SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Gas absorption is a unit operation in which soluble components of a gas mixture are
dissolved into a liquid phase. Absorption, in common with distillation, make use of special
equipment for bringing gas and liquid phases into intimate contact.

The SOLTEQ® Gas Absorption Unit (Model: BP 751-B) is developed primarily to

demonstrate the absorption of carbon dioxide into water in a packed column. The gas and
liquid flow countercurrently, and the packings serve to provide the contacting and
development of interfacial surface through which mass transfer takes place.

The unit is designed to operate at atmospheric pressure in a continuous operation. It has

the following special features;

 Fully instrumented to allow for convenient data collection and analysis.

 Glass columns and vessels permit good visual monitoring of the process.
 Sampling points for composition analysis are provided for liquid streams.
 Online monitoring of CO2 gas concentration.

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

Figure 1: Process flow diagram for the gas absorption unit

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

2.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Air and carbon dioxide (CO2) are mixed before being fed into the bottom of a packed
absorption column, while water enters from the top of the column through a centrifugal
pump. Transfer of CO2 from air mixture into water occurs when gas and liquid are brought
into contact. The lean air mixture will exit at the top whereas the CO2 rich water will
accumulate at the bottom of the column and overflow into a receiving vessel.

2.1 Description and Assembly

All glass components of the SOLTEQ-QVF Gas Absorption Unit are made of
borosilicate 3.3 glass with PTFE gaskets. Please refer to the process flow diagram
in Figure 1.

1. Receiving Vessels (B1 & B2) – 50 L cylindrical vessels equipped with charge
ports and venting.

2. Absorption Column (K1) – DN 80 packed column with glass Raschig rings.

Inlet and outlet connections for countercurrent gas and liquid flows. Effective
column height is 1500 mm.

3. Centrifugal Pump (P1) – centrifugal pump with maximum delivery rate of 60

LPM at the maximum delivery height of 6.3 m.

2.2 Instrumentation and Control

1. Temperature
a) Inlet gas temperature to absorption column K1 (TT-101)
b) Inlet water temperature to absorption column K1 (TT-103)
c) Outlet water temperature from absorption column K1 (TT-102)
d) Outlet gas temperature from absorption column K1 (TT-104)

2. Flow Rate
a) Inlet air flow rate to absorption column K1 (FT-301)
b) Inlet CO2 flow rate to absorption column K1 (FT-302)
c) Inlet water flow rate to absorption column K1(FT-303)
d) Vent from absorption column K1 flow rate (FT-304)

3. Pressure
a) Absorption column K1 pressure drop (dPT-201)

4. Composition Analyser
a) Exit gas CO2 analyser (QT-401)
b) Inlet gas CO2 analyser (QT-402)

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4.0 OPERATING PROCEDURES

4.1 General Operating Procedures

Prior to operation, It is important that the user read and fully understand all
instructions and precautions stated in the manufacturer's manuals supplied with
the absorption unit. The following procedures will serve as a quick reference for
operating the unit.

4.2 General Start-Up Procedures

1. Ensure all valves are closed except ventilation valve HV13 (fully open).
2. Drain any stagnant liquid above the sampling valve (HV03).
3. Open the valve on the compressed air and CO2 supply line. Set the pressure
air supply is 0.2 Mpa and pressure CO2 supply is 2.0 Mpa by turning the
regulator knob clockwise.
4. Turn on the main switch.

4.3 General Shut-Down Procedures

1. Turn off the pump P1.

2. Close valve water supply and valves HV01, HV02, HV11.
3. Drain all liquid from column K1 by opening valve HV03.
4. Drain all liquid from receiving vessels B1 and B2 by opening valves HV07 and
HV08.
5. Close valves HV03, HV04, HV07, HV08, HV10.
6. Close valves HV12, HV14, HV15, HV16, HV17.
7. Ensure that HV13 is fully open.
8. Turn off the main switch.

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

4.4 CO2 Analyser Procedures

1. Switch on the control panel and let the system on for about 15 minutes to
stabilize the system and to make sure the CO2 analyser warming up. Check at
control panel (QT 401 and QT 402) achieve constant value.
2. Push the reset button (QT 401 and QT 402) on the junction box for about 2
seconds.
3. Turn on the air compressor (2 bar) and let the air flow into the system.
4. Let the system running about 5 minutes to ventilate the remaining CO2 in the
analyser.
5. Once the reading of CO2 shows the zero value at the indicator display, the
experiment is ready to run.

