Two-phase flow—IV. Gas and liquid side mass transfer coefficients

Mass transfer coefficients in gas and liquid have been obtained for the case of cocurrent gas—liquid flow through a vertical tube 6 mm i.d. by absorbing sulphur dioxide into sodium hydroxide solution and carbon dioxide into sodium carbonate—sodium bicarbonate solution respectively. The liquid side mass transfer coefficient was found to increase with the gas velocity but showed a maximum when plotted against the liquid velocity. A model based on the analogy between momentum and mass transfer has been proposed for the rate of mass transfer in the liquid phase. The mass transfer coefficient in the gas phase increases with the gas velocity but the liquid velocity has an opposite effect. A correlation in terms of dimensionless groups is presented for the gas side mass transfer coefficient.