Mass Transfer Question on Absorption

Question

A gas stream containing 95 mol% CO₂ and 5 mol% ethanol is to be scrubbed with pure water in a counter-current, isothermal absorption column to remove ethanol. The desired composition of ethanol in the exit gas stream is 0.5 mol%. The equilibrium mole fraction of ethanol in the gas phase, $y^*$ , is related to that in the liquid phase, $x$ , as $y^* = 2x$ . Assume CO₂ is insoluble in water and neglect evaporation of water. If the water flow rate is twice the minimum, the mole fraction of ethanol in the spent water is:

Answer 1

Solution

The correct option is (B) :0.0126