Removal of Carbon Dioxide by Absorption in a Cross-Flow Rotating Packed Bed

During the past few years, the most significant development to intensify mass transfer is the concept of contacting liquids and vapors in a centrifugal field. That is achieved by rotating a tours-shaped packing element. This concept was first proposed by Ramshaw and Mallinson in 1981 and named as “Higee” (high gravity). This kind of device is sometimes termed as “Rotating Packed Bed” (RPB).A countercurrent-flow RPB has been demonstrated to be a high-efficiency gas-liquid contactor in distillation, absorption, stripping, deaeration and reactive precipitation. Although the gas absorption performance of a cross-flow RPB has been examined, the experimental data were obtained using NH3-water and SO2-ammonium sulfite solution absorption systems. The removal of CO2 in a cross-flow RPB has not yet been reported. Considering a cross-flow RPB has an unique feature that there is no critical gas velocity limitation as “flooding” in a countercurrent-flow RPB in which gas prevents liquid from flowing into the packings and unstable operation occurs, a cross-flow RPB would be more useful in removing CO2 from waste gas streams with higher flow rate than would a countercurrent-flow RPB. Therefore, the aim of this study is to elucidate the feasibility of a cross-flow RPB in absorbing CO2 from waste gas streams under various operating parameter including rotor speed, gas and liquid flow rate, absorbent type and concentration. The results in this study may provide an empirical correlation and a theoretical analysis for future designs in the removal of CO2 from waste gas streams.

Project ID:PB9505-0154
External Project ID:NSC95-EPA-Z182-001