ABSORPTION IN PLATE AND PACKED TOWERS

In absorption, a vapor solute A in a gas mixture (inert gas+ solute A) is

Absorption ?

absorbed by means of a liquid in which the solute is more or less soluble.

The liquid is primarily immiscible in the gas phase; its vaporization into the
gas phase is small/negligible.
Ex: Absorption of the ammonia(A) from an air-ammonia mixture by water.
The reverse process is desorption or stripping.

Vapor bubbles up through simple holes in the tray through the

flowing liquid. Hole sizes range from 3 to 12 mm in diameter, with
5 mm a common size. The vapor area of the holes varies between
Sieve tray.

5 to 15% of the tray area. The liquid is maintained on the tray

Types of tray (plate) towers for absorption

surface and prevented from flowing down through the holes by

the kinetic energy of the gas or vapor. The depth of liquid on the
tray is maintained by an overflow, outlet weir. The overflow liquid
flows into the downspout to the next tray below.

A modification of the sieve tray is the valve tray, which consists

of openings in the tray and a lift-valve cover for each opening,
Valve tray.

providing a variable open area which is varied by the vapor flow

inhibiting leakage of liquid down the opening at low vapor rates.
Hence, this type of tray can operate at a greater range of flow
rates than the sieve tray, with a cost of only about 20% higher
than a sieve tray. The valve tray is being increasingly used today.
Bubble-cap

The vapor or gas rises through the opening in the tray into the
bubble caps. Then the gas flows through slots in the periphery of
tray

each cap and bubbles upward through the flowing liquid. Bubble-
cap trays are expensive.
 Packed Towers

These are used for

continuous counter-
current contacting of gas
and liquid in absorption
and also for vapor-liquid
contacting in distillation.
Packed Tower Anatomy

The tower in the consists

of a cylindrical column
containing a gas inlet
and distributing space at
the bottom, a liquid inlet
and distributing device
at the top, a gas outlet at
the top, a liquid outlet at the bottom, and a packing or filling in the tower.
The entering gas enters the distributing space below the packed section and
rises upward through the openings or interstices in the packing and contacts
the descending liquid flowing through the same openings. A large area of
intimate contact between the liquid and gas is provided by the packing.
 Common types of which are dumped at random in the tower are shown in
Fig. 10.6-3. Such packings and other commercial packings are available in
sizes of 3 mm to about 75 mm. Most of the tower packings are made of inert
and cheap materials such as clay, porcelain, graphite, or plastic. High void
spaces of 60 to 90% are characteristic of good packings. The packings permit
relatively large volumes of liquid to pass countercurrently to the gas flow
through the openings with relatively low pressure drops for the gas. These
same types of packing are also used in vapor-liquid separation processes of
distillation.
Packed Tower Packing

Stacked packing having sizes of 75 mm or so and larger is also used. The

packing is stacked vertically, with open channels running uninterruptedly
through the bed. The advantage of the lower pressure drop of the gas is
offset in part by the poorer gas-liquid contact in stacked packings. Typical
stacked packings are wood grids, drip-point grids, spiral partition rings, and
others.
 In a given packed tower with a given type and size of packing and with a
definite flow of liquid, there is an upper limit to the rate of gas flow, called
the flooding velocity. Above this gas velocity the tower cannot operate. At
low gas velocities the liquid flows downward through the packing essentially
uninfluenced by the upward gas flow. As the gas flow rate is increased at low
gas velocities, the pressure drop is proportional to the flow rate to the 1.8
power. At a gas flow rate, called the loading point, the gas starts to hinder
Loading point and Flooding Velocity

the liquid downflow and local accumulations or pools of liquid start to appear
in the packing. The pressure drop of the gas starts to rise at a faster rate. As
the gas flow rate is increased, the liquid holdup or accumulation increases.
At the flooding point, the liquid can no longer flow down through the packing
and is blown out with the gas.

In an actual operating tower the gas velocity is well below flooding. The
optimum economic gas velocity is about one half or so of the flooding
velocity. It depends upon an economic balance between the cost of power
and the fixed charges on the equipment cost. Detailed design methods for
predicting the pressure drop in various types of packing are given in the
following:

 PERRY, R. H., and GREEN, D. Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 6th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1984.
 LEVA, M. Tower Packings and Packed Tower Design, 2nd ed. Akron, Ohio: U.S. Stoneware, Inc.,
1953.
 TREYBAL, R. E. Mass Transfer Operations, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company,
1980.