Mass-transfer rates in gas-liquid absorbers and reactors

Abstract

At the heart of the liquid-phase processes, gas scrubbing process, manufacturing of pure products, and biological systems, there exists the absorber or the reactor of a particular configuration best suited to the chemical absorption or reaction being carried out. Its selection, design, sizing, and performance depend on the hydrodynamics and axial dispersion, mass and heat transfer, and reaction kinetics. This chapter focuses on the subject of mass transfer with chemical reaction. It presents the techniques, results, and opinions on mass-transfer coefficients and interfacial areas in most types of absorbers and reactors. To study gas–liquid mass-transfer phenomena, it is convenient to consider steady-state situations in which the composition of the gas and the liquid are statistically constant when averaged over time in a specified region, such as a short, vertical slice of a tubular column or the entire volume of a single-compartment agitated vessel. Useful predictions have been developed for describing the behavior of complicated systems, using highly simplified models that simulate the situation for practical purposes without introducing a large number of parameters. The procedure differs depending on whether physical or chemical absorption is involved. © 1981, Academic Press Inc.