(84e) A Dimensionless Model for Predicting the Mass Transfer Area of Structured Packing
AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety
2010
2010 Spring Meeting & 6th Global Congress on Process Safety
Distillation Topical
Advances in Distillation & Absorption III
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 4:00pm to 4:25pm
The mass transfer area of nine structured packings was measured in a 0.427 m ID column via absorption of CO2 from air into 0.1 kmol/m3 NaOH. The area was most strongly related to packing size (125-500 m2/m3) and liquid load (2.5-75 m3/m2·h). Surface tension (30-72 mN/m) had a weaker but significant effect. Gas velocity (0.6-2.3 m/s), liquid viscosity (1-15 mPa·s), and flow channel configuration had essentially no impact on the mass transfer area. Surface texture (embossing) increased the effective area by 10% at most. The ratio of mass transfer area to specific area (ae/ap) was correlated within limits of ±13% for the entire experimental database: