"This report covers work done on the scrubbing research part of DOE Contract DE-AS20-82LC10868 during the first quarter of calendar 1984. The main studies reported here are on the effects that CO2 in a gas stream has on the absorption of S02 or H2S from that gas in a venturi scrubber. Our experimental results show that the effects are small. While conceivably CO2 can absorb well into the alkaline scrubbing liquids used in the system studied, the rate of CO2 absorption is severely limited by the slowness of the reaction CO2 H20 H2C03. Hence, the actual uptake of CO2 by the liquid in the venturi device, where the contact time is very short, is quite small. Hence, CO2 does not suppress the absorption of S02 or H2S significantly. A secondary study, on the effect of gas velocity on the absorption of H2S, was also completed. While an increase in the gas velocity reduces the contact time, and would tend to decrease the degree of H2S absorption, it also increases the turbulence and droplet surface area, which would tend to enhance the degree of absorption. On balance, our results show that the H2S absorption increases slightly as the gas velocity is increased, at constant L/G. During the next quarter, we will return to some theoretical modeling efforts begun earlier and will attempt to make our theoretical model more realistic and detailed. For the moment, our experimental work is largely complete."