~ UTTERWORTH

E I N E M A N N
Int. J. Rel?ig. VoL 18, No. 7, pp486 494, 1995
Copyright ~i' 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR
0140-7007(95)00007-0 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0140-7007'95/$ I 0.00 -~ .00

Absorption of water vapour into falling films of

aqueous lithium bromide
K. J. Kim* and N. S. Berman
Department of Chemical, Bio and Materials Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe,
AZ 85287, USA
D. S. C. Chau and B. D. Wood
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe,
AZ 85287, USA
Received 3 November 1994; revised 20 M a r c h 1995

In this study, experiments have been performed for water vapour absorption into 50 and 60 mass% aqueous
lithium bromide solution films flowing down a vertical surface to investigate the effects of liquid diffusivity
values, molecular properties of the concentrated solutions and non-absorbable gases. The experimental
results for wavy films over a film Reynolds number range of 15-90 indicate larger dimensionless mass
transfer rates than for strictly laminar flow when the diffusivity of water in a concentrated lithium bromide
solution is less than that in a dilute solution. The complete set of results shows that the physical property
data for lithium bromide solutions including the diffusivities measured by Kashiwagi 1 are sufficient to
explain mass transfer behaviour.
(Keywords: wavy films; absorption; lithium bromide; vertical failing film)

Absorption de vapeur d'eau dand des films tombants

de solution de bromure de lithium
Dans cette ktude, on a effectuk des expkriences sur l'absorption de vapeur d'eau dans une solution aqueuse
de bromure de lithium (50% 5 60% en masse) en forme de film en kcoulement sur une surface verticale,
qfin dWudier les effets des gaz non absorbbs, des valeurs de diffusivit~ de liquide, ainsi que les propri~tOs
moleculaires des solutions concentr~es. Les rksultats exp&imentaux pour les films ondulks sur une 9amme
de nombres de Reynolds allant de 15 5 90 laissent supposer que les taux sans dimension de transfert massique
sont plus importants que clans le cas d'un kcoulement strictment laminaire, lorsque le diffusivitb de l'eau dans
une solution concentrke de bromure de lithium est moins importante que celle d'une solution diluke. L'ensemble
des rksultats montre que les donnkes sur les propriktks physiques des solutions de bromure de lithium, y compris
les diffusivit~s mesur~es par Kashiwag, sont suffisantes pour expliquer le comportement du transfert de masse.)
(Mots ¢l/~s:absorption; bromure de lithium; film tombant vertical; r6gime turbulent; r6gime laminaire)

Gas absorption into a falling liquid film is a classical
problem with applications in absorption heat pumps. A
liquid absorbent (or desiccant) has an affinity for an
absorbate (normally a vapour). Mass transfer is due to
the difference between the absorbate pressure and the
vapour pressure of the absorbent at the given temperature
and concentration. In the case of an aqueous lithium
bromide solution that has 60 m a s s % concentration and
40 °C temperature introduced into an absorber with the
pressure of water vapour set by an evaporator at 7 °C,
there is 2.18 m m H g of driving potential based on the
overall gas phase or a 3% differential concentration based
on the liquid phase. Once absorption starts, the vapour
pressure of absorbent at the interface is increased
owing to the increased temperature and the decreased
concentration of lithium bromide. Experimentally, it is
impossible to remove non-absorbable gases completely
so the driving potential at the liquid gas interface can
be further reduced.
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Present address
is Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE), University
of Maryland, College Park, M D 20742, USA
In this paper we report results of experimental studies
of water vapour absorption into 50 and 60 mass% lithium
bromide in a falling-film apparatus. We examine the effect
of changes in non-absorbables, length of absorber and
overall driving potential. The interpretation of results is
highly dependent on the value of the diffusivity of water
in these concentrated solutions and we will discuss this
problem in the paper.
The fluid dynamics of the liquid film is governed by
the film Reynolds number
4F
Ref = - - (1)
~t
where F is the mass flowrate per unit perimeter and F is
the dynamic viscosity. Sherwood and Pigford z categorized
the flow regimes as: laminar without rippling (Ref < 4-25);
laminar with rippling (the wavy regime, 4-25 < Ref < 1000-
2000); and turbulent flow (Ref> 1000-2000). Empirical
or semi-empirical approaches are essential in order to
develop absorber relationships that can be used for design
in the wavy regime.
For a lithium bromide-water system the Lewis

486
 Absorption of water vapour into falling films of aqueous lithium bromide: 487

Nomenclature

A Contact area (m 2) x Distance in flow direction (m)

