GAS ABSORPTION

By:
Gerelyn R. Barnuevo
Jessica P. Macalintal
Carmi D. Pelera
Rona V. Sale
 INTRODUCTION
A. Definition: Gas Absorption
Gas absorption (also known as scrubbing, and
washing) is an operation in which a gas mixture is
contacted with a liquid (the absorbent or solvent) for the
purpose of preferentially dissolving one or more
components of the gas mixture and to provide a solution
of them in the liquid. Therefore, there is a mass
transfer of the component of the gas from the gas
phase to the liquid phase.

 Solutes or absorbate– components transferred

to the liquid.

Uses: To separate gas mixtures; remove

impurities, contaminants, pollutants, or catalyst poisons
Source: www.separationprocesses.com
Introduction to Gas Absorption
from gas; or recover valuable chemicals.
Sample plant picture no. 08
 Analysis for gas absorption: for the simple
case whereby only one component of the gas solute is being absorbed. The
other components of the gas are assumed to be non-soluble in the liquid (i.e. the
other gas components are inert components), and the liquid is non-volatile, which
means that there is no transfer of molecules from the liquid to the gas phase.

 The process of gas absorption thus involves: the diffusion of solute from the
gas phase through a stagnant or non-diffusing liquid

 Gas Desorption (or stripping) – the opposite of absorption, wherein a liquid

mixture is contacted with a gas to selectively remove
components by mass transfer from the liquid to gas
phase. The principles for both systems are the same.

A typical absorption operation is shown in Figure 1.

The feed which contains air (21% O2, 78% N2 and
1% Ar), water vapor, and acetone vapor, is the gas
leaving a dryer where solid cellulose acetate fibers,
wet with water and acetone, are dried. The purpose
of the 30-tray (equivalent to 10 equilibrium stages)
absorber is to remove the acetone by contacting the
gas with suitable absorbent, water. By using
countercurrent flow of gas and liquid in a multiple-
stage device, the material balance, shown in Fig. 1,
indicates that 99.5% of acetone is absorbed. The gas
leaving the absorber contains only 143 ppm (parts
Fig. 1 Typical Absorption Process
Source: Separation Process Principles by J.D
per million) by weight of acetone vapor and can be
Seader/ Ernest J. Henley, p. 271. recycled to the dryer or exhausted to the
atmosphere. Although the major component transferred between phases is acetone, the
material balance indicates that small amounts of oxygen and nitrogen are also absorbed
by the water solvent. Because water is present in both the feed gas and the absorbent,
it can be both absorbed and stripped. As seen in Fig.1, the net effect is that water is
stripped because more water appears in the exit gas than in the feed gas. The exit gas
is almost saturated with water vapor and the exit liquid is almost saturated with air. The
temperature of the absorbent decreases by 3°C to supply the energy of vaporization
needed to strip the water, which in this example is greater than the energy of
condensation liberated from the absorption of acetone.

B. Types Of Absorption

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 Absorption or Non-Reactive Absorption- when water and

hydrocarbon oils are used as absorbents, no significant chemical reactions occur
between the absorbent and the solute.

 Chemical Absorption or Reactive 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.

Either type of absorption may be reversible or irreversible. More complex examples

of chemical absorption are processes for absorbing CO2 and H2S with aqueous solution
of monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), diethyleneglycol (DEG) or
triethyleneglycol (TEG), where a reversible chemical reaction takes place in the liquid
phase. Chemical reactions can increase the rate of absorption, increase the absorption
capacity of the solvent, increase selectivity to preferentially dissolve only certain
components of the gas, and convert a hazardous chemical to a safe compound.

PHASE EQULIBRIA IN GAS ABSORPTION

The system involves three components, the solute (A), the solvent (B) and the
inert gas (I). If we apply the Gibb’s Phase Rule,

∅=𝐂−𝐏+𝟐

With øas the number of degrees of freedom, C the number of components and P
the number of phases, the degrees of freedom obtained is three. Usually, in the
operation of a gas absorber, the pressure is fixed. This gives two more conditions to be
specified. Thus, to simplify the analysis, the temperature is also fixed at a constant
value. In this case, since the concentration of the liquid is fixed, there will only be one
possible concentration that can be obtained in the gas phase at equilibrium. This
variation in the equilibrium concentration is provided by the solubility data, which is the
basis of determining equilibrium concentration.

SELECTION OF SOLVENT FOR ABSORPTION AND STRIPPING

If the objective of absorption is separation of a particular component from a

mixture, selection of absorbent plays a great role and when absorption operation is
used to prepare a solution, solvent is selected according to final product. Few criteria for
the selection of an absorbent are as follows:

A. Gas Solubility

High solubility of a gas in the solvent is preferred, utilizing low quantity of

solvent. Absorbent should not dissolve carrier gas. Similar chemical nature of
solute and absorbent (solvent) gives a good solubility. If chemical reaction takes
place between solute and solvent, rate of absorption is extremely high. But the
reaction should be reversible to recover solvent during desorption.

