Ga

s Liquid Absorption

Khaled Alhiagem

190297

Submitted to: Dr Ehab Abadir

Dr. Sohair Ahmed

Chemical Reaction Engineering

Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Year 3

The British University in Egypt

APA style format with BUE guidelines

Abstract:

The aim behind this experiment is to study the hydrodynamic characteristics of packed columns
as well as discovering the flooding characteristics of packed columns. however, by opening the
first VR and closing the second then started recording the dry-run pressure drops through
flowing only air by one of the columns consequently, open the third VR then start allowing the
liquid to flow into the column and measure the pressure drop for increasing the flow rates. of gas
with using five different liquid flows staring from 2-5 LPM in each liquid flow. then after the
observation record the data at very tiny intervals in gas flow rates finally when the visual
flooding is observed takes extra data points at air flowrates for the flooding and slightly higher if
possible. in results, the two lines in the intersection through the graph is been calculated and the

Pa
20 % wet run, has flooding point 3.458176497 .25 % and the wet run, is flooding point is
m

Pa
3.376871557 .
m
Table of contents
Abstract:...........................................................................................................................................2
Table of contents..............................................................................................................................3
List of tables and figures..................................................................................................................4
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
Absorption tower.........................................................................................................................5
Absorption tower function...........................................................................................................5
The Absorption Towers' Main Components................................................................................5
Application of the Absorption Towers........................................................................................6
The Benefits of Using the Absorption Towers............................................................................6
Loading and flooding in packed absorption towers.....................................................................6
Importance of determining the loading and flooding points.......................................................7
Method and Procedure.....................................................................................................................8
Experimental results........................................................................................................................9
.......................................................................................................................................................11
Discussion......................................................................................................................................12
.......................................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
Sources of errors............................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................14
List of tables and figures

Figure 1............................................................................................................................................5
Figure 2............................................................................................................................................5
Figure 3............................................................................................................................................7
Figure 5............................................................................................................................................7
Figure 4............................................................................................................................................7
Figure 6............................................................................................................................................8
Figure 7..........................................................................................................................................10
Figure 8..........................................................................................................................................11
Introduction
Absorption tower

In industrial, a long vertical column is used to absorb gases. The

gas is supplied at the bottom of the column, while the absorbing
liquid, which is usually water, is introduced at the top and falls
against the gas countercurrent. Scrubbers are another name for
the towers.

Absorption tower function Figure 1

The absorption towers' primary role is to absorb various forms of pollutants from gas streams.
Scrubbers are used to clean the gas stream and absorb all the contaminants within it, hence the
name. With the help of a falling liquid, it will trap all the gas's contaminants and components. It
can be used in a variety of industries, including the processing and purification industries.
Aside from that, the absorption towers will be used for:
Purposes of Distillation
Purposes of Stripping
Purposes of Absorption
Purposes of Adsorption
Purposes of Extraction

The Absorption Towers' Main Components

Figure 2
Absorption towers are made up of various components that serve various functions.
Mesh Pads: Different types of mesh pads are used in the absorption towers to filter out
contaminants from various sources. Mist elimination and cleaning water mesh pads are two types
of mesh pads that can be found in absorption towers.
Packed Bed: The packed bed oversees containing all the components that aid in the removal of
pollutants from flowing fluids.
Packing Support Grate: This is a support system for the materials on the packed bed that will
provide additional support.
Integral Reagent: The integral reagent oversees assisting in the absorption of pollutants from
various gas streams.
Trays: It also features counter-flow and crossflow trays, which are separated into two major
groups. Depending on the type of tray, they perform various roles, including sifting various
forms of pollutants.[ CITATION Hse16 \l 2057 ]
Packings: The packings will help bring the vapor or gas streams and the liquid streams closer
together. In different capacities and uses, it serves nearly the same roles as the trays.
Application of the Absorption Towers

Absorption towers can be used in a variety of applications since they are adaptable to the needs
of the user.
Petroleum Industry: Absorption towers are used in the petroleum business to absorb various
types of pollutants from various petroleum products.
Oil and Gas Industry Lines: The absorption towers will also be used to remove contaminants
from oils and gases, thereby purifying them for distribution.
The Benefits of Using the Absorption Towers

