Predicting mass transfer in packed columns

Abstract Countercurrent‐flow columns are widely used in production processes in the chemical industry and their application in ecological engineering is of increasing importance. A theoretical model is presented here that allows mass transfer to be described in terms of packing geometry and physical properties which influence the gas‐liquid or vapour‐liquid systems in absorption, desorption and rectification columns. The relationships derived from the model can be applied to all countercurrent‐flow columns, regardless of whether the packing has been dumped at random or arranged in a geometric pattern.