1.

INTRODUCTION
Packed columns are used for continuous counter current gas absorption applications and
to an extent in distillation plant as well. The tower consists of a cylindrical column
containing a gas inlet and distributing space at the bottom, a liquid inlet and distributing
device at the top, a gas outlet at the top, a liquid outlet at the bottom, and a packing or
filling in the column. The gas enters the distribution space below the packed section and
rises upward through the openings and contact the descending liquid flowing through the
same opening. A large area of intimate contact between liquid and gas is provided by the
packing.
Many different types of tower packings have been developed and some are being
commonly used. Such packings and other commercial packings are available in various
sizes such as from 3mm to about 75mm. Most of the tower packings are made of
materials such as clay, porcelain, metal or plastic. High void spaces of 65-96% are
characteristic of good packings. The packings allow relatively huge volumes of liquid to
flow countercurrent to the gas flow through the openings with relatively low pressure
drops for the gas. These same types of packings are also used in vapor-liquid separation
processes of distillation.
Ceramic Raschig ring and Berl saddles are older types of random packing and are
seldom used these days. Pall rings (second generation packing) are made of plastic or
metal; they are much more efficient and are still widely used now. They have porosities
or void spaces of 0.90-0.96 and areas of about 100-200m 2/m3. The latest or third
generation packing is the Intalox metal type, which is a combination of the Berl saddle
and the Pall ring. Porosities range from 0.95 to 0.98. Stacked packings having sizes of
75mm or so and larger are also used. The packing is stacked vertically, with open
channels running uninterruptedly through the bed. The advantage of the lower pressure
drop of the gas is offset in part by the poorer gas-liquid contact in stacked packings.
Typical stacked packings are wood grids, drip point grids and spiral partition rings.

1.1

Objective
1

The objective of this experiment is to determine the flooding point and the
velocity of flooding through observation and experimental data. Apart from that,
it is also used to study the effects of the manipulation of water and air flow rate
towards the flooding point in the packed column. From the study itself,
relationship between the changes in water and air flow rate and the pressure drop
can be drawn out.
1.2

Scope
In this experiment, Raschig ring is used for packing in a packed tower in
order to find its flooding point. Surrounding air is pumped into the packed column
at a specific location just below the packing by using a compressor while the
water is pumped to enter from the above of the packed column. The flow rate of
each of its constituent is controlled in order to study the effects of the flow rate
manipulation. Each different sets of flow rate will generate various pressure
drops. Flooding point will occur when certain pressure drop is achieved which
will caused the water to accumulate and gas flow through a packed tower will
become turbulent

2.0

THEORY
2

In absorption process, the phases that involved in this separation process are gas
and liquid. A certain liquid is flowing through the packed column to separate the counter
current flowing of one or more components in gas mixture. The liquid would be absorbed
the component as the separation of the components in the gas mixture by the mass
transfer occurred. Packing materials that filled in the column were used to increase the
contact surface area for the absorption process to ensure an efficient and faster process.
Packed columns are the units most often used in absorption operations (Fig. 1).
Usually, they are cylindrical columns up to several metres in diameter and over 10 metres
high. The packing is placed on a support whose free cross section should be at least equal
to the packing porosity. One of the various supports is shown schematically in Fig.2
.Liquid is fed in at the top of the column and distributed over the packing through which
it flows downwards (Roman Zarzycki and Andrzej Chacuk, 1993).

Figure 1 Packed column

Figure 2 Packing supports

In this experiment, Raschig rings are used as the one of the typical random or
dumped tower packings.This types of random packing have much more packing efficient
than Intalox metal and are still used now. Geankoplis mentioned that the Raschig rings
have porosities or void spaces of 0.90-0.96 and areas of 100-200 m2/m3 (30-60 ft2/ft3).
Other than that, Raschig rings in Figure 3 are cylinders made from ceramics, metal or
plastic, and are used to increase efficiency in gas, petroleum and chemical refinery
3

towers. The rings are packed randomly into the tower to increase the surface area
available for chemical reactions. They are typically shaped like hollow cylinders, with a
diameter equal to the length of the cylinder. In an actual, operating tower, the gas velocity
is well below flooding. The optimum economic gas velocity is about one-half or more of
the flooding velocity. It depends upon a balance of economic factors including equipment
cost, pressure drop, and processing variables. Pressure drop in the packing is an important
consideration in design of a tower.

Figure 3 Raschig Rings

For pressure drop in random packings, empirical correlations for various random
packings based on experimental data are used to predict the pressure drop in the gas flow.
The original correlation by Eckert (K1) correlated the gas and liquid flow rates and
properties with pressure drop. It is important for proper design to be able to predict the
flooding pressure drop in towers and hence, the limiting flowrates at flooding. Kister and
Gill (K2) have developed an empirical equation to predict the limiting pressure drop at
flooding. The equation is
P flood = 0.115 Fp0.7 (1)
where Pfloodis in in. H20/ft height of packing and Fp is the packing factor in ft-1.

