Effects of Non-absorbable Gases in the Absorption of Water Vapor by Aqueous LiBr Solution Film on Horizontal Tube Banks

In the present study, the effects of film Reynolds number (60∼200) and volumetric content of non-absorbable gases (0∼10%) in water vapor on the absorption process of aqueous LiBr solution were investigated experimentally. The formation of solution film on the horizontal tubes of six rows was observed to be complete for Re>100. Transition film Reynolds number was found to exist above which the Nusselt number and Schmidt number diminishes with solution flow rate. As the concentration of non-absorbable gases increased, mass transfer rate decreased more seriously than heat transfer rate did. the degradation effects of non-absorbable gases seemed to be significant especially when small amount of non-absorbable gases was introduced to the pure water vapor.