CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SERIES: GAS ABSORPTION

EXERCISES

1. To increase the absorption factor, (where , G 6. At the same gas flow rate, the pressure drop
– gas flow rate, S – solvent flow rate) in a packed tower being irrigated with liquid
(A) increase both G and S ________ that in dry packed tower.
(B) decrease both G and S (A) is greater than
(C) increase S and decrease G (B) is lower than
(D) increase G and decrease S (C) is same as
(D) cannot be predicted as dats is insufficient
2. In a packed absorption tower, if the
equilibrium and operating lines are both 7. Absorption factor is defined as
straight lines, then the ratio, HETP/HTUOG (A) ratio of the equilibrium curve and the
_______ the absorption factor. slope of the operating line
(A) increase with increase in (B) slope of the operating line and the slope
(B) is one at unity value of of equilibrium curve
(C) both (a) and (b) (C) difference of the slope of the operating
(D) neither (a) nor (b) and the slope of the equilibrium curve
(D) product of the slopes of the equilibrium
3. In case of an absorber, the operating curve and operating line
(A) line always lies above the equilibrium
curve 8. Which of the following quantities need not be
(B) line always lies below the equilibrium fixed before starting the design of a co-current
curve absorber?
(C) line can either be above or below the (A) Heat gain or loss
equilibrium curve (B) Flow rate of entering liquid
(D) velocity is more than the loading velocity (C) Flow rate of gas
(D) None of the above
4. Absorption with chemical reaction is involved
in the removal of 9. The reciprocal of absorption factor is
(A) carbon dioxide from gaseous stream (A) Selectivity index
using alkaline solution (B) Relative volatility
(B) benzol from coke oven gas using solar (C) Stripping factor
oil/wash oil (D) Murphree efficiency
(C) ammonia from coke oven gas using
refrigerated water 10. In an absorption column, the flooding velocity
(D) tar from coke oven gas in primary gas for random packing is ____________ that for
coolers using chilled water stacked/regular packing.
(A) greater than
5. Use of raschig rings in place of crushed (B) smaller than
stones as packing in packed beds (other (C) equal to
things being the same) (D) either (a) or (b); depends on tyoe of
(A) increases pressure drop, increases packing
surface area
(B) decreases pressure drop, increases
surface area
(C) increases pressure drop, decreases
surface area
(D) decreases pressure drop, decreases
surface area

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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SERIES: GAS ABSORPTION
EXERCISES