Low Cost of Equipment: When compared to the cost of other equipment, absorption towers are a
bargain. When compared to the benefits you would receive from using absorption towers, the
cost is frequently quite reasonable.
Low-Pressure Drop: Low-pressure drops will also be felt throughout the absorption towers.
Continuous Operation: If the absorption towers are correctly maintained, there will be very little
downtime, allowing for continuous operations.
Absorbs Solid Impurities: Absorption towers can also be used to absorb a variety of pollutants,
including solids. [ CITATION Hen11 \l 2057 ]

Loading and flooding in packed absorption towers

The loading point of a column is reached when the gas velocity is high enough to prevent liquid
flow. After this point, the absorption towers will be used as well. Flooding occurs when a gas
velocity is too great, causing the liquid to fill the entire column and making the procedure
difficult to complete. The packings in the column will be crushed and damaged by high pressure.
o Purify oils and gases by removing contaminants before distributing them.
Importance of determining the loading and flooding points

Flood point A packed column's flood point is determined by providing a data set of gas pressure
drop values as a function of gas flow rate values at several liquid flow rates through a packed
column, a known flood point value for one liquid flow rate, setting flood point values for higher
liquid flow rates at values lower than the known flood point value, and setting flood point values
for lower liquid flow rates at values higher than the known flood point value. [ CITATION
Pen17 \l 2057 ]

At a regular fuel line stress drop, the technique then

consists of calculating a median fractional flood factor
cost for the liquid glide charges and minimizing the
same old deviation among the fractional flood factor
cost at extraordinary liquid glide charges and the
calculated common fractional flood factor cost via way
of means of iteratively resetting fractional flood factor
values and recalculating the common fractional flood
factor cost for the liquid glide charges, hence ensuing in Figure 3
figuring out a flood factor for the packed column at any
liquid glide rate, and thereby generating a plot of stress drop as a characteristic of fraction of
flood factor at any liquid glide rate, or a mathematical expression thereof that may be utilized in
a computer-applied column layout and system.[ CITATION Pey03 \l 2057 ]
Load point: A point load is an analogous load applied to a single point, which you may calculate
by totaling the load across the object's surface or length and allocating the full load to its center.
Calculate the entire length or area of a load's
application.

Method and Procedure

Starting with opening the first VR valve with

closing the Figure 5 Figure 4

second VR with studying the pressure drops by flowing only air through one of the columns.
with setting the flow of air at 20 LPM with raising the increments of 20 LPM therefore take
down the pressure drops. Next, opening the third VR valve to allow the liquid to flow into the
column with measuring the pressure drop for increasing the flow rates of gas, as well as using
five different liquid flows starting from about 2-5 LPM of each liquid flow, with raising the flow
of gas slowly with recording the drops of the pressure. However, when the liquid is been holdup
in the column is observed and taking points at tiny increments in the flow of gas in which to
record the flooding data. Moreover, while the visual flooding is observed in each run with taking
extra data points at air flowrates to flooding
and slightly higher if possible.
 Experimental results

dry run 0% of liquid

Air flow Air flow Pressure [log Q gas ] Pressure [ ∆ P/ H ] [ log ∆ P/ H ]

