Custom Absorber Columns | ASME-Certified

Roben, Mfg., Inc. specializes in the custom engineering and fabrication of absorbers for chemical, fine chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, defense, and power-generation industries. Every project is designed to ASME Section VIII Division 1 (with optional Division 2), is National Board registered, complies with the European Pressure Equipment Directive (PED 2014/68/EU) for CE marking, and is registered under the Canadian Registration Number (CRN) system for all Canadian provinces.

What Absorbers Are

An absorber is a vertical mass-transfer column in which a gas stream contacts a liquid solvent, transferring one or more components from the gas phase into the liquid phase. Absorbers are used for acid-gas removal (amine treating), gas dehydration (glycol), product recovery, environmental scrubbing, and gas purification.

Why Absorbers Matter

Absorbers are essential to natural gas processing, refinery off-gas treatment, ammonia and methanol production, sulfuric acid manufacturing, and air-pollution control. A properly engineered absorber meets emissions limits, recovers valuable products, and operates reliably at the required pressure and temperature.

Absorbers — Specifications and Capabilities

Service types: Amine absorbers, glycol contactors, sulfur absorbers, CO2 absorbers, ammonia/HCl scrubbers
Internals: Trays (valve, bubble cap), structured/random packing, mist eliminators
Diameters: From 4 in. up to 470 in.
Operating pressure: Vacuum to high pressure
Materials: Carbon steel, stainless steel (304/316L), Duplex, Hastelloy, Inconel, Monel for corrosive services

Certifications and Codes

ASME Section VIII Division 1 — U-stamp
ASME Section VIII Division 2 — available on request
National Board registration — R-stamp
PED 2014/68/EU — CE marking with Notified Body coordination
CRN — registered for all Canadian provinces
NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156 — sour-service compliance
AWS D1.1 / ASME Section IX — qualified welding procedures and welders

Frequently Asked Questions About Absorbers

What is the difference between an absorber and a stripper?

An absorber transfers a component from a gas stream into a liquid solvent (typically high pressure, low temperature). A stripper does the reverse — releasing the absorbed component back to the gas phase (typically low pressure, high temperature). Absorber-stripper pairs operate together in regenerative solvent loops.

What is an amine absorber?

An amine absorber (or contactor) is a column in which an amine solvent (MEA, DEA, MDEA) absorbs acid gases (H2S and CO2) from a sour gas stream. It is the front-end of a sulfur recovery and gas-treating system.

What materials are used for sulfur and acid-gas absorbers?

Wet H2S service typically requires HIC-resistant carbon steel with stainless cladding, full stainless steel (316L), Duplex, or higher alloys depending on the partial pressure of H2S and the presence of chlorides. Roben fabricates per NACE MR0175.

Can Roben Mfg. supply demisters and mist eliminators in the absorber?

Yes. Vane packs, mesh pads, and multi-stage mist eliminators are integrated into the column design at the overhead. We coordinate sizing with the process engineer's K-factor and droplet-removal targets.

What certifications do Roben Mfg. absorber columns meet?

All absorbers are ASME VIII Div. 1 U-stamped, National Board registered, PED for Europe, and CRN for Canada. Sour-service vessels are fabricated per NACE MR0175/ISO 15156.

Request a Quote on This Project

Contact Roben Mfg., Inc. to discuss your project specifications, timeline, and material requirements.

📞 (732) 364-6000 ✉ sales@robenmfg.com 📍 760 Vassar Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701

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Custom Absorber Column Fabrication