Study of SO 2 absorption in a spray tower using CFD

Abstract

Gas scrubbers are important equipment for air pollution removal. Among the scrubbers we can highlight the spray tower, which has several advantages, such as low pressure drop, easy maintenance and low operational costs. However, the velocity profile inside this equipment is complex, making its analysis and design very difficult. Therefore, the present work aims to perform numerical simulations using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) using Euler-Lagrange approach applied to a spray tower for SO2 absorption. The simulations evaluated the influence of the following variables on velocity and SO2 profiles, as gas and liquid flow rates, size droplet distribution and spray nozzles with different orifice diameters. The results obtained by CFD simulations showed the main absorption zones in the column and the influence of gas velocity, particle trajectories and droplet diameter in the sulfur dioxide absorption process. Furthermore, the experimental efficiencies were compared with the simulated for two conditions, the first condition with an experimental efficiency of 89% presented a simulated efficiency of 79.6% and the second condition with an experimental efficiency of 98.27% presented a simulated efficiency of 100%. This shows a good approximation between the simulated and experimental results