At a

packing factor of 60 or higher, Equation 1 should not be used.

In addition, packed absorption column (Raschig Rings) can be used in the
petrochemical distillation and extraction applications. Besides that, it also can be used in
manufacture of absorption in gas processing, combustion plants and desorption in water
treatment as written by Jiangxi Jintai Special Material LLC (2005).
3.0

METHODOLOGY
4

3.1

Equipment/Materials:

3.2

Packed absorption column Raschig rings

Air compressor
Stop watch
Water
Air

Procedure
First before the experiment start, all valves had been checked and components a in
place and in good conditions. Then, the water flow rate was set at 2.0 L/min and
air flow rate also had been adjusted to 30 L/min. At the same time, the stop watch
is started and continues for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the pressure difference, P
was recorded. These steps are repeated for 10L/min increment of air flow rate for
every 5 minutes until flooding occurs.When flooding occurs, the P was recorded
and the air flow rate was reduce back to 30L/min. These steps also are repeated
for water flow rates of 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 L/min.Next, the air flow rate was set at
50L/min and for every 2 minutes, the pressure difference was recorded at water
flow rate 2.0 to 3.5 L/min with each increment of 0.5L/min.

4.0

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1

Experimental Data

PART A
Table 1: Manipulated air flow rate.
5

Water flow

Air flow rate,

Pressure drop,

Log

Log

Time

rate, W

(cm H20)

Air flow

Pressure

(every 3

(L/min)
2.0

(L/min)
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
30
40
50
60
70
30
40
50
60

1.1
1.8
2.5
3.8
4.6
6.5
8.1
10.5
1.7
2.5
5.0
6.1
9.0
11.7
19.5
2.2
4.0
5.9
11.0
15.0
3.4
4.9
10.0
18.0

rate
1.4771
1.6021
1.6990
1.7782
1.8451
1.9031
1.9542
2.0000
1.4771
1.6021
1.6990
1.7782
1.8451
1.9031
1.9542
1.4771
1.6021
1.6990
1.7782
1.8451
1.4771
1.6021
1.6990
1.7782

drop
0.04139
0.25527
0.39794
0.57978
0.66276
0.81291
0.90849
1.02119
0.23045
0.39794
0.69897
0.78533
0.95424
1.06819
1.29003
0.34242
0.60206
0.77085
1.04139
1.17609
0.53148
0.69020
1.00000
1.25527

minutes)
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
3
6
9
12
15
3
6
9
12

2.5

3.0

3.5

PART B
Table 2: Manipulated water flow rate.
Air flow rate, G

Water flow rate,

Pressure drop,

Log Pressure

Time

(L/min)

(cm H20)

Drop

(every 2 minutes)

(L/min)
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5

5.5
6.1
7.0
10.3

0.74036
0.78533
0.84510
1.01284

2
4
6
8

50

4.2

Data analysis and Discussion

PART A
1.4
1.2

f(x) = 2.16x
2.43x - 3.01
3.11
f(x) = 2.29x - 3.06

1
f(x) = 1.86x - 2.73

W = 2.0 L/min

0.8

log P

Linear (W = 2.0 L/min)

W= 2.5 L/min
Linear (W= 2.5 L/min)

0.6

W= 3.0 L/min
Linear (W= 3.0 L/min)

0.4

W= 3.5 L/min
Linear (W= 3.5 L/min)

0.2
0
1.4

1.5

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.1

2.2

log G

Figure 4 : Graph of Log Pressure Drop vs. Log Air Flow Rate

From figure 1, the air flow rate, G is proportional to the pressure drop, P when
the water flow rate is constant. Besides that, we also can see that the gradient of the graph
increase as the value of water flowrate, W is increased except for water flow rate at 2.5
L/min. It proves that the time taken for the column to reach flooding point becomes
shorter when the water flowrate, W is increased.
From figure 1,
W = 2 L/min,

gradient = 2.0481

W = 2.5 L/min,

gradient = 1.6202

W = 3.0 L/min,

gradient = 2.1926

W = 3.5 L/min,

gradient = 2.4307

By the comparison with the reference, the pressure drop is proportional to the
flow rate to the power of 1.8 when the gas flow rate increased at low velocity.
P = KQ1.8
For this experiment, based on the graph,
P = KGn
Then when taking logarithm both sides,
Log P = Log K + n Log G
Therefore n is equal to the gradient of the graph, m.
The correlation between P and the flow rate might be a bit different from the
references equation due to several errors that occur during the experiment.