C Solution concentration (mass%) Yo Mean film thickness (m)
Cair Air concentration (vol%) Greek letters
D Mass diffusivity (m 2 s-1) /3 Dimensionless quantity defined in
Eff Absorption effectiveness Equation (3)
g Gravitational acceleration (m s-2) Mass flowrate per unit perimeter (kg s-1
F
hm Mass transfer coefficient (m s - l ) m ~)
L Absorber length (m) ~t Dynamic viscosity (kg s-1 m - l )
Le Lewis number V Kinematic viscosity (m 2 s-1)
LMPD Logarithmic mean concentration difference Liquid density (kg m-3)
of pressure difference (mmHg) P
M Mass flowrate (kg s-1) Subscripts
P Pressure (mmHg) abs Absorption
Pv Absorber pressure (mmHg or mbar) eq Equilibrium
Ref Reynolds number f Film
Sh Sherwood number sin Solution inlet
T~i. Cooling water temperature (°C) sout Solution outlet
t Exposure time (s) 1,2 Inlet, outlet of the absorber

number Le, the ratio of thermal diffusivity to mass
diffusivity, is on the order of 10 2. Thus a slowly developed
diffusion boundary layer appears relative to a thermal
boundary layer. In the laminar regime, molecular
diffusion in the liquid phase governs the absorption
process. One way to overcome the weak mass transfer
rate is to use wavy motions caused by hydrodynamic
instabilities so as to break the slowly developed diffusion
boundary layer; then enhanced mixing in the liquid phase
can increase the mass transfer rate significantly. Mass
transfer enhancement (usually a 50-200% increase in
mass transfer coefficient compared with that of a smooth
laminar flow) by wavy motion has been demonstrated
experimentally3 6.
Vertical falling-film absorption with the lithium
bromide-water system has been studied by a limited
number of investigators. Nakoryakov et al. v tested the
following parameters: a film Reynolds number of 80-800,
58-60 mass% lithium bromide inlet solution concentration,
7 15 mmHg absorber pressure. A comparison between
the vertical tube absorber and horizontal tube absorber
was experimentally investigated by Burdukov et al. 8. The
lithium chloride--water absorption system was studied by
Ameel 9, Yang 1° and Yang and Wood 11. None of the
previous experimental studies compared the results with
short- and long-time laminar flow mass transfer in a
falling film, or developed a universal correlation that
would fit all of the data.
Sherwood et al. ~2 give mass transfer correlations for
gas absorption into a falling liquid film process where
the liquid is a steady laminar flow with constant
concentration at the gas liquid interface. For short
contact time the penetration theory produces a
dimensionless mass transfer coefficient
hmpx f~
-1.695x//3 (2)
F reduced when only 0.01% air is present in the gas phase.
where h m is the mass transfer coefficient, p is the liquid
density, x is the distance in the flow direction, and F is
the liquid feed. The dimensionless quantity fl is given by
Dt /4\~ f y \~
= 2/-/Dx/~/ (3)
fl= .~o \3J \v R e f J
where D is the mass diffusivity, t is the exposure time, yo
is the mean film thickness, g is gravitational acceleration,
and v is the kinematic viscosity.
The left side of Equation (2) can also be expressed in
terms of the Sherwood number Sh, defined as
hm
Sh- (4)
D
Considering the velocity gradient as a parabola (large
value of /3), the long contact time solution can be
approximated as
hmpx
-- =0.24+ 5.1fl (5)
F
For gas absorption in a vertical column, where the liquid
is a smooth film, Equations (2) and (4) can be used to
draw a baseline for the cases of both short and long
contact time. For a higher Ref, the film becomes wavy;
then mass transfer will be increased owing to improved
mixing.
When non-absorbables are present in the gas phase,
the use of the overall driving force to determine the
experimental mass transfer coefficient could give hmpx/F
greater or less than that determined from Equation (2)
and (5), depending on the diffusivity in the liquid phase.
Yang and Chen 13 show that for a liquid diffusivity about
the same as in pure water, the mass transfer is drastically
Concentrated lithium salt solutions contain very little
free water because the lithium ion coordinates with four
water molecules 14 16. The movement of water molecules
488
is restricted, leading to a lower mass diffusivity compared
with water in low salt concentrations. Three recent studies
report diffusivities as shown in Figure 1. Enderby iv
measured a local diffusivity using nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and Kashiwagi 1 obtained
concentration profiles in a stagnant absorption experiment
using holographic inteferometry. Kashiwagi's results are
a factor of 3 lower for 60 mass% lithium bromide than
typical diffusivities used previously in absorption
calculations 18.
Experimental
The main components of the system are an absorber unit,
an evaporator, a cooling water system, a circulation
system, a vacuum-generating system, and measuring
devices. The system operates in a batch mode. A
schematic diagram of the system is shown in Figure 2.
Details can be found in ref. 19.
The absorber has two concentric tubes: an inner
stainless steel tube of outside diameter 38.1 mm and
length 1.83 m, and an outer Pyrex tube of inside diameter
148 mm and length 1.22 m. The absorbent solution flows
down the outside of the inner tube. The outer Pyrex tube