B. Volatility

Low volatility or low vapor pressure of the solvent enhances the

adsorption operation as solvent loss with carrier gas is very small. Sometimes, a
second less volatile solvent is used to recover the first solvent.

C. Viscosity

For better absorption, a solvent of low viscosity is required. In

mechanically agitated absorber, greater amount of power is required for high
viscous solvent and flooding is also caused at lower liquid and gas flow rates.

D. Corrosiveness

Non-corrosive or less corrosive solvent reduces equipment construction

cost as well as maintenance cost.

E. Cost

The solvent should be cheap so that losses will be insignificant and should
be easily available.

F. Toxicity and Hazard

The solvent should be non-toxic, non-flammable and non-hazardous, and

should be chemically stable. Steam is generally used in desorption or stripping
medium as stripped solute can be recovered very easily by condensing steam
leaving desorption tower.
SOURCES OF EQUILIBRIUM CONCENTRATION

1. Solubility Data or Solubility Curves

This information can be obtained from various references especially

Perry’s Handbook. A specified total pressure and temperature, the usual data
given involve values of the partial pressure of the solute in the gas phase, pA in
mm Hg corresponding to the solubility in the liquid phase represented by cA’ in
mass of A per 100 mass units of the solvent B. To express these concentrations
in terms of the mole fraction, the following relationships can be applied,

𝐏𝐀
𝐲𝐀 =
𝐏𝐓
or

𝐂𝐀
⁄𝐌
𝐀
𝐱𝐀 =
𝐂𝐀
⁄𝐌 + 𝟏𝟎𝟎⁄𝐌
𝐀 𝐁

2. Henry’s Constants

If the mixture is somewhat dilute such that Henry’s Law can be applied,
the equilibrium concentrations can be related in terms of the Henry’s constant,
HA.

𝐇𝐀
𝐲𝐀 = 𝐱 = 𝐦𝐱 𝐀
𝐏𝐓 𝐀
3. Vapor Pressure

If the solution can be considered and ideal solution, Raoult’s Law can be
applied in determining the partial pressure of A from the vapor pressure P Å, thus

𝐏𝐀 𝐏
𝐲𝐀 = = Å 𝐱𝐀
𝐏𝐓 𝐏𝐓

The vapor pressure-temperature data can easily be obtained from

references or the Antoine Equation may be used to estimate this value.

4. Distribution Coefficients
 If the other sources mentioned are not available for the system under
consideration and the distribution coefficient, KA is known, the equilibrium
relationship can also be obtained using the equation

𝐲𝐀 = 𝐊 𝐀 𝐱 𝐀

PACKINGS AND PACKED TOWER DESIGN

A. Packed Column &Packings

Besides tray column, distillation (as well as other
unit operations such as gas absorption, liquid-liquid
extraction, etc.) can also be carried out using packed
column filled with packings. Various types of packings
made of different types of materials of construction are
available, and both random and structured packings
are commonly used.

 Random vs. Stacked by hand

Random packings, as the name implied, are dumped into a column
during installation and allowed to fall
in random. Small packings poured
randomly into a vessel are certainly
the more popular and commonly
employed form of packed-tower
design. However, in certain instances
where exceptionally low pressure drop
and very high flowrates are involved,
stacked or oriented packings have
also been used. However, only those
cylindrical shape packingsand with a
diameter larger than 3-inch would be
practical to install in a stacked form.
Two types of arrangement are
possible: triangular (diamond) pitch or
square pitch.

Packings and Packed Tower Design

 Besides tray column, distillation (as well as other unit operations such as gas
absorption, liquid-liquid extraction, etc.) can also be carried out using packed column
filled with packings. Various types of packings made of different types of materials of
construction are available, and both random and structured packings are commonly
used.
 Random packings, as the name implied, are dumped into a column during installation
and allowed to fall in random. Small packings poured randomly into a vessel are
certainly the more popular and commonly employed form of packed-tower design.
However, in certain instances where exceptionally low pressure drops, and very high
flowrates are involved, stacked or oriented packings have also been used.
 Stacked by hand, consist of units 50-200 mm in size and less commonly used than
dumped. It is lower pressure drop of gas and usually made of wood grids, drip-point
grids and spiral partition rings.
 Dry packing avoids high hydrostatic liquid head and prevents the introduction of water
into a dry process. It is also quicker and less expensive than wet packing, and it
minimises rusting of metal packings. In any case, it is not suitable for plastic packings,
as plastic typically floats on water.
 Wet packing applications are preferred when the packings are constructed of breakage-
prone materials, such as ceramic or carbon. The column is first filled with water and the
packings are gently poured down the column. The water cushions the fall and promotes
randomness of settling. This tends to increase column capacity and improve the column
pressure drop characteristics. Wet packing also minimises compression and mechanical
damage to packing materials. The main disadvantage is the need to remove the water
after loading and dry the packings.

