑦 𝑥 −𝜌𝑦

Where:

𝑘𝑔
𝐺𝑦 = 𝐺𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑚2 −𝑠

𝑘𝑔
𝐺𝑥 = 𝐿𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑚2 −𝑠

𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑦 = 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑎𝑠, 𝑚3

𝑘𝑔
𝜌𝑥 = 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑, 𝑚3

𝐹𝑃 = 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, 𝑚−1

𝑚2
𝑣𝑥 = 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑, 𝑠

𝑔𝑐 = 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

Eckert. (1970). Chem. Eng. Prog.

Gas Absorption And Desorption. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 April, 2018, from Separation Processes:

http://www.separationprocesses.com/Absorption/GA_Chp03.htm

Geankoplis, C. J. (1993). Transport Processes and Unit Operations (Edition 3 ed.).

Minnesota, United States of America: Prentice-Hall International, Inc. Retrieved 20

April, 2018