serves to maintain the vacuum pressure and to facilitate
flow observation. The absorption of water vapour takes
place at the outer wetted surface of the inner stainless
tube, and the heat of absorption is removed by the upward
flow of cooling water inside the stainless tube. The inner
tube has an inside diameter of 34.9 mm. The outer Pyrex
tube with 169 mm outside diameter is made from a
KIMAX drainline pipe. Two brass end-plates are
mounted on the ends of the outer tube using four threaded
steel rods. Rubber ring seals are attached to the place
between the ends and glass tube.
The solution distributor, made of Plexiglass, is
mounted on the upper plate. The distributor can hold
approximately 1.051 of absorbent solution. The absorbent
solution is introduced through the solution inlet, stays
more than 20 s in the solution distributor so as to
eliminate possible disturbances, and flows into the
annular space between the head and the stainless steel
tube. The weak solution is collected at the bottom part
of the absorber by a funnel, and flows into a Plexiglass
collector. The effective absorber length can be varied by
moving the collector and funnel up towards the
5 concentration is determined from a hydrometer reading.
] --o- Er~,y o9s3, LiCl) ]
4 .......[ - - -0- - Kashiw~ (1984,
g F [ -- "El -- Andberg (1986, LiSr)
~. 3 ...................... : ......................... i......................... i......................... i ......................
2 ................. .....................
............~..... : ................:...
0 , , i i i i ,
0 4 8 12
Salt C o n c e n t r a t i o n (Molar)
Figure 1 Diffusivities of water for lithium salts solutions
Figure 1 Diffi~sivitds de l'eau les solutions de sels de lithium
K.J. Kim et al.
distributor. The maximum absorber length available is
85 cm.
In order to supply water vapour into the absorber unit,
a 2 gal (7.5 l) electric water heater with a 1.44 kW heating
element is used as the evaporator. The evaporator
temperature can be controlled with a temperature-
controlling unit to maintain the required absorber
pressure. The deionized water that is used as the
absorbate can be de-aerated by evacuating the evapor-
ator.
The cooling water system is composed of a constant
head tank with a 250 gal (950 1) capacity, a centrifugal
pump that circulates the cooling water, and a water-
temperature controller unit. This controller unit, with
four Chromalox heaters that are rated at 1.5, 2.5, 5.0 and
7.5 kW capacity, is able to control the cooling water
temperature to +0.1 °C. As the constant-head tank is
located outside the building, a heat exchanger is used to
control the cooling water temperature. The building's
chilled water system supplies chilled water to the heat
exchanger. Both rotameter and a Rockwell flowmeter
indicate the flowrate of the cooling water.
The lithium bromide solution circulation system
consists of the strong solution tank, a collecting tank, a
mass flowmeter, and a circulation pump. The strong
solution tank has a 40 gal (150 1) capacity, and is sealed
so that it can be de-aerated by the vacuum pump. The
tank can be heated to regenerate the weak solution and
reduce the amount of air dissolved. The temperature of
the inlet solution is controlled by the use of a screw plug
heater, a heat exchanger, and heating tape, which is
wrapped around the tubing. A rotary gear pump is used
to introduce the strong solution into the absorber
and to circulate the strong solution during de-aeration.
Two mechanical vacuum pumps are used to evacuate
the absorber and the collecting tank. Commercial dry-ice
cold traps that condense the water vapour and molecular
sieves that prevent oil contamination from the mechanical
pumps are connected to the inlet side of each pump.
Each pump is connected to the different locations in the
experimental system by Viton TM vacuum hoses and
copper tubing.
The flowrate of the strong solution is determined by
a mass flowmeter. This meter includes a flow control
valve in order to adjust the required flowrate of the strong
solution. The inlet and outlet solutions are sampled by
collection into pre-evacuated samplers. In the process of
preparing the inlet solution, a quick check of the
More precise measurements for the inlet solution
LiBr) [ ...............
" ...................... concentration are performed with a pycnometer. A curve
] i fit to the aqueous lithium bromide density presented in
Washburn 2° as a function of concentration at 30 °C is
used to determine the inlet and outlet lithium bromide
concentrations.
.............
Type K thermocouples are located at the absorber inlet
and outlet, the cooling water inlet and outlet, the
:..:. ~ .....~=:~............. evaporator, and the two gas sample vessels. A dry vacuum
containing little water vapour is measured by a
thermocouple gauge. This thermocouple gauge can be
l l i J i r
used only during the de-aeration process, as the main
16 20
component of the gas contained in the absorber during
the experiment is water vapour. The absorber pressure
is monitored by a piezoelectric gauge. This pressure
transducer is installed at the top of the absorber. The
 Absorption of water vapour into falling films of aqueous lithium bromide. 489

