A three-zone mass transfer model for a rotating packed bed

A rotating packed bed (RPB) is recognized for its merits in chemical process intensification. In most studies of RPB mass transfer modeling, however, the effects of the end and cavity zones have not been taken into consideration, since it was very difficult to distinguish the end and bulk zones by hydrodynamics and mass transfer process. In this work, the radial thickness of the end zone was obtained by developing a probability method and imaging experiments to separate the end and bulk zones. A three-zone model, including end, bulk, and cavity zones, of the overall gas-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient (K _G a)t was first established. Experiments of dissolved MEA chemisorption of CO ₂ were carried out to validate the proposed three-zone mass transfer model. The results of the MEA-CO ₂ absorption experiments showed that the experimentally obtained values of CO ₂ absorption efficiency were in agreement within ±20% with the model predictions.