Interfacial properties in gas dehydration

The interfacial behavior of TEG-water in the presence of compressed gases in a packed column is vital to the performance of dehydration in packed columns. The mass transfer area depends on how the fluids wet the packing. Wettability is characterized by the contact angle at the three phase contact of liquid-gas-solid. Through the Young´s relation, the contact angle is related to the interfacial tension between the fluid phases and the respective interfacial energies in contact with the solid surface. Understanding these interfacial properties at the relevant operating conditions in the contactor (TEG-water-(natural) gas) and the regenerator (TEG-water) is a key to improving the efficiency of this type of separation process. Within this project for all relevant parameter combinations and concentrations are experimentally investigated and observed in high pressure view chambers.