Carbon Dioxide Mass Transfer in Gas–Liquid–Liquid System

Abstract

The present work analyses the mass transfer process of carbon dioxide absorption from a gas phase to a liquid–liquid system, based on an aqueous and organic phase. A careful study has been performed analyzing different variables, mainly the gas flow rate fed to the bubble contactor and the silicone oil concentration in the liquid phase. The organic phase used to perform the emulsions is different silicone oils. The influence of the organic phase viscosity let us analyze the influence of this variable on the mass transfer rate, which usually shows an important negative effect. In the present study, however, this effect is not the most important factor in the mass transfer rate. This work also studies the influence of a surfactant present in the liquid phase, used to stabilize the liquid–liquid system on the gas–liquid mass transfer process, taking into account that the different surfactant concentrations at the interfaces can play a more important role.