Absorption in a three-phase fluidized bed II: Mass transfer investigations

The absorption of carbon dioxide in aqueous diethanolamine solutions was carried out in a three-phase fluidized bed with inert spherical packing. The rate of absorption was calculated on the basis of measuring the concentration change in the liquid phase on-line by a conductivity probe. It was shown that the Danckwerts plot method might be successfully used to simultaneously determine the effective interfacial area and both the gas and liquid-side mass transfer coefficients. While the gas-side mass transfer coefficient is independent of the liquid flow rate, the effective interfacial area and liquid-side mass transfer coefficient increase with increasing liquid flow rate