Performance of packed columns. II. Wetted and effective‐interfacial areas, gas ‐ and liquid‐phase mass transfer rates

Abstract

Abstract A study was made of separating the volumetric mass transfer coefficients, k Ga and k La , into their components k G , k L , and a so that the effects of variables might be determined separately for each component. Mass transfer rates for four packings, 1/2‐ and 1 1/2‐in. Raschig rings and 1/2‐in. and 1‐in. Berl saddles, made of naphthalene, were determined by vaporization into air at gas rates from 100 to 1,000 1b./(hr.) (sq. ft.). The correlation for k Ga was used to determine the wetted areas of those packings when irrigated with water and to calculate the effective interfacial areas, a , from Fellinger's data for ammonia absorption. These effective areas were then used to evaluate k L from previously published k La data, and a correlation was obtained for all packings. The correlations for k Ga and k L and the effective‐interfacial‐area data make possible a more rigorous method for the design of packed columns than was heretofore available.