PART B
1.05
1
f(x) = 0.18x + 0.36

0.95
0.9
0.85
log P

0.8
0.75
0.7
0.65
0.6
1.5

2.5

3.5

water flow rate, W (L/min)

Figure 5 : Graph of log Pressure Drop vs. Water Flow Rate

By referring to figure 2, the graph illustrated the linear line with positive slope at
constant air flow rate, G (50 L/min). It showed that the pressure drop is proportional to
the water flow rate, W. this correlation can be indicated by equation below,
P = K W m
Then taking logarithm on both sides,
Log P = Log K + m Log W
From the graph plotted the slope of the graph, m is 0.1754 and the intersection at
the y axis, Log K is 0.3634. Thus the value of K is 2.3089.
By referring to the graph, the relation between P and water flow rate is,
P = 2.3089W 0.1754
Hence, by the comparison with the reference, the pressure drop is proportional to the flow
rate to the power of 1.8 when the gas flow rate increased at low velocity.
P = K W 1.8

4.3

Definitions of flooding, flooding velocity, visual flooding and load point

Loading Point is defined as the gas flow rates which the gas starts to hinder the

liquid downflow, and local accumulations or pools of liquids start to appear in the
packing. The pressure drop of the gas starts to rise at a faster rate. As the gas flow rate is
increased, the liquids accumulation increases. At the flooding point (the point where the
capacity of the column to carry both liquid and vapour stream is exceeded) the liquid can
no longer flow down through the packing and is blown out with the gas. The flooding
velocity of the column is the velocity of the vapour rising through the column at which
the liquid on each stage is suspended. The flow of vapour up through the column will not
allow the liquid to fall down through the column causing the stages to "flood". This
means that the tower cannot operate. Visual Flooding is the gas stream that flow counter
current with water stream which flow through packed column in form of bubble.
Operation of a gas absorption column is not practical above the loading point. For
optimum

design, the

recommended

gas

velocity

is

half

of

the

flooding

velocity. Alternatively, some design can be based on a specified pressure drop condition,
usually well below the pressure drop at which flooding would occur.
4.4

Comparison the operation and the efficiency of the absorption column using
packing materials of Intalox saddle and Raschig ring
It was observed that the dry packing factor of the latter in Intalox saddle was

lower than the former. This showed that the pressure drop for Intalox saddle would be
lower than that contributed by Raschig ring. Meanwhile, Intalox saddle has higher
efficiency compared to the Raschig ring. This was due to the geometrical design of
Intallox saddle that would significantly enhance the porosity, surface area per unit
volume of the packing, and packing efficiency.

10

5.0

CONCLUSION
From experiment, pressure drop, P is proportional to the flow rate. The higher the flow

rate, the higher the pressure drop, P and less time needed for the column to reach flooding
point. This relationship is verified by the theoretical equation below:
P = KQ1.8
6.0

RECOMMENDATION
Based on this experiment, some recommendation are made for the improvement of the
results. There are:
a) The eyes of the absorber must be perpendicular to the scale to avoid parallax error.
b) Ensure that the knobs for adjusting the water and gas flow rate is tightly close and no
splitting occurs.
c) The zero error can be overcome by substitute the final value with the zero error value
therefore the actual value of the reading can be obtain.
d) Ensuring that the flow rate of gas and water is controlled and constant

REFERENCES
11

1. Holman, J. P., Heat Transfer, 8th edition, Mc Graw-Hill Inc., U.S.A, 1997.
2. Geankoplis, C. J., Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th Edition,
Pearson Education,Inc.,2003
3. Geankoplis, C. J., Transport Processes & Unit Operations, 3rd Edition, Prentice-Hall,
1995.
4. Jiangxi Jintai Special Material LLC., JINTAI Raschig Ring Packing, 2005. Retrieved
from
http://www.ceramichoneycombs.com/tower_packing/Raschig_Ring_Tower_Random_Col
umn_Packing.htm
5. Mc Cabe, W. L., Smith, J. C. &Harriot, P., Unit Operation of Chemical Engineering,
4th Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 1985.
6. Roman Zarzycki and Andrzej Chacuk., Fundamental &Applications:Absorption.pg
410-502, 1993

12

APPENDICES
Sample calculation:
PART A
For W=2.0 L/min
The value of n is 2.0481,

|experimental valuetheoretical value|

error =

theoretical value

x 100 =

|2.04811.8|
1.8

x 100

= 13.78 %
The percentage error for other flow rate is listed below
W =2.5 L/min

% error = 9.99 %

W =3.0 L/min

% error = 21.81%

W =3.5 L/min

% error = 35.04 %

This large percentage error is due to some error occurring during the experiment
PART B
The value of m is 0.1754,

|experimental valuetheoretical value|

error =

theoretical value

x 100

|0.17541.8|
1.8

x 100

= 90.26%
Based on the large of percentage of error, there are some errors occur during the experiment.

13

14