Other Column Internals

 Liquid Distributor, its function is to distribute liquid evenly across the tray or packings
(e.g. at the reflux inlet). However, some degree of mal-distribution is unavoidable, as
liquid can only be divided into a limited number of streams. From these point sources the
liquid spreads.
 Structured packings are considerably more expensive per unit volume than random
packings. They come with different sizes and are neatly stacked in the column. Structure
packings usually offer less pressure drop and have higher efficiency and capacity than
random packings.
 Liquid Redistributor, One of the main functions of a liquid redistributor is to remix the
liquid phase so as to bring the entire liquid flow onto the next lower bed at a more
uniform composition. Once the type is finalised, number of irrigation points are decided
based on the type of the packing. More numbers of points are provided for packings with
higher surface area. Moreover, traditional packings require comparatively lesser number
of distribution points than modern/third generation packing.
 Vapour Distributor, These devices are required for introduction of vapour feed from the
bottom of the column, or for the reboiler vapour return to the column. A sparger pipe or
 chimney tray or vapour distributor with support may be used. Some act as support for
the packed bed as well.
 Mist Eliminator (Demister), Demisters intend to aggregate the mist into droplets that are
heavy enough to separate from the vapor stream. Demisters can reduce the residence
time required to separate a given liquid droplet size by reducing the volume and
associated cost of separator equipment. They are often used where vapor quality is
important in regard to entrained liquids, particularly where separator equipment costs are
high or where space or weight savings are advantageous.
 Hold-down plates are used with ceramic or carbon random packing to prevent
fluidization of the packings and restrict packing movement, which may break the packing
particles. The hold-down plate rests directly on the packing. It is not used with metal or
plastic packings to avoid crushing the metal or compressing the plastic. For these
packing materials, bed limiter is used.
 Bed limiters do not rest on packing; instead they are secured to the column wall by
support ring or bolting clips.
 Fluidisation caused upset in the packing, and the packing particles may settle unevenly,
thus promoting mal-distribution, which in turn reduces column efficiency and/or capacity

APPLICATION IN CHEMICAL AND PROCESS INDUSTRY

 Absorption of nitrous gases in water or nitric acid, during nitric acid manufacture
 Absorption of oxygen by fermentation broths (liquid medium containing proteins
and other nutrients for the culture of bacteria.) wherein it is use to test oxygen
requirement for microorganism
 Removal of Carbon Dioxide from water gas by absorption in water or in solutions
of alkali or amine.
 Absorption of chlorine and propylene in water to give chlorohydrin (a building
block in the production of pharmaceuticals, biocides and plasticizers.)
 Absorption of flue gas and other gases pollutants by contacting it with liquid.
 Carbonation of soda
 Hydrogenation of edible oils
PRINCIPLE OF GAS ABSORPTION

Nomenclature:
 V - total molal gas rate
 y - mole fractions of solute in V
 L - total molal liquid rate
 x - mole fraction of solute in L
 V’ - solute free molal gas rate
 Y - mole of solute / mole of solute free gas
 L’ - pure solvent molal rate constant- if no water or solvent evaporation
 X - mole of solute / mole of pure solvent
𝐘 𝒚
𝐲= 𝒀=
𝟏+𝐘 𝟏−𝒚

𝐗 𝐱
𝐱= 𝐗=
𝟏+𝐗 𝟏−𝐱

(wet basis) (dry basis)

MATERIAL BALANCES

 Stream Balance (massin = massout)

𝐋𝟐 + 𝐕𝟏 = 𝐋𝟏 + 𝐕𝟐

 Solute Balance (massin x concentrationin = massout x concentrationout)

𝐋𝟐 𝐱 𝟐 + 𝐕𝟏 𝐲𝟏 = 𝐋𝟏 𝐱 𝟏 + 𝐕𝟐 𝐲𝟐 wet basis
𝐋𝟐 𝐗 𝟐 + 𝐕𝟏 𝐘𝟏 = 𝐋𝟏 𝐗 𝟏 + 𝐕𝟐 𝐘𝟐 dry basis
𝐋′𝐱 𝟐 + 𝐕′𝐲𝟏 = 𝐋′𝐱 𝟏 + 𝐕′𝐲𝟐 wet basis
𝐋′𝐗 𝟐 + 𝐕′𝐘𝟏 = 𝐋′𝐗 𝟏 + 𝐕′𝐘𝟐 dry basis

Simplified Form:
𝐕 ′ (𝐲𝟏 − 𝐲𝟐 ) = 𝐋′ (𝐱 𝟏 − 𝐱 𝟐 ) wet basis
𝐕 ′ (𝐘𝟏 − 𝐘𝟐 ) = 𝐋′ (𝐗 𝟏 − 𝐗 𝟐 ) dry basis

To get V’ and L’:

𝐕 ′ = 𝐕𝟏 (𝟏 − 𝐲𝟏 ) = 𝐕𝟐 (𝟏 − 𝐲𝟐 )
𝐋′ = 𝐋𝟏 (𝟏 − 𝐱 𝟏 ) = 𝐋𝟐 (𝟏 − 𝐱 𝟐 )