A MODEL OF CELLULAR CONVECTION DURING ABSORPTION ACCOMPANIED BY CHEMICAL-REACTION

A model was derived describing cellular convection during absorption accompanied by a first-order chemical reaction. The model assumes that the concentration profiles of components A and R extend only through part of the liquid layer of finite depth; in the remaining part the unperturbed concentrations are uniform. Employing the linearized theory of hydrodynamic stability and assuming that the principle of exchange of stabilities is valid in the system analysed, equations governing the phenomenon were formulated together with the appropriate boundary conditions. These equations led to a so-called "characteristic equations", which is an implicit relationship between eight dimensionless parameters. The model was tested using experimental data concerning the absorption of CO2 into aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA) and NaOH. For the CO2MEA system theoretical predictions agreed very well with the experiments; for the CO2-NaOH system a general interpretation of the experimental results was proposed. A correlation was also suggested relating the enhancement factor to the MaE/MaCR ratio. © 1989.