Mass Transfer Coefficients and Correlation for CO₂ Absorption into 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) Using Structured Packing

Abstract

The volumetric overall mass transfer coefficient ( K G a v ) for CO 2 absorption into aqueous solutions of 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) was investigated with an absorption column packed with laboratory structured packings. The K G a v value was evaluated over ranges of main operating variables; that is, up to 10 kPa partial pressure of CO 2, 46.2−96.8 kmol/(m 2 h) gas molar flux, 6.1−14.6 m 3 /(m 2 h) liquid loading, and 1.1−3.0 kmol/m 3 liquid concentration. To allow the mass transfer data to be readily utilized, an empirical K G a v correlation for this system was developed. The values of mass transfer coefficient for the CO 2 −AMP system using a random and the tested structured packings are also compared. For a given system and operating conditions, the structured packing provides, in general, more than eightfold higher overall K G a v values compared with those of commercial random packings.