ST

CL

HE

a x l II It::: OUt
m
Chilled T

Walcr

PG2
VP1

CR2 SV2

MS -"O AS1
AS2

HE4 VP2

CRI SVI

HEI ~'~1 CT
SAI

CPI

AB: Absorber DS: Solution Dismbutor RM: Rotameter

CL: Cooling Tank EV: Evaporator SAI,2: Sampling Bottle
CO: Collector FC: Flow Controller ST: StrongSolution Tank
C'PI,2: Circulation Pump HE1-4: Heater SV1,2: SieveTrap
CR1,2: Cold Trap HXI,2: Hem Exchanger V P I , 2 : Vacuum Pump
CT: CollecLingTank MS: MassSpectrometer WI: Walexinlet
AS1,2: Air Smnples PG 1,2: PressureGauge WP: WaterPump
DM: MassFlow Meter RF: WaterFlow Meter
Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the experimental system
Figure 2 Schdma du sust&ne expdrimental

piezoelectric absolute pressure gauge was calibrated by Test conditions

comparing with a McLeod gauge for the pressure range
of 1-10 mmHg.
The non-absorbable concentration is determined by
the 'freezing out' method 9. Gas samples from the absorber
are collected in a stainless steel container and cooled to
approximately 203 K to remove the water from the
vapour phase. The non-absorbable mass is determined
from the pressure, temperature and volume of the
remaining vapour.
Test solutions were prepared from aqueous lithium
bromide with impurities less than 0.5%, purchased from
F M C Lithium Corporation. Approximately 0.01 mol%
lithium hydroxide as a corrosion inhibitor was added to
raise the pH of the lithium bromide-water solution to
approximately 10. The concentration of non-absorbable
gas was maintained at less than 2% unless the effect of
the non-absorbable was to be studied. Control variables
that included inlet solution concentration, inlet solution
490 K.J. Kim et al.

