Method of separating carbon dioxide from a gas mixture using a fluid dynamic instability

Abstract

In a method of separating carbon dioxide from a gas mixture, a liquid solvent flows down an array of vertical wires with the gas mixture flowing over the liquid. Once on the wire, the liquid quickly breaks up into drops of varying sizes, with each size moving down the wire at a different velocity. Large, faster moving drops overtake the small, slower moving drops to form even larger drops. As the drops fall, new drops are created behind the falling drops. Consequently, drops of a large range of sizes are forming, colliding, and mixing as they travel down the wire. During this process, gas molecules that have adsorbed onto the liquid surface are mixed into the interior of the solvent, resulting in highly effective mass transfer and gas absorption. This enhanced mass transfer allows greater flexibility in the choice of solvent and in the system design.