What is the difference between absorption and stripping operations?

Absorption transfers a solute from a gas phase into a liquid solvent (gas-to-liquid mass transfer), typically at high pressure and low temperature to favor solubility. Stripping is the reverse - it removes dissolved gas from liquid back into a gas phase (liquid-to-gas transfer), using low pressure, high temperature, or an inert stripping gas. They are often paired: amine absorption of CO2 followed by steam stripping to regenerate the amine.