Abstract
The aim of this research is to obtain a basic quantitative understanding of the effect of a noncondensable gas on the absorption of water vapor by a H2O/LiBr combination with n-octanol as the surfactant. Nonflowing aqueous solutions of LiBr (40, 45, 50 mass%) were exposed to saturated water vapor following the addition of an n-octanol surfactant (0.01 and 0.6 mass%). A small amount of a noncondensable gas (air) was allowed into the absorber (3×10-7 moles, i.e., 0.03 volume%) and its effect was analyzed by measuring the temperature and amount of water vapor absorbed. The results indicate that, in the presence of small amounts of a noncondensable gas, vapor absorption enhancement ratios are less than half of those obtained under the same experimental conditions when a noncondensable gas is not present. The presence of a noncondensable gas causes the partial vapor pressure of air to increase at the vapor/liquid interface, which results in a lower vapor absorption rate and, hence, in an inhibition of interfacial turbulence.
