CFD simulation with enhancement factor of sulfur dioxide absorption in the spray scrubber

A model describing the absorption process of SO(2) into limestone slurry with a spray scrubber is presented. Both the physical performance of the spray liquid in the scrubber and the involved chemical reactions are analyzed in the model. A continuous concentration change of H+ was solved by iterative coupling using Matlab, and it was found that there was a remarkable influence on the concentration of the other elements in the process of SO(2) absorption. The calculations show that the enhancement factor exponentially grows with an increasing value of pH and logarithmically decays with an increasing value of the driving force. To verify the accuracy of the model, experiments were also carried out, and the results suggest that the model, after combining the physical performance of the spray and the enhancement factor, can more precisely describe SO(2) absorption in a spray scrubber. Furthermore, a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool is used to perform several simulations which describe and clarify the effects of variables on SO(2) absorption. The results of numerical simulation can provide a basis for further design and optimization of the scrubber.