Flow pattern and mass transfer characteristics of valve tray in absorption process

Abstract

The flow pattern characteristics of valve tray in absorption process which is expressed in pressure drop and the number of equivalent tank in series (N) has an important role to know the efficiency and performance of a process. This study has been done in the absorption column by using water and air as liquid and gas phase, respectively. To observe pressure drop and flow pattern in the column, flow rate of liquid and air has been variated. Flow pattern has been determined by using pulse method and using NaCl as tracer. The experiment results show that the column pressure drop is mainly influenced by the liquid height on the tray. When the water flow rate is high, liquid height on the tray is higher so that the column pressure drops increases. Flow pattern characteristic of fluid on valve tray is affected by water and air flowrates. For high water flow rate, the residence time distribution (RTD) curve is sharper and the number of N is greater and the flow pattern tends to a plug flow. However, the number of N decreases when the air flowrate increases. The liquid-side mass transfer coefficient (kLa’) is shown by the following empirical relationship kLa’ = 2,607QL0,202Qv0,456.