Table 1 The base and variations in operating conditions of absorption were obtained from AndberglS: heat
Tableau 1 Conditions de fonctionnement, param~tres de base et leurs capacity and viscosity from L6weraX; vapour pressure
variations
from Siebe22; and enthalpy from ASHRAE 23. The liquid
Base Range diffusivity results of Kashiwagi l were used. For each run,
properties were evaluated at the average conditions of
Inlet solution 57.7-60.5 mass% the absorption.
concentration, Csi. 60 mass% LiBr/H20
Inlet solution 35-45 °C
temperature, T~. 40 °C Results and discussion
Absorber pressure, Pv 7.6 mmHg" 7.6-12 mmHg
Cooling water 25-35 °C The mass transfer in the liquid falling film depends upon
temperature, Tci. 30°C
Absorber length, L 85 cm 40-85 cm the flowrate and the transport properties of the liquid.
Absorbent flow rate, Ref ~60 15-150 Other parameters that influence the mass transfer as
Air concentration, C~ < 2% < 2% boundary conditions may be the non-absorbable gas
concentration, the inlet solution temperature, the cooling
aThis absorber pressure corresponds to the evaporator temperature of water temperature, the absorber pressure, the inlet
7°C
solution concentration, the absorber length, and the heat
of absorption. The heat of absorption can be removed
temperature, absorber pressure, cooling water temperature, from the group of independent parameters, as the heat
absorber length and absorbent flowrate were investigated. of absorption remained essentially constant over most of
The base operating condition and the range of changes the test conditions.
investigated in this work are summarized in Table 1.
Flow observation
Data reduction
Without absorption, uniform wetting could be achieved
F r o m a species balance, the absorption rate Mab~ is at very low flowrates, Ref=O(1). With absorption, a
determined by smooth film flow could be maintained only when Ref > 16.
When solution flowrates were varied in the range of film
Mabs = Msout- Msi n =
M(
sin~Csout -- 1) (6)
Reynolds number from 30 to 90, the flow was characterized
as a 'wavy laminar' flow. Wave inception 24 starts between
10 and 20 cm from the top of the absorber for these
where Msout and M s i n a r e the outlet and inlet solution flowrates. The measured values of wave inception
flowrates, and Csout and Csi, are the outlet and inlet distance are compared with ones from Brauner and
solution concentrations respectively. The mass transfer M a r o n 25 in Figure 3. The wave inception starts earlier
coefficient h m is obtained from than expected, as the absorber surface is not perfectly
smooth and a vertical falling film is always unstable 26.
Mab s = hmAz~C (7) The wave amplitude increases with increasing solution
flowrate, as Fulford z7 indicates. However, it seems that
where AC is the mass transfer driving potential the increase is not directly proportional to the absorbent
(AC=AP.dC/dP) and A is the contact area. The flowrate. As the flowrate increases, small and regular
logarithmic mean concentration difference of pressure waves at the lower flowrates become irregular waves:
difference ~2, L M P D , is used for the driving potential: so-called 'roll waves' distinguished by their steep front,
a long and gently sloping tail, and a set of preceding
AP 1 - AP 2 small waves termed 'push waves '9. Occasionally, wetting
LMPD = (8) became a problem when the film Reynolds number was
ln(API~ less than 30. The slight difference in flow patterns between
\S j the falling film and the falling film under absorption seems

where AP~ and AP 2 are the difference between the partial

pressure of water in the gas phase and the vapour pressure 0.4 ' ' I ' ' ' I ' ' ' I ' ' ' I '

of the bulk liquid at the inlet and outlet of the absorber theory (Braunerand Maron, 1982)
respectively. Similarly, the logarithmic mean concentration • experiment(this work)
diference is found from the concentration of water giving 0.3
a vapour pressure equal to the partial pressure in the g
bulk gas phase minus the bulk liquid concentration at "=,q.
o
o 0.2 J
the inlet and outlet. If the inlet and outlet solution and ,=
gas temperatures and concentrations are known, the o

corresponding vapour pressures or concentration can be ~: 0.1

obtained. Then the logarithmic mean can be determined.
Finally, a mass transfer coefficient can be obtained from
Equation (7). 0 , , I , , , I i l i I , , 1 I , , ,

0 20 40 60 80 1oo
eeI
Physical properties
Figure 3 Wave reception vs film Reynolds number
A complete discussion of the property database can be Figure 3 D~butde laformation du r~gimeturbulent, dans lefilm tornbant,
found in ref. 19. Density, thermal conductivity and heat en fonction du nombre de Reynolds
 Absorption of water vapour into falling films of aqueous lithium bromide. 491

to be decreased wave frequency and decreased wave interracial gas phase concentration, inlet solution
amplitude during the absorption. No attempt was made temperature, cooling water temperature, absorber pressure,
to measure the local wave amplitude or film thickness in and inlet solution concentration were independently
the present study. varied. Figures 5-8 show the change in Sherwood number
as a function of these variables when the partial pressure
at the interface is given by the absorber pressure minus
Absorbent flowrate effect the measured bulk non-absorbable partial pressure.
Absorption data for 60 mass% lithium bromide were If the non-absorbable gas effect is negligible, the
measured at the approximate absorbent film Reynolds
numbers of 15, 30, 60 and 90. The mass transfer coefficient
I0 ' ' ' I ' '=' ' I ' ' ' I ' ' ' I ' ' '
in the form of the Sherwood number as a function of
film Reynolds number is shown in Figure 4. For the C.~ = 59.7 mass%

short-time penetration theory result, Sh is proportional 8 T,,. = 400 °C

Pv = 7 6 rnmHg
to the Reynolds number to the one-third power, and L = 85 cm

within experimental error the experimental result shows 6 Re r - 59 I

a similar trend.
4 0 0
Driving potential effects S
The actual driving potential at the liquid-gas interface 2
is the partial pressure of water in the gas phase (the gas
phase is composed of water vapour and an unknown 0 I I t I , , , 1 1 1 , I , t | I i i i

amount of non-absorbable gases) minus the local vapour 20 24 28 32 36 40

pressure of the aqueous lithium bromide at the given Tcin (°C)
temperature and composition. The problem is complicated Figure 6 Cooling water temperature effect on mass transfer rate
because the local conditions are unknown. In order to Figure 6 Effet de la temperature de l'eau de re[~'oidissement sur le taux
investigate the effect of the operating variables on the de transfert de masse

