1. Gas-liquid contactors

Distillation, absorption and desorption units can include a variety of equipment:

• heat exchangers (reboilers, condensers, coolers) of all types;

• pumps, turbines, compressors, vacuum pumps ;

• gas-liquid separators, decanters, filters ;

• but the really specific device is the gas-liquid contactor.

The physical phenomenon governing distillation and absorption is countercurrent diffusion between the liquid and gaseous phases. Material and heat transfers are established by means of contact devices that generate large exchange surfaces between the two phases. To achieve this, one phase is dispersed in the other, and there is only one alternative.

a ) Gas dispersion in a continuous liquid...