Gas absorption

Mechanism of absorption
The two-film theory
According to Ficks Law the rate of
transfer by diffusion is proportional to
the concentration gradient and to the
area of interface over which diffusion is
occurring.
P
AG
represents the partial
pressure in the bulk of
the gas phase
P
Ai
is the partial pressure
at the interface
C
AL
is the concentration
in the bulk of the liquid
phase
C
Ai
is the concentration
at the interface
The concentrations at the interface are in equilibrium and
the resistance to transfer is centered in the thin films on
either side
Diffusion through a stagnant gas
The process of absorption:
Diffusion of a soluble gas A into a liquid
The molecules of A have to diffuse through a stagnant gas
film and then through a stagnant liquid film before entering
the main bulk of liquid.
The absorption of a gas consisting of a soluble component A
and in an insoluble component B according to Stefans law:
Where
N
A
is the overall rate of mass transfer (moles/unit area and unit
time)
D
V
is the gas-phase diffusivity
Z is distance in the direction of mass transfer
C
A
, C
B
and C
T
are the molar concentrations of A, B and total gas
Integrate over whole thickness z
G
of the film and
representing concentrations at each side of interface
by suffixes 1 and 2
Since C
T
= P/RT, where R is the gas constant, T the
absolute temperature and P the total pressure. For an
ideal gas, then:
Writing P
Bm
as the log mean of the partial pressures
P
B1
and P
B2
, then:
Hence the rate of absorption of A per unit time per
unit area is given by:
Or:
Where:
and
k
G
is the gas-film
transfer coefficient
for absorption
Direct measure of
the rate of
absorption per unit
area of interface
with a driving force
of unit partial
pressure difference.
Diffusion in the liquid phase
The rate of diffusion in liquids is much slower than in
gases.
Mixtures of liquids may take a long time to reach
equilibrium unless agitated.
This is partly due to the much closer spacing of the
molecules, as a result of which the molecular attractions
are more important.
The basic equation is taken similar to that for gases or
for dilute concentrations:
On integration:
Where:
C
A
, C
B
are the molar concentrations of A and B
z
L
is the thickness of liquid film through which diffusion
occurs
D
L
is the diffusivity in the liquid phase.
Since z
L
is rarely known, so
which is similar to equation in gases.
Where:
k
L
is the liquid-film transfer coefficient (kmol/s m
2
)(kmol/m
3
) = m/s
For dilute concentration:
Rate of absorption
General equation for mass transfer of a component A
may be written as:
Where:
P
AG
is the partial pressure in the bulk of the gas
C
AL
is the concentration in the bulk of the liquid
P
Ai
and C
Ai
are the values of concentration at the interface
where equilibrium conditions are assumed to exist.
Therefore
ABF is the equilibrium curve
for the soluble component A
(C
AL
, P
AG
)
Represents conditions in the bulk of the
gas and liquid
P
AG
Partial pressure of A in the main bulk of
the gas stream
C
AL
Average concentration of A in the main
bulk of the liquid stream
Point D
(C
Ae
, P
AG
)
Represents a concentration of C
Ae
in the
liquid in equilibrium with P
AG
in the gas
Point A
(C
Ai
, P
Ai
)
Represents the concentration of C
Ai
in the
liquid in equilibrium with P
Ai
in the gas,
and gives conditions at the interface.
Point B
(C
AL
, P
Ae
)
Partial pressure P
Ae
in the gas phase in
equilibrium with C
AL
in the liquid
Point F
The driving force causing
transfer in the gas phase is:
The driving force causing
transfer in the liquid phase is:
Then:
The concentration at the interface (point B) are found
by drawing a line through D of slope k
L
/k
G
to cut the
equilibrium curve in B.
i) Overall coefficients
To obtain a direct measurement of these values of k
L
and k
G
, measurement of the concentration at the
interface is necessary. It can be obtained by using two
overall coefficients, K
G
and K
L
by:
Where K
G
and K
L
are known as the overall gas and
liquid phase coefficients.
ii) Relation between film and overall
coefficients
The rate of transfer of A:
Thus:
From previous discussion:
Thus:
(P
Ai
P
Ae
)/(C
Ai
C
AL
) is the average slope of the
equilibrium curve and when the solution obeys
Henrys law,
H = dP
A
/dC
A
~ (P
Ai
P
Ae
)/(C
Ai
C
AL
).
Therefore:
Similarly:
And:
iii) Rates of absorption in terms of mole
fractions
The mass transfer equations :
Where
x
A
, y
A
: mole fractions of the soluble component A in
the liquid and gas phases
k
G
, k
L
, K
G
, K
L
: transfer coefficients defined in
terms of mole fractions
If m is the slope of the equilibrium curve, it can be
shown that:
m = (y
Ai
Y
Ae
)/(x
Ai
x
A
)