' ' ' I ' ' f I ' 10 ' I ' ' ' I ' ' I ' ~ ' I ' ' '

C.,. = 59.5 mass%

C.,. = 595 mass%
T.,. = 40.2 °C 8 T~ = 297 °C
T~,~ = 300 °C
T.,. = 40.0 °C
p. = 7.6 mmHg
L = 85 cm
L = 85 crn
6 Ref = 60.0
a-
.gg

o c ~ oO OC %
4 O
(23
O
8 O

0 , l , I 1 J l I t i , 1 L , ,
0 ~ , , I , , , I , , , I , J , I J , L

0 20 40 60 80 100 8 10 12 14 16 18
Re t
Pv (millibar)
Figure 4 Absorbent flowrate effect on dimensionless mass transfer Figure 7 Absorber pressure effect on mass transfer rate {mmHg/
rate (Sherwood number) m b a r =0.75)
Figure 4 l~ffet du dkbit de I'absorbant sur le taux sans dimension de Figure 7 Effet de la pression de rabsorbeur sur le taux de transfert
tran,~yert massique (hombre de Sherwood) massique (mmHg/mbar = 0,75)

10 ' ' ' I ' ' ' '1"" ' ' ' I ' ' ' I ' " ' i ' 10 .... I .... I ' ' ' ' 1 ' ' ' ' '"''1 .... t ' ' ' '

Cm = 59.7 mllssa/*
T,~ = 29.9 °C
8 T¢. = 29.9 *C
8 T.,. = 400 °C
P, = 7.6 mmHg
P. = 76 mmHg
er = 58.3
L = 85 cm
= 85 cm
6 6 Ret = 60.1

r~

4 4
o o
o o ~ oo °o Oo
oO
2 oO 2 O0

0 0
34 36 38 40 42 44 46 57 57.5 58 58.5 59 59.5 60 60.5
Tsin (°C) LiBr Cont.(mass%)
Figure 5 Inlet solution temperature effect on mass transfer rate Figure 8 Inlet solution concentration effect on mass transfer rate
Figure 5 l~ffet de la tempdrature de la solution ~ rentrOe sur le taux Figure 8 Effet de la concentration de la solution fi l'entrde sur le taux
de transfert massique de transfert massique
492 K. ,,I. Kim et al.

Sherwood number should be constant. In every case, as
shown in these figures, there is a trend that indicates that
the true partial pressure of water at the interface is less
than the assumed value: that is, the non-absorbable
concentration at the interface is higher than in the bulk
gas phase. It is difficult to assign a numerical value to
the non-absorbable concentration at the interface. There
can be both increases and decreases in the driving force
along the length of the absorber. When the driving
force was nearly the same at the inlet and outlet, there
was little change in the Sherwood number when other
variables were changed. This is consistent with the
assumptions above.
Absorber length effect
The effective contact length of the absorber was set at
40, 60, and 85 cm and the flowrates of Ref= 30.3, 57.6
and 91.5 were investigated. The results are presented in
Figure 9 in terms of the concentration profiles based upon
the negative concentration difference between inlet and
outlet solution. As Yang 1° showed, the concentration
profiles are linear in this range.
N on-absorbables effects
The experiments shown in Figure 5 involving a change
in the inlet solution temperature with all other variables
1
~ 0.5 C.,.
¢ P.
[ Fiyure 10 shows non-absorbable concentration effects
g 0
-0.5
~) -1
J.5
Reo = 57.6
il -2 - - -~ -
i
given in Table 1 held constant can be used to estimate
the non-absorbable concentration at the interface. When
the inlet temperature was 35.8°C, the uncorrected
Sherwood number was 3.7, and when the inlet temperature
was 43.3 °C, the Sherwood number was 1.7. The liquid
phase overall logarithmic mean driving force was 4.10%
differential concentration for the lower inlet temperature
and 1.85% differential concentration for the higher
temperature. With 10% air at the interface, these driving
forces drop to 3.0 and 0.4% differential concentration
respectively. This means that the Sherwood numbers
should be multiplied by 1.36 and 4.66 respectively, so
that the actual air concentration must be somewhat
less than 10% to get the results to match. As the driving
force at the inlet for the higher-temperature inlet
experimental is small, this particular experiment is very
sensitive to the selection of the air concentration at the
interface. We leave our estimate at 10%, although 9%
is closer and 8% does not give enough correction, because
the assumption that the non-absorbable concentration
at the inlet and outlet is the same may be in question.
In ref. 13 the vapour flow is co-current at the same velocity
as the liquid interface, and the cooling water is just
sufficient to hold the inner wall of the falling film at
constant temperature; then the concentration of non-
absorbables at the interface is a function of distance from
the inlet. In this work the vapour flow is an annular pipe
flow counter-current to the liquid flow, and the cooling
water flowrate is high enough to cool the falling film at
the exit compared with the inlet. The 10% air at the
interface would mean that the base case in this work
should have a mass transfer coefficient 1.5 times that
- 59 5 mass% T.,. 40 2 °C measured if no air were present.
= 7 6 mmHg T,,~ - 29 9 °C
on Sherwood number. The Sherwood number is decreased
as much as 20% as air content is increased from 0.5 to
15% at this particular operating condition. Non-
absorbable effects appear constant as long as the
concentration is maintained at less than 2%. This result
shows the same trends as ref. 9. However, Yang and
" ' - ~,)

