Study of the operating variables of an absorption column in the CO2 /water system for the EEQ2 practices

Abstract

The Department of Chemical Engineering has acquired an experimental system (CE 400) for the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in water, with the aim of providing students with a practical tool to study phenomena of mass and energy transfer. The equipment consists of three partial processes: gas mixing, absorption and desorption. The absorption is carried out in a packed column fed with water and a gas, pure CO₂ or CO2/air mixture, in order to investigate the behaviour of CO₂ absorption as a function of different operating conditions. The fundamental objective of this project is to put the installation into operation and to carry out a systematic study of the effect of the different variables that influence the CO₂ absorption process. These variables include the water flow rate, the gas flow rate, the composition of the feed gas (percentage of CO₂ in the air) and the temperature of the water. To achieve this objective, the equipment is previously implemented, ensuring that it is correctly installed and calibrated. Next, a study of the process variables is carried out adjusting different water flow rates, gas compositions and water temperatures. Finally, the main goal of this TFG project is the formulation of a guide for the experimental laboratory practices implemented in the subject Experimentation in Chemical Engineering 2 (EEQ2).