ChE 132: Stagewise Operations Gas Absorption/Stripping (Total: 65 points; Due:

Tuesday, April 26, 5:30 pm)

Instruction: Yeah weve all done problem sets. This time, I strongly suggest you try solving them
on your own first so you can gauge your understanding of the lesson (genuinely!). Since you
have time, solve them as neat and as organized as possible.Enjoy!
1. DIFFUSION: Water at the bottom of an open glass tube is held at constant temperature of 293K.
The total pressure of dry air is 1 atm and the temperature is 293K. Water evaporates and diffuses
through the air in the tube with the diffusion path of 0.5 ft. Assuming that the system is isothermal,
determine the rate of evaporation in lbmol/h-ft 2. All other data can be found at the Handbook.(10
pts)
2. TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS: In an experimental study of the absorption of ammonia by water in a
wetted-wall column, the overall mass-transfer coefficient in the gas phase was found to be 2.74x10 9
kmol/s-m2-Pa. At one point in the column, the gas phase contained 8 mol% ammonia and the
liquid phase concentration was 0.064 kmol ammonia per m 3 solution. The tower is operated at 293
K and 1.013x105 Pa. At that temperature, the Henrys law constant for ammonia is 1.358x10 3 Pa/
(kmol/m3). If 85% of the total resistance to mass transfer is encountered in the gas phase,
determine(10 pts)
a. The individual film mass transfer coefficients
b. The interfacial composition for both phases
3. STRIPPING (TRAY): We wish to strip carbon dioxide out of water at 20 deg C and 2 atm using a
staged, countercurrent stripper. The liquid flow rate is 100 kmol/h of water and the initial carbon
dioxide mol frac in the water is 0.00005. The inlet air stream contains no carbon dioxide. A 98.4%
removal of carbon dioxide from the water is desired. Determine:(15 pts)
a. Outlet concentration of carbon dioxide in the water
b. The minimum gas flow rate
c. The gas flow rate to give infinite stages
d. If the stripper is operating at 1.5 times the minimum gas flow rate, determine the number of
stages analytically
4. GAS ABSORPTION (TRAY): 1,000 kmol/h of air containing 100 ppm (mol) of chloroform at 25 deg
C and 2.0 atm is to be processed. The chloroform is to be absorbed with pure water at 25 deg C.
The tower is operating at 1.4 times the minimum liquid to gas ratio and the desired outlet stream of
air contains 10.0 ppm chloroform. Determine:(15 pts)
a. Determine equation of the equilibrium curve, y=mx
b. Determine the operating liquid to gas ratio
c. Determine number of stages graphically
d. Determine number of stages analytically
5. GAS ABSORPTION (PACKED): Acetone is to be recovered from an acetone-air mixture by countercurrent scrubbing with water in a packed tower. The inlet gas mixture has 5 mole % acetone. The
gas flow rate is 0.5 kg/m2s (MW = 29) and the liquid flow rate is 0.85 kg/m 2s (MW = 18). The overall
mass transfer coefficient KY may be taken as 0.0152 kmole/(m3.s.mole fraction). The system may be
considered as dilute. Determine: (15 pts)
a. Equilibrium curve equation use linear regression to account all points
b. height of the tower to remove 98% of the entering acetone
c. maximum concentration of acetone in leaving liquid stream
The equilibrium data for the mixture:
Mol frac of
acetone in

0.0099

0.0196

0.0361

0.0400

gas
Mol frac of
acetone in
liquid

0.0076

0.0156

0.0306

0.0333