Module IV: Gas-liquid contacting equipment
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Module IV: Gas Liquid Contacting Equipment [3-4 Lecture]
• Tray Towers: General Features
• Type of Trays
• Tray Efficiency
• Venturi Scrubber
• Wetted-wall Towers
• Spray Towers
• Packed Towers: Characteristics of Packing
• Comparison Between Packed and Plate Towers
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Classification of interphase MT
o Gas-liquid or vapor-liquid contacting (absorption or stripping, distillation, humidification or
dehumidification, and water cooling)
o Liquid-liquid contacting (solvent extraction)
o Gas-solid contacting (drying and adsorption)
o Liquid-solid contacting (leaching, crystallization)
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Operating condition
▪ Continuous mode (largely used in most industries)
▪ Batch mode (particularly used in small production)
Mass transfer equipment is mostly “custom-build”
Unlike on-the-shelf items like pumps, valves, blowers, ACs, etc. MT equipment is designed and fabricated
according to the process requirement
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Gas-Liquid Contacting Equipment
o Gas is dispersed in the liquid in the form of bubbles
o Tray towers, bubble columns, agitated vessels, etc.
o Liquid is dispersed in the form of discontinuous films or droplets in a continuous gas
phase
o Spray towers, packed towers, venturi scrubber, etc.
o Both gas and liquid phases are continuous
o Falling film contractor (used for gas-liquid reactions)
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Tray or Plate Column
o Shell (usually made of metal/alloy
sometimes plastics, Dia~ 1-10 m)
o Internal components
o Trays or plates
o Downcomers and weirs
o Nozzles
o Mist eliminator
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Tray or Plate (Heart of column)
Major functions:
▪ Allows the gas to flow through the holes or passages; the gas bubbles through the liquid to form a
gas-liquid dispersion.
▪ Separate the column into several compartments (or stages)
▪ Mass transfer between the phases occurs on the tray
▪ The overall column performance is usually dictated by the performance of the trays
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Commonly Used Trays
Bubble-cap tray Sieve tray Valve tray
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Downcomers and weirs
o The passage through which the liquid flows down from one tray to the next below is known as
“downcomers”
o “Weir” is the plate that maintained the desired depth of the gas-liquid dispersion
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Nozzles
o Control the feed entry, reflux, and product withdrawal from the column
o Nozzle design must ensure minimum splashing/jetting and evenly distribution of the feed, so MT
is enhanced
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Mist eliminator/demister
o To prevent entrainment in the vapor leaving the top of the tray
o It is usually a stack of wire mesh/pack of bent and spaced thin sheets
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Operational Features of Tray Column
o Hydraulic Gradient
o Hydraulic gradient is the liquid head required for overcoming the resistance to liquid flow on a tray
o Weeping and Dumping
o If a very small fraction of the liquid flows from a tray to the lower one through perforations/openings of the
tray deck, is called weeping. This reduces the efficiency of the tray due to insufficient contact between the
phases.
o “Dumping” is the extreme case of leakage through the tray deck when the vapor velocity is low and the vapor
pressure drops across the tray is insufficient to hold the liquid
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
o Entrainment
o At a higher velocity of the gas, droplets of liquid are formed due to the shearing action of the gas jet
or liquid film rupture as the gas bubble bursts
o The smaller droplets may be carried upward due to gas flow and concentrated at the top this
phenomenon is known as entrainment.
o It affects the mass transfer driving force and reduces the tray efficiency
o Excess entrainment may lead to flooding from the upper part of the column
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
o Flow Regimes on the Tray
o Emulsion regime (gas flows through liquid at lower velocity)
o Spray regime (low liquid flow rates and high gas flow rates)
o Froth/mixed regime
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
o Flooding (excessive accumulation of liquid)
o Spray entrainment flooding
o Froth entrainment flooding
o Downcomer flooding
o The Performance Diagram
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
o Turndown Ratio
o Degree of flexibility to operate over a range of throughput around the design capacity
o It is defined as the ratio of the “design vapor throughput” to the “minimum operable throughput”
o Tray Spacing
o The rate of entrainment strongly depend upon the tray spacing
o Larger spacing reduces the entrainment
o Increasing tray spacing enhances the superficial gas velocity and a smaller dia column can be used
for a given throughput. But the height of the column increases to accommodate fixed number of
trays
o A trade-off between the smaller column dia and larger height has to be struck
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Agitated vessels
Agitated vessels are used when the dissolved gas undergoes a chemical reaction in the
liquid.
o Hydrogenetion of vegetable oils in the presence of suspended nickel catalyst
o Adsorption of CO2 in a lime slurry to make precipitated CaCO3
o Chlorination in organic synthesis etc.
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Bubble column
Another important equipment used for carrying out gas-liquid reactions.
o Used for aerobic fermenters and for aerobic waste treatment
o Found application in organic oxidation, gas-liquid or gas-liquid-solid reactions
o Suitable for corrosive gas-liquid systems
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Spray tower
The spray tower can handle a large volumetric gas flow rate at a lower pressure drop.
o The “height transfer unit” is substantially large
o Substantial power consumption
o Particularly useful for corrosive liquids and gas, liquid/gas
containing suspended solids
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Venturi scrubber
Largely used for scrubbing of particulates and submicron fumes
o Suitable for corrosive gas-liquid systems because of absence of any moving parts
or internals
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
The Packed Tower
o Shell (usually made of metal/alloy sometimes plastics)
o Internal components
o Packing
o The Packing Support and the Gas Distributor
o Liquid distributor
o Bed Limiter
o Demister
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Packing
o Random or dumped packings
o Structured packings
o Grid packings
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Characteristics of Packing
o Large surface area
o Uniform flow of the liquid and gas
o High fractional voidage (keep pressure drop low)
o Mechanical strength
o Fouling resistance
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Types of Tower Packing
Mostly made of ceramics/metals/plastics
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
First Generation packing
o Raschig ring is a hollow cylinder having a length equal to its
outer diameter
o Typical size: 0.25 to 4 inches; Material: metals or plastics
o The berl saddle is the first modern packing developed in the late
1930s
o It has a larger specific surface area and smaller voidage
compared to the Raschig ring
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Second Generation packing
o Intalox saddle is an improved version of the Berl saddle
which offers lesser “form friction” resistance to gas flow
o Pall ring and its modifications evolved from the Raschig ring
by cutting the windows on the wall and bending the same
inward
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Third Generation packing
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Structured packing
o Corrugated metal sheet structured packing
o Wire mesh structured packing
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Packing support and the gas distributor
o Support the weight of the packing and the liquid held up in the
packing
o It allows the gas to flow through it and to get distributed and
liquid to leave the bed
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Liquid distributor
o Proper distribution of the feed liquid over the bed is essential for
satisfactory performance of a packed tower
o The choice of liquid distributor depends on the liquid flow rate,
the fouling tendency, and the turn down ratio
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Bed Limiter or packing hold-down plate
o A sudden surge in the gas flow rate in a tower may physically lift
the packing and may even fluidize a layer of packing at the top.
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Demister
o This layer also know as “dry packing”, act as an entrainment
eliminator
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Dr. Ranajit Mondal
