Experimental investigation of mass transfer performance with some random packings for ammonia rectification in ammonia–water absorption refrigeration systems

In ammonia water absorption refrigeration systems (AARS) a high efficiency purification process to remove the water content from the generated vapour is of great importance. One type of equipment to carry out this process is a packed column. Any type of detailed analysis of a packed column requires the calculation of mass transfer coefficients. Therefore, the correlations to obtain these coefficients become an essential tool for an accurate analysis and design of these devices. An experimental facility has been designed and built to analyze the ammonia–water rectification process in packed columns. In this paper a brief description of the experimental facility is given and the variables required to analyze the column performance are explained. An analytical method to determine mass transfer coefficients from the experimental data is developed. Results of mass transfer coefficients for 15 mm glass Raschig rings, ceramic Berl saddles and ceramic Novalox saddles random packings are reported. The experimental results are compared with different mass transfer correlations proposed in the literature. In the paper corrected correlations are proposed for the packings considered. These correlations could be used to analyze and design a packed column for AARS.