Re', = 30.3
/
O Chen 13 find that there can be a large drop in mass transfer
-- -e- Ref =91.5 from zero non-absorbable concentration to 0.01% (mass
-2.5 i i i i I i i , , , , I , , , I , , i
transfer rate drops by a factor of 5 at a length of 1 m)
0 20 40 60 80 100 and only small changes from 0.01% to 30% similar to
L (cm) those observed here. Our results on the variation of the
Figure 9 Concentration profile along the absorber length driving force suggest a much smaller decrease of possibly
Figure 9 Profil de concentration le long de l'absorbeur 50%, as shown for the experiments with different inlet
temperatures for the zero to any non-absorbables. An
examination of the mass transfer correlation and the
10 , ' , ..... i ........ i ........
liquid diffusivity used in the calculation is necessary to
explain the difference between this work and that of Yang
C.= = 59.6 mass%
8 To,~ = 30.0 °C and Chen.
T.,. = 400 °C
L = 85 cm/Ret = 59,0
6 p, = 7,6 mmHg

Mass transfer correlations

4
In gas absorption processes, the liquid-side resistance
03 controls the mass transfer phenomena in the absence of
2 non-absorbables. Figure 11 shows the comparisons
between the present experimental work and the laminar
0 i i i I ,ill , , i ,,,,,I , , i ,i,,
approximation solutions by Sherwood et al. 12 for short
0.1 1 10 100 and long contact time. The contact length in the range
Cair (%) of 40-85 cm and the flowrate in the range of Ref = 15-90
Figure 10 Non-absorbables effect on mass transfer rate for 60 mass% lithium bromide were employed in this
Figure 10 Effet des gaz non absorbables sur le taux de transfert massique analysis.
 Absorption of water vapour into falling films of aqueous fithium bromide. 493

100 Further improvement in absorption efficiency

60 m a s % LiBr
• 50 mass% LiBr
When the vapour pressure of the absorbent reaches
10 the absorber pressure, absorption stops. Therefore the
absorption effectiveness Eel, the ratio of the
actual absorption mass transfer to the overall mass
hmpx
--I "j transfer driving potential, is
F
actual concentration change C~i. - C~o.!
O. 1 Eff --
Long a n d S h o r t maximum driving potential C~. - Ceq(T~., P 3
Conlacl Time Solution
(10)
by S h c r w o o d el al. ( 1 0 7 5 ) -]
0.01 . . . . . . . . t . . . . . . . . h . . . . . . . . I

to
Figure II M a s s t r a n s f e r c o r r e l a t i o n for 50 a n d 60 m a s s % s o l u t i o n s
Figure ll Correlation de transfert de masse pour des solutions 5 50 et
Zt 60%o en masse
If we had used the diffusivity of water in a dilute
solution of lithium bromide instead of Kashiwagi's
results, the points in Figure 11 would move to the left.
Then the experimental results would fall under the
laminar theoretical lines, indicating that the non-
absorbable concentration less than 2% did have a large
effect on the mass transfer. In fact, for the points that
would fall under the long-time approximation, the
reduction in mass transfer coefficient would be about that
predicted by Yang and Chen. The implication is that
non-absorbables have less effect in the high concentration
solution absorption because the liquid diffusivity is lower
than that used by Yang and Chen (the resistance of the
liquid phase is controlling for the high-concentration
lithium bromide solutions with non-absorbables in the
gas phase under the conditions of these experiments).
The experimental data can be correlated by a
dimensionless form of mass transfer coefficient and
a dimensionless reciprocal contact time as in Equation (2):
hmpx /V 2\h
-a~t)
where a = 3 . 9 4 and b = - 0 . 6 0 for 60 mass% lithium
bromide.
The characteristics of aqueous lithium bromide solution
are dependent upon the number of water molecules
associated with the lithium ion. When the lithium
.y,,2 Ioo looo where Ceq(T~i,, Pv) is the equilibrium solution concentration
Dt
at given temperature and absorber pressure. Note that
the inlet cooling water temperature is used to define the
equilibrium condition, as the inlet cooling water
temperature is the minimum temperature that can be
achieved. Absorption effectiveness for contact lengths in
the range of 40-85 cm and flowrates in the range
Re r = 30-100 are plotted in Figure 12. A higher absorption
effectiveness could be achieved by lower absorbent
flowrates. There is still considerable potential to improve
the absorption efficiency, as the maximum effectiveness
achieved was approximately 40%. Wavy motions are
able to enhance the mass transfer rate. However,
maximum mass transfer has not been achieved for the
given geometry and the given conditions. In order to
achieve the maximum mass transfer, it is necessary to
break up the diffusion boundary layer more rigorously
or to obtain a longer contact time. Increasing the contact
length or decreasing the flowrate provides a longer
contact time. However, increased length increases
absorber size and requires higher construction costs.
Adding small amounts of surface-active agents has been
found to enhance the heat and mass transfer by
introducing interfacial turbulence and providing better
wetting 28. Experiments to determine the mass transfer
correlation with 2-ethyl-l-hexanol as an additive are
discussed in ref. 29.
Summary and conclusion
Experiments on absorption of water vapour into a falling
(9) film of 60 mass% lithium bromide solution were
performed in the wavy film range of Reynolds numbers.
When the dimensionless mass transfer coefficients were
80
! !

bromide concentration exceeds 55.6 mass%, all of the

water molecules are tied up in the first coordination ring. 60
= 2(~9 °(' P. = 76mmH
Based upon the free water available in the solution, 50
and 60 mass% lithium bromide may have to be treated - " "@" ~ L = 85 c m
as two different absorbents. Experimental studies for a - - "~"- L = 60 cm
40
50 mass% aqueous lithium bromide were also performed
in the film flow Reynolds number range of approximately
60-200 (see Figure 11) to test the free water effect. The 20
fitted values of a = 3.906 and b = - 0 . 5 9 for the 50 mass%
lithium bromide are not significantly different from the
values for 60 mass%, The experiments were set up so 0 l l ~ l l l l l

that driving force neglecting non-absorbables would be 20 40 60 80 100

the same for 50 and 60 mass% solutions; thus any effect Re[
of the coordination of water with lithium is accounted Figure 12 A b s o r p t i o n effectiveness
for by the vapour pressure behaviour. F i g u r e 12 Efficacit~ de l'absorption
494 K.J. Kim et al.
calculated using physical properties from previous
absorption studies except for the diffusivity of water in
the solution, the dimensionless mass transfer coefficients
were higher than predicted for a laminar film. This is
consistent with an expected increase for a wavy film.
The results of varying the parameters in the experiments
showed that the base case with 1% non-absorbables in
the bulk vapour had about 10% non-absorbables at the
liquid-gas interface. This leads to about 50% less mass
transfer than if no air were present in the vapour Yang
and Chen 13 predict from numerical calculations that the
decrease due to non-absorbables would be much larger;
however, the diffusivity used by Yang and Chert was
higher than that used in this work.
In terms of the dimensionless mass transfer coefficient
correlated in the manner of Sherwood et al.12, there was
no difference between 50 mass% and 60 mass% lithium
bromide solutions, although vapour pressures, diffusivities
and viscosities have larger difference. This result confirms
that the mass transfer for these high concentration salts
depends on the Reynolds and Schmidt numbers and the
dimensionless distance from the inlet, not on any other
parameters. The results of the correlation of the data and
the analysis of the effects of non-absorbables support the
use of the diffusivity measurements of KashiwagiL
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support of the Gas
Research Institute under contract number 5089-260-1874.
Dr Timothy A. Ameel provided suggestions for successful
experiments.
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