rate [Q] rate [ Qgas ] drop [ ∆ P ] ( L/min) drop [ ∆ P ] ( Pa/ m) ( Pa/ m)
(% ) ( L/min) (cm . H 2 O) ( Pa)
20 16 10 1.20411998 980.6650 700.4750 2.84539264
40 32 14 3 0
60 48 18 1.50514997 1372.9310 980.6650 2.99152067
80 64 22 8 6
1.68124123 1765.1970 1260.855 3.10066514
7 0 5
1.80617997 2157.4630 1541.045 3.18781532
4 0 1
wet run 20% of liquid
Air flow Gas flow Pressure [log Qgas ] Pressure [ ∆ P/ H ] [ log ∆ P/ H ]
rate [ Q] rate [ Q gas ] drop [ ∆ P ] drops [ ∆ P ] ( Pa/ m) ( Pa/ m)
( L/min)
(% ) ( L/min) (cm . H 2 O) ( Pa)
10 8 10 0.903089987 980.6650 700.4750 2.845392640
20 16 12 1.204119983 1176.7980 840.5636 2.924570565
40 32 21 1.505149978 2059.3965 1470.9975 3.167611935
60 48 30 1.681241237 2941.9950 2101.4250 3.322513895
80 64 41 1.806179974 4020.7265 2871.9475 3.458176497
90 72 48 1.857332496 4707.1920 3362.2800 3.526633877

run 25% of liquid

Air flow rate Gas flow rate [ Qgas ] Pressure drops [ ∆ P ]

[Q]
 (% ) ( L/min) (cm . H 2 O)
20 16 15
40 32 28
60 48 34
80 64 44
[log Qgas ] Pressure drops [ ∆ P/ H ] [ log ∆ P/ H ]
( L/min) [ ∆ P] ( Pa/ m) ( Pa/ m)
( Pa)
1.204119983 1470.9975 1050.7125 3.021483899
1.505149978 2745.8620 1961.3300 3.292550671
1.681241237 3334.2610 2381.6150 3.376871557
1.806179974 4314.9260 3082.0900 3.488845316
Graph of wet and dry run

log-log plot of ∆P/H versus Qgas

4

3.5

2.5
Log (∆P/H) (Pa/m)

1.5

0.5

0
0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

Log (Qgas) (L/min)

Dry run (0% liquid flow) Wet run (25% liquid flow) Wet run (20% liquid flow)

Figure 7
Pa
20 % wet run, the flooding point is 3.458176497 .
m
 Pa
25 % wet run, the flooding point is 3.376871557 .
m

Discussion
As the gas velocity increases the pressure drop increases in the dry flow however the packings
become wet while the liquid flows through the column.

however, the gas pressure increases with gas velocity at constant liquid rate it drops at constant
gas velocity at higher liquid flow rates in which each liquid flow rate has its own loading and
flooding point.

The characteristics of the pressure drop is like the dry run in the steady liquid flow.
Conclusion
This experiment is been prepared to study the hydrodynamic features of packed columns and to
estimate their flooding features. this experiment has been gone through different steps staring
from the valves in the column with allowing the liquid to flow in certain points and time.

Pa
however, the 20 % wet run, has flooding point 3.458176497 .25 % and the wet run, is
m

Pa
flooding point is 3.376871557 .
m
Sources of errors

the faster running in the gas flow place at the bottom of the column
it might cause the late flooding flow
the level of the eye while taking the data
An error might occur in the stopwatch in which it should starts immediately as the
water covers the surface.
The volume in the vessel could be affected because of the evaporation of water from
the 1L vessels
The temperature was not set up correctly in the water bath as well during the heating
process
An error occurs due to the room temperature in the environment
The clarity of the pipes and the instruments been used.

References

Bibliography
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Clark, J. (2013, 5 11). Retrieved from chemguide.co.uk:
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Analytical_Chemistry)/Electrochemistry/Redox_Chemistry/Definitions_of_Oxidation_an
d_Reduction
Drayer, D. (2016, 12 26). Retrieved from socratic.org/questions/how-do-you-determine-which-
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Gregory. (2001). Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer. Wiley.
Henley. (2011). E. J. Henley, Separation process principles.
Hseuh. (2016). Flooding Prognosis in Packed Columns by Assessing the Degree of Steadiness
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Jobic. (2000). In Membrane Science and Technology.
Kantzas. (2019). Water Flooding of Oil Reservoirs: Effect of Oil Viscosity and Injection Velocity
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https://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7561427_calculate-point-load.html
 
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9010204
 
https://www.demisterpads.com/demister-pad/packed-tower.html
 
https://encyclopedia.che.engin.umich.edu/Pages/SeparationsChemical/Absorbers/Absorbers.html