Analysis of observability of model parameters for physical absorption of poorly soluble gases in packed beds

Abstract

Expressions have been derived for four possible transfer functions of a model of physical absorption of a poorly soluble gas in a packed bed column. The model has been based on axially dispersed flow of gas, plug flow of liquid through stagnant and dynamic regions and interfacial transport of the absorbed component. The obtained transfer functions have been transformed into the frequency domain and their amplitude ratios and phase lags have been evaluated using the complex arithmetic feature of the EC-1033 computer. Two of the derived transfer functions have been found directly applicable for processing of experimental data. Of the remaining two one is useable with the limitations to absorption on a shallow layer of packing, the other is entirely worthless for the case of poorly soluble gases.