Mass transfer parameter estimation using optimization technique: Case study in CO 2 absorption with chemical reaction

This paper proposes a new approach of applying an optimization technique to simultaneously determine a physical liquid—film mass transfer coefficient ( K o L ) and effective interfacial area ( a v ) from a pilot plant data. The mass transfer mechanism of the CO 2 ‐NaOH system was modeled using the two‐film theory to represent the behaviors of packed absorbers. The model presents an overall absorption rate ( R v ) as a function of K o L and a v . The optimization algorithm used in this study follows a modified Levenberg‐Marquardt method with a trust region approach. The R v predictions from the model are in good agreement with the experimental data, with an average error of 6.5%.