4.5 Liquid Sampling Procedures

Samples can be taken from liquid entering and exiting the absorption column.
Sampling valves are located at:

a) HV08 for inlet liquid to absorption column K1

b) HV03 for outlet liquid from absorption column K1

The procedures for collecting a sample are as follows:

i) Drain any stagnated liquid above the sampling valve.

ii) Place a vial below the sampling valve.
iii) Open sampling valve and collect about 150 mL of sample.
iv) Close the sampling valve.

4.6 Analysis Of Dissolved CO2 in Water

Water used for absorption should be deionised because presence of dissolved

salts could affect the analysis method as described below.

CHEMICALS NEEDED:
a) deionised and CO2 free water
b) phenolphthalein indicator (AR grade)
c) 1.0 L of standard 0.05 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

PROCEDURES:
1. Obtain a sample from Section 4.4.
2. Prepare exactly 50 mL of sample in a conical flask.
3. Add 3-5 drops of phenolphthalein indicator. If the sample turns red
immediately, no free CO2 is present. If the sample remains colourless, titrate
with 0.05 M NaOH standard solution.
4. Measure the volume of 0.05 M NaOH required to reach the end point. The end
point occurs when a definite pink colour persists in the solution for longer than
30 seconds.
5. For best results, use a colour comparison standard. Prepare exactly 100 mL of
0.01 M NaHCO3 solution in a conical flask and add 3-5 drops of
phenolphthalein indicator.

4.7 Precaution on differential pressure transmitter dPT 201

During flooding, water may flow into the hoses connecting dPT 201. For
subsequent experiment, this causes high differential pressure reading (more
than 50 mmH2O) even when there is no flow. When this happens, unplug the
two hoses to equalize the pressure. Typically, when there is no flow (both
water and air), the differential pressure reading is between 0 to 5 mmH2O.

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

5.0 EXPERIMENT PROCEDURES

5.4 EXPERIMENT 4: Effect of Inlet Gas Composition on CO2 Absorption

OBJECTIVE:
To study the effect of water flow rate and inlet gas composition on the efficiency of
CO2 absorption.

PROCEDURES:
1. Perform the general start-up procedures as described in Section 4.2. Open
valves HV12, HV13,HV14, HV15 and HV16.
2. Fill feed tank B1 through the charge port with 30 L of water by opening valve
HV04, HV07 and HV17.
3. Open and adjust valve HV01(air supply) to give a flow rate of 30 L/min air into
column K1.
4. Open valve HV10 fully and valve HV09 slightly. Switch on pump P1, observe
the flow of water from vessel B1 through pump P1.
5. Slowly open and adjust valve HV11 to give a water flow rate of around 1.5
L/min. Observe the water flow rate indicated on FT 303 at control panel. Allow
water to enter the top of column K1, flow down the column and overflow back
into vessel B1. Then, collect a initial liquid sample (100 mL) from valve HV03.
6. Open and adjust valve HV02 (CO2 supply) to give a flow rate of 3 L/min CO2
into column K1.
7. Let the process run for about 5 minutes to allow the absorption column to be
stable.
8. Start collecting liquid samples (approximately 100 mL) from the outlet of
absorption column K1 from valve HV03 at every 5 minutes.
(NOTE: Ensure feed tank B1 is about 20L - 30L of water (If below from
that level, open water supply)
9. At the same time, record the outlet CO2 composition showed by QT-401 at
control panel.
10. Continue to collect the liquid samples and record the outlet CO2 composition at
every 5 minute intervals until there is no more changes in CO2 composition
over time.
11. Analyse the collected samples to determine the composition of dissolved CO2
(Section 4.6-Analysis of Dissolved CO2 in Water).
12. Throughout the experiment, monitor and maintain the air, CO 2 and water flow
rates by adjusting the appropriate valves (HV01, HV02 and HV11).
13. Repeat the experiment (steps 2 to 12) by using water flow rate of 1.5 L/min, air
flow rate of 30 L/min and CO2 flow rate of 6 L/min.

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION:

1. Use the sample table in Appendix C for data collection.
2. Plot CO2 concentration against time for each CO2 flow rate, and discuss the
data.

6.0 REFERENCES

1. Warren McCabe, Julian Smith and Peter Harriott (2004) Unit Operations of
Chemical Engineering. 7th Edition, McGraw Hill.

2. Christi Geankoplis (2003) Transport Processes and Separation Process

Principles, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall.

3. Christi Geankoplis (2003) Transport Processes and Separation Process

Principles, 6th Edition, Prentice Hall.

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SOLTEQ® GAS ABSORPTION UNIT(Model: BP 751-B)

APPENDIX

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