11. Carbon disulfide is to be absorbed from a absorbable material per kmol of inert gas.
dilute gas mixture CS2-N2 into a pure non- The unit is operated as continuous counter-
volatile oil at amospheric pressure in a current absorption. The entering gas contains
counter-current absorber. The mole fraction 5 moles of absorbable material per 20 mols of
of CS2 in inlet gas is 0.05 and the flow rate of inert gas. The absorbing liquid enters the
gas stream is 1,500 kmol/h. The equilibrium column as a pure material. Determine the
relation is given by: 𝑦 = 0.5𝑥, where 𝑥 is the minimum ratio of liquid to gas if the gases
mole fraction of CS2 in liquid stream. It is leaving the tower contain 1 mol absorbable
desired to reduce the mole fraction of CS2 in material per 50 mols of inert gas. ANSWER
the gas stream to 0.005. (A) Calculate the
minimum value of L/G, where L is the liquid 15. A dry gas mixture of 1,000 ft3/min containing
flow rate in kmol/h, while G is the gas flow 60% dry air and 40% SO3 is blown to the
rate. (B) Derive the equation for the operating bottom of an absorption tower and at the top
line, if L/G is equal to 1.5 times the minimum sprayed by 50 lb/min of 60% H2SO4. The acid
value. ANSWER liquor coming out at the bottom of the tower is
an 84.8% H2SO4. The exit gases leaving the
12. A counter-current plate absorber is to be top of the tower has a pressure of 29 in Hg
installed for scrubbing of an air mixture with the water vapor pressure 7 in Hg. What
containing 5% ammonia by volume. The percent of the SO3 of the entering gas is
scrubber is fed with water containing 0.002 converted to H2SO4? ANSWER
mole NH3 per mole of water. The scrubbing
water flows at a rate of 1.0 mole water per 16. A 5% butane and 95% air mixture from a
mole air. It is necessary to absorb 85% of the solvent extraction plant is absorbed in a
ammonia present in the gas by operating the bubble-plate tower, with 8 ideal plates, at 760
absorber at 200 °C. mm Hg pressure and 15.6 °C, to recover 95%
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁𝐻3 of the butane in the butane-air mixture.
0.80
𝐾= 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑁𝐻3 Butane at 15.6 °C has vapor pressure of 28
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝐻2 𝑂 psia. Liquid butane has a density of 0.581
Calculate the concentration of NH3 in the kg/L at 15.6 °C. The absorbing non-volatile
outgoing liquid and estimate the number of oil used has a molecular weight of 250 and a
stages necessary for this operation. specific gravity of 0.90. If Raoult’s and
ANSWER Dalton’s laws apply, calculate the liters of
fresh absorbing oil needed per liter of butane
13. Air concentrated with solute P is brought in recovered from the butane-air mixture.
contact with water. At steady state, the bulk ANSWER
concentrations of P in air and water are 0.3
and 0.02 respectively. The equilibrium 17. Benzene is removed from air by absorbing it
equation relating the interface compositions is in a non-volatile wash oil at 100 kPa in a
𝑦𝑝𝑖 = 0.25𝑥𝑝𝑖 . Assume that the mass transfer counter-current gas absorber. Gas flow rate
coefficients FG and FL are identical, what is is 100 mol/min, which includes 2 mol/min of
the gas phase mole fraction of P at the benzene. The flow rate of wash oil is 50
interface 𝑦𝑝𝑖 ? ANSWER mol/min. Vapor pressure of benzene at the
column conditions is 50 kPa. Benzene forms
14. The equilibrium data for a certain absorption an ideal solution with the wash oil and the
may be represented by the equation 𝑌 = column is operating at steady state. Gas
5.2𝑋 2 , where, 𝑋 = kmol of dissolved phase can be assumed to follow ideal gas
absorbable material per kmol of pure law. Neglect the change in molar flow rates of
absorbing liquid and 𝑌 = kmol of gaseous liquid and gas phases inside the column.

ENGR. RONNIE V. FLORES Page 2

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SERIES: GAS ABSORPTION
EXERCISES

Determine the absorption factor for this

process. ANSWER

18. A stripper with one equilibrium stage is

stripping 1-chloro-napthalene from water into
air. The liquid feed contains 2 x 10-6 mole
fraction of 1-chloro-napthalene and the total
liquid flow rate is 100 kmol/h. The inlet gas,
which is pure air, has total flow rate of 10
kmol/h. The column operates at 25 °C and
the Henry’s law constant for 1-chloro-
naphthalene is 10.96 atm/mol fraction. If an
outlet liquid mole fraction of 0.4 x 10-6 is
desired, what is the pressure (in atm) of the
stripper and what is the mole fraction of 1-
chloro-napthalene of the outlet air? ANSWER

19. In a packed tower operated isothermally at a

pressure of 3 atm, the over-all mass transfer
coefficients have the following values: Gas
Phase: KGa – 0.396 kmol/h·m 3·Δy; Liquid
Phase: KLa – 13.9 kmol/h·m 3·Δx. Where ∆𝑥
and ∆𝑦 refer to the driving forces in mole
fraction. The equilibrium composition of the
gaseous and liquid phase are characterized
by the equation of Henry’s Law: 𝑝∗ = 𝐻𝑥,
where 𝑝∗ - equilibrium partial pressure of
transferring component in mm Hg; 𝐻 –
Henry’s law constant, mm Hg/mol fraction; 𝑥 –
mole fraction of transferring component in
liquid phase. What is the numerical value of
the Henry’s law constant? ANSWER

20. A packed tower with an inside volume of 300

cu ft is to be used for an ammonia absorption
under such conditions tha KGa = 2.8
lbmol/h·ft3·atm and Henry’s law is applicable
to the ammonia solution. The pressure-
difference driving force at the top of the
column (𝑝 − 𝑝∗ ) is 0.009 atm, and the
pressure-difference driving force at the bottom
of the column is 0.090 atm. If 550 lb of
ammonia, in addition to the inert gases, enters
the tower per hour, what percent of the
entering ammonia will be absorbed?
ANSWER

ENGR. RONNIE V. FLORES Page 3