chemical engineering research and design 8 9 ( 2 0 1 1 ) 1405–1413 Contentslists availableat ScienceDirect Chemical Engineering Research and Design j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / c h e r d Texture influence on liquid-side mass transfer Martin Kohrt a,∗ , IljaAusner b , Günter Wozny a , Jens-Uwe Repke c a Technische Universität Berlin, Department of Process Engineering, Strasse des17, Juni 135,10623 Berlin, Germany b SulzerChemtech Ltd, R&D Laboratory Mass Transfer Technology, Winterthur, Switzerland c Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Institute of Thermal, Environmental and Natural Products Process Engineering, Freiberg, Germany a b s t r a c t The impact on different packing material textures to liquid-side controlled mass transfer for the CO 2 absorption into silicone oil is analyzed experimentally. Typical industrially applied textures with bidirectional pyramidal and unidirectional wavy topographies are investigated for a wide range of liquid loads and viscosities. It is found that the texture design has a significant influence on the mass transfer efficiency,e.g.mass transfer intensification up to 80%can be performed by a textured surface compared with a flat inclined plate. Additionally, counter current gas flow affects the mass transfer positively as expected, but the texture impact is significantly higher. Silicone oil is widely used for fluid dynamic analysis. Here, fundamental data and procedures for mass transfer determination are provided for the first time in order to characterize present textures of column internals. ©2011The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved. Keywords:Structured packings; Textured surface; Falling film absorption; Liquid-side mass transfer intensification 1. Introduction The efficiency of distillation and absorption processes in packed towers depends on various factors. One important criterion is the geometry of column internals like struc- tured packings where the gas and liquid phase are brought in contact and heat and mass transfer take place. The packing geometry strongly influences the separation pro- cess and has been investigated in the past by different groups with different intentions. Several authors investigated e.g. the effect of packing corrugations (macro-structures) on mass transfer (Fischer et al., 2003; Olujic et al., 2009; Wehrli, in press), but less knowledge and works concern- ing the influence of the packing texture or grooving on the mass transfer is available. Buehlmann (1989) and Schultes (2008) have found mass transfer intensification (20–100%) for structured packings with textures compared to the smooth surface for distillation test systems. It is assumed that this enhancement appears due to an increased liquid hold up and a more turbulent film flow (Schultes, 2008).Other rea- sons like improved wetting which results in an increased interfacial area or the reduction of the gas-side mass trans- fer resistance due to the textures cannot be excluded by ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 30 31423 039. E-mail addresses: Martin.Kohrt@mailbox.tu-berlin.de, Martin.Kohrt.1@tu-berlin.de (M. Kohrt). Received29October2010; Receivedin revisedform 7 December 2010; Accepted14January 2011 those studies. Therefore, a systematic experimental analy- sis with focus on the impact of textures on mass transfer is required. In this work, the influence of packing material texture to film flow is analyzed with the focus on liquid-side mass transfer. A test system is selectedwhich allows complete wet- ting of different smooth and textured surfaces for a wide range of viscosities. Here, systematic mass transfer analy- ses are carried out on textured and flat plates to identify and quantify the impact of the texture on mass transfer. Additionally, first hints for the fluid dynamic effects are detected. 1.1. Fluid dynamics andmass transfer ontextured surfaces In general, advanced surfaces for heat and mass transfer problems consist of textures or micro-structures which are characterized by periodical arrangements of two- or three- dimensional obstacles. These complex topographies are used in chemical engineering applications with amplitudes in the range of the occurring liquid film thickness which size is in the order of 0.001 m. 0263-8762/$ – see front matter ©2011The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cherd.2011.01.010