Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in an absorber under controllable interface disturbance

Abstract

The hydrodynamics and kinetics of CO2 absorption by water when the interface is disturbed by partially immersed disks that execute torsional oscillations or uniform unidirectional motion (rotation) was studied. It is shown that interface disturbance and generated surface flows enhance mass transfer by a factor of 2.5 and lead to extremum dependences of the mass transfer coefficient on the area and thickness of the insoluble film covering the water surface. The surface flows generated by disks at the gas-liquid interface were examined. Two types of surface flows that differ by their direction and the nature of driving forces are revealed. The role of these flows in enhancing mass transfer at small Re numbers was elucidated.