Gas absorption accompanied by chemical reaction: A study of the absorption of carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine

Experiments were conducted on the absorption of carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine in a very short wetted‐wall column. When the absorption was effected from pure carbon dioxide streams, the results conformed to a theoretical relation for absorption combined with very fast second‐order reaction. This is in accordance with expectations based on the probable mechanism and rate of the reaction. The data indicate that there is no appreciable effect of nonequilibrium at the interface for this particular reaction system over the range of exposure times studied. When mixed gas streams were used, it was necessary to resort to empiricism to correlate the data, although the correlating expression